Tipsheet

Progressive Democrat Clings to Toxic Slogan Ahead of Midterms...and Her Party Isn't Happy About It

Leah Barkoukis
Leah Barkoukis  |  February 09, 2022 7:00 AM

Progressive Democrat Cori Bush refuses to stop using the phrase “defund the police” ahead of the midterm elections, despite pleas from some of her colleagues to drop it, according to Axios.

"I always tell [fellow Democrats], 'If you all had fixed this before I got here, I wouldn’t have to say these things,'" the Missouri lawmaker told reporters.

Many blamed the phrase’s use ahead of the 2020 elections for Democratic losses and close calls. 

Virginia Democrat Abigail Spanberger, for example, said the phrase nearly cost her the race because of an attack ad using it. 

Bush insists, however, that “’defund the police’ is not the problem.”  She also noted that her party must do a better job explaining what their goals are when they say "defund the police"—namely to shift some resources to preemptive social services.

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If there are major Democratic losses in the midterms, Bush claimed it will be more a result of her party’s failure to pass key pieces of legislation. 

"We dangled the carrot in front of people’s faces and said we can get it done and that Democrats deliver, when we haven’t totally delivered,” she added. “If [Republicans] take the majority, it’s just done as far as trying to get the legislation across.”

But her Democratic colleagues aren't the only ones asking her to drop the phrase.