In the months leading up to Election Day, the Republican Party conducted an advertising campaign focused on crime and social disorder, on looting and shoplifting in big cities across the country. They tried to associate Democrats with “defund the police” messages that are, in fact, voiced by a very small minority of party members, but that appear to have undercut mainstream Democrats running in key races, including many who nonetheless hung on to their seats. The issue isn’t going away anytime soon and may well play a major role in 2024. …
In an Oct. 19 essay, “The Slogan Hurting Democrats’ Election Chances,” Paul Begala, a Democratic strategist, wrote, “In my many years in politics, I have never seen a more destructive slogan than ‘defund the police.’”
“The overwhelming majority of Americans — including most Black Americans and most Democrats — oppose defunding police,” Begala wrote. “Still, the political damage from that slogan has been real.”
What, then, to do? CONTINUED
Thomas B. Edsall, New York Times
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