# Defund the police is a great idea - to help Trump **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 8, 2020, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defund-the-police-is-a-great-idea-to-help-trump/855272 "2020-06-08T21:10:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defund-the-police-is-a-great-idea-to-help-trump/855272/1 "2020-06-08T21:10:47Z")
That idea will scare people right into voting for Trump. I can imagine the commercials of rapists, robbers, murderers , etc. roaming free. Right now the election looks like a slow ground ball to 1st base for Biden, an easy out. Bringing up ideas like defund the police makes it much harder. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defund-the-police-is-a-great-idea-to-help-trump/855272/2 "2020-06-08T21:15:46Z")
That’s not how it works… ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defund-the-police-is-a-great-idea-to-help-trump/855272/3 "2020-06-08T21:17:53Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > That’s not how it works… No, but it is an easy sale to make it look like that. I fully support the actual concept, but feel it is unfortunate that it has been named as it has and that it is gaining steam heading into a national election. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defund-the-police-is-a-great-idea-to-help-trump/855272/4 "2020-06-08T21:20:27Z")
It was designed to be punchy and to attract controversy and panic. Seem to me, whoever came up with this slogan has learned all the wrong lessons from Trump and is trying to intentionally create negative reaction. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defund-the-police-is-a-great-idea-to-help-trump/855272/5 "2020-06-08T21:25:19Z")
If the slogan puts the idea of “no more police”, “crime sprees now unchecked”, or “anarchy and no one to stop it” into people’s heads, it will be a good thing for Trump. Trump and Co. are already using it against Biden. Those who favor it would do well to spell out, specifically, every time it comes up, what it is, exactly, they’re proposing. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defund-the-police-is-a-great-idea-to-help-trump/855272/6 "2020-06-08T21:26:57Z")
Like \*\*RickJay \*\*said in the other thread, it’s a horrible messaging slogan. It gives exactly the wrong notion. (Assuming that “defund the police” means reducing them in size and changing their mission/tactics, not outright abolishing all cops.) It’s basically self-straw-manning oneself. Trump and the GOP couldn’t ask for a better slogan for Democrats to embrace, given the connotations of crime-run-amok that it will immediately generate in swing voter’s minds. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defund-the-police-is-a-great-idea-to-help-trump/855272/7 "2020-06-08T21:28:34Z")
Willie Horton ad [Willie Horton: Political Ads That Changed the Game | Retro Report - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdJ97qWHOxo) ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defund-the-police-is-a-great-idea-to-help-trump/855272/8 "2020-06-08T21:34:07Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > That’s not how it works… Sure, but there is a huge gap between reality and perception. This would be like someone saying, “Ban gun ownership” …and then “clarifying” that they really only mean restricting certain types of assault rifles. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defund-the-police-is-a-great-idea-to-help-trump/855272/9 "2020-06-08T21:42:40Z")
There was any number of easy slogans they likely considered but which failed to provide sufficient controversy: Reform the Police Transform the Police Demilitarize the Police Humanize the Police Hell, use their own slogan of “Serve and Protect” against them to remind some of them what their duty is to the public. I’m sure there are a number of other clever slogans that could have been promoted. But No. They chose this bullshit. And now, Van Jones, has to take great pains to try to explain what they really mean by “Defund the Police” on CNN. And I could see the expression on his face this morning all… ‘My dudes. What the fuck?!’ ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defund-the-police-is-a-great-idea-to-help-trump/855272/10 "2020-06-08T21:47:40Z")
Well, Biden has already publicly dismissed the idea of "defund the police’ so this all seems rather moot. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defund-the-police-is-a-great-idea-to-help-trump/855272/11 "2020-06-08T21:51:51Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > Well, Biden has already publicly dismissed the idea of "defund the police’ so this all seems rather moot. Voters are affected to a great extent by messages beyond merely what their own candidate or opposing candidate put forward. Plenty of people are motivated to vote (D) or (R) based off of some celebrity’s twitter feed, or jousting with people online on Facebook, or some billboard they see, or super-PAC television ad. ---
