Thread by @conor64

Yesterday, @Grits4Breakfast, a criminal justice reformer I respect and frequently agree with, criticized the recent piece wherein I argue that, as a matter of substance and rhetoric, the slogan/lodestar "defund the police" should be replaced. (1/x)

My piece made clear that the national Democratic Party had abandoned the slogan--indeed, that is a cornerstone of my case that it is utterly unpopular and politically untenable. But in @Grits4Breakfast's telling, the slogan at this point is nothing but a GOP talking point.

Yet here is a new article in The Nation, which chose, among all the criminal justice debates it could have hosted, "Do We Need Police?" thenation.com/article/societ…

Here is a new Teen Vogue article framed around the supposed utility of "defund the police" teenvogue.com/story/peoples-…

Here is a new Vox article that calls this the "defund the police era" vox.com/culture/226191…

Here is an ABC News article published today, "Activists push to disband Minneapolis police in upcoming vote" abcnews.go.com/US/activists-p…

Here's a story about a new documentary at Sundance that is framed around a positive portrayal of "defund the police" efforts portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2021/…

These are just from the last few days. Let me reiterate: @Grits4Breakfast and I agree that #DefundThePolice is politically untenable and won't happen.

But contra his critique, it remains the focus of a big part of the activist left and intelligentsia, & IMHO, this is a mistake

One might disagree with me on the merits of whether *defund* is the right policy or the question of whether it is political malpractice; but don't tell me that it is *just* a right-wing talking point now.

And this from two days ago

More: Slate on the politics of policing in Birmingham, including the influence of "defund" slate.com/news-and-polit…