‘Defund the Police’ Politics Fail in Minneapolis

‘Defund the police” this summer took its place among the worst political slogans ever devised, right up there with “Nasty woman” and “Mondale ’84.” Defund . . . the police? Meaning zero out their funding, or even substantially reduce it? Shut them down, or at least hamstring them by taking away resources? How would diminishing the ranks of public-safety guardians benefit anyone but rich people who can afford to hire private security, and in many cases already do? Did anyone consult with the poor about this idea? The sentiment is so breathtakingly vacuous that it was pumped up mainly by Park Slope’s keyboard commies, furiously banging out revolutionary fan-fiction exclusively for the entertainment of fellow Salon readers.

Yet the idea was so fashionable among the radicals, columnists, and talking heads who don’t live in high-crime areas that, for a moment, even Joe Biden was momentarily beguiled by it. Asked by a left-wing activist, “Do we agree that we can redirect some of the [police] funding?” Biden replied, “Yes, absolutely.” (Biden had been musing about how “the last thing you need is an up-armored Humvee coming into a neighborhood. It’s like the military invading,” as though Americans had spent the month of June debating the wisdom of police Humvee usage. As president, Joe would handle the difficult questions by answering different, easier questions.) Yet, when Biden came to his senses he emphasized that he didn’t want to defund the police.

About the Author

Kyle Smith

Kyle Smith is the film critic for the Wall Street Journal.

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‘Defund the police” this summer took its place among the worst political slogans ever devised, right up there with “Nasty woman” and “Mondale ’84.” Defund . . . the police? Meaning zero out their funding, or even substantially reduce it? Shut them down, or at least hamstring them by taking away resources? How would diminishing the ranks of public-safety guardians benefit anyone but rich people who can afford to hire private security, and in many cases already do? Did anyone consult with the poor about this idea? The sentiment is so breathtakingly vacuous that it was pumped up mainly by Park Slope’s keyboard commies, furiously banging out revolutionary fan-fiction exclusively for the entertainment of fellow Salon readers.

Yet the idea was so fashionable among the radicals, columnists, and talking heads who don’t live in high-crime areas that, for a moment, even Joe Biden was momentarily beguiled by it. Asked by a left-wing activist, “Do we agree that we can redirect some of the [police] funding?” Biden replied, “Yes, absolutely.” (Biden had been musing about how “the last thing you need is an up-armored Humvee coming into a neighborhood. It’s like the military invading,” as though Americans had spent the month of June debating the wisdom of police Humvee usage. As president, Joe would handle the difficult questions by answering different, easier questions.) Yet, when Biden came to his senses he emphasized that he didn’t want to defund the police.