**Author:** ![chargerrich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chargerrich/32/5399_2.png) [@chargerrich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chargerrich)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defund-the-police-is-a-great-idea-to-help-trump/855272/12 "2020-06-08T21:53:04Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > Well, Biden has already publicly dismissed the idea of "defund the police’ so this all seems rather moot. Tell that to the citizens/voters of MN ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defund-the-police-is-a-great-idea-to-help-trump/855272/13 "2020-06-08T22:03:46Z")
> [@chargerrich](#): > > Tell that to the citizens/voters of MN He just did. They don’t want to defund the police either. Most people want reforms and improvements and perhaps a less militarized presence. The slogan is obnoxious and plays into Trump & Co. hands. The message is entirely different. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defund-the-police-is-a-great-idea-to-help-trump/855272/14 "2020-06-08T22:19:18Z")
I see some attempts on twitter to change it to “we need a new blue.” I like that better than defund the police. It seems pretty dumb to give disingenuous folks such an easy slogan to pervert. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defund-the-police-is-a-great-idea-to-help-trump/855272/15 "2020-06-08T22:27:48Z")
Emotions are raw, it will eventually be rebranded into something else. It’ll probably be re-branded as reallocate, reorganize, rebuild, or reform - or some combination of those. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defund-the-police-is-a-great-idea-to-help-trump/855272/16 "2020-06-08T22:38:05Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > The slogan is obnoxious and plays into Trump & Co. hands. Yes. And everyone who uses it should be told “Trump thanks you for your support.” _Any slogan that has to be explained is a bad slogan._ ‘It gets attention’ is no excuse–the protests were getting plenty of attention before this pro-Trump slogan was dreamed up. “Demilitarize the Police” or “Reform the Police” or “Police Reform Now” or “No More Police Abuse” or…just about anything, would be better than “Defund the Police.” :smack: :smack: :smack: :smack: :smack: :smack: :smack: :smack: :smack: :smack: :smack: ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defund-the-police-is-a-great-idea-to-help-trump/855272/17 "2020-06-08T22:44:13Z")
This was all over the Biden volunteer slack channels today. And I’m glad. The phrase needs to be quashed and quickly. It may be a favorite of the most strident activists but they’re not the types that will win the election. In fact, many of them won’t be voting Biden at all, their politics are on the far left. But Defund the police can be the next Basket of Deplorables or Put coal miners out of business. If you’re explaining, you’re losing. And requiring a 3 paragraph answer to what Defund the police means is losing. Many of those suburban voters Biden will need only have contact with the police when their teen is caught with a six pack of beer or they get a speeding ticket in some small town speed trap. While there is a lot of work to be done with reforming the police, defunding the police is about the worst way to handle it. I’m 100% sure that if I logged into Twitter there’s calls to take police budgets and use it to fund M4A or pay off everyone’s student loans. This type of electoral insanity needs to stop and quickly. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defund-the-police-is-a-great-idea-to-help-trump/855272/18 "2020-06-08T22:47:45Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Yes. And everyone who uses it should be told “Trump thanks you for your support.” > > _Any slogan that has to be explained is a bad slogan._ ‘It gets attention’ is no excuse–the protests were getting plenty of attention before this pro-Trump slogan was dreamed up. > > “Demilitarize the Police” or “Reform the Police” or “Police Reform Now” or “No More Police Abuse” or…just about anything, would be better than “Defund the Police.” > > :smack: :smack: :smack: :smack: :smack: :smack: :smack: :smack: :smack: :smack: :smack: Think we cross posted but YES! ‘Make America Great Again’ did not need any explanation. But what about about slavery and the trail of tears and Jim Crow and the role of women…? That wasn’t a good response to MAGA as a slogan. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defund-the-police-is-a-great-idea-to-help-trump/855272/19 "2020-06-08T23:02:34Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Think we cross posted but YES! > ‘Make America Great Again’ did not need any explanation. > > But what about about slavery and the trail of tears and Jim Crow and the role of women…? That wasn’t a good response to MAGA as a slogan. Yes. Well-crafted slogans hit people on a gut level (even if the message is pernicious, as with MAGA). They don’t confuse. You’re right about the people who are clinging to the Defund one—many of them are not going to vote for the Democratic candidate (presumably Biden) anyway. But they can do a lot of harm, nonetheless. “Defund the police” makes the people yelling it feel powerful. That’s a nice feeling, but it won’t last long if Trump stays in. It won’t last long at all. There’s a better way to feel powerful–use slogans that can’t be used against us, maximize voting turnout, and turn both the White House and the Senate Democratic (while keeping the House). _That_ will be a good feeling. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defund-the-police-is-a-great-idea-to-help-trump/855272/20 "2020-06-08T23:09:09Z")
Yeah, when the videos of looting and mayhem run nonstop during the general election we’ll see how prophetic the OP was. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defund-the-police-is-a-great-idea-to-help-trump/855272.md?page=2)