Former President Barack Obama kicked off a firestorm after voicing his criticism of the controversial “Defund the Police” slogan. Obama made the remarks on Peter Hambly’s Snapchat political show, “Good Luck America,” and they published in advance on Monday evening, which led to intense blowback on social media. While speaking to Hambly, Obama shared his support for necessary police reform, but he took issue with how the messaging alienated voters, which he says will hamper the chances of enacting said reforms. Via Mediaite:
“If you believe, as I do, that we should be able to reform the criminal justice system so that it’s not biased, and treats everybody fairly, I guess you can use a snappy slogan like ‘Defund the Police,’ but you know you’ve lost a big audience the minute you say it. Which makes it a lot less likely that you’re actually going to get the changes you want done.”
While Obama’s pragmatic approach to policy reform might sound reasonable, it didn’t sit well with Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the members of “The Squad.” All four members fired off tweets that took Obama to task for his criticism, but AOC went particularly deep on the separation between “activists” and “politicians.”
What if activists aren’t PR firms for politicians & their demands are bc police budgets are exploding, community resources are shrinking to bankroll it, & ppl brought this up for ages but it wasn’t until they said “defund” that comfortable people started paying attn to brutality
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 2, 2020
The whole point of protesting is to make ppl uncomfortable.
Activists take that discomfort w/ the status quo & advocate for concrete policy changes. Popular support often starts small & grows.
To folks who complain protest demands make others uncomfortable… that’s the point.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 2, 2020
While AOC waited until Tuesday to deliver her remarks, Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib were quick to push back on Obama within hours of his “Defund the Police” criticism being published.
The murders of generations of unarmed Black folks by police have been horrific. Lives are at stake daily so I’m out of patience with critiques of the language of activists.
Whatever a grieving family says is their truth.
And I’ll never stop fighting for their justice & healing.
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) December 2, 2020
We lose people in the hands of police. It’s not a slogan but a policy demand. And centering the demand for equitable investments and budgets for communities across the country gets us progress and safety. https://t.co/Vu6inw4ms7
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) December 2, 2020
Rosa Parks was vilified & attacked for her civil disobedience. She was targeted. It's hard seeing the same people who uplift her courage, attack the movement for Black lives that want us to prioritize health, funding of schools & ending poverty, rather than racist police systems.
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) December 2, 2020
The argument over messaging is, of course, part of a much larger battle between “moderate” and “progressive” members of the Democratic Party, which has intensified after Joe Biden won the presidential election. While both groups strive for the same goals, there are fundamental differences over how to achieve them. There is also a generational divide to contend with as younger members of the party advocate for more aggressive reforms at an accelerated pace. In short, the Dems are in for some fun during the Biden administration.