Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) is sticking with the “defund the police” slogan ahead of the 2022 midterm election.
Bush told 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 “squad” member argued Democrats need to explain better what the slogan means with its call to allocate funds to social programs.
If Democrats lost the majority in the House in the upcoming election, Bush said she would blame it on their inability to pass legislation.
“‘Defund the police’ is not the problem,” she said.
Bush continued, “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.”
If Republicans take the majority, Bush suggested, “It’s just done as far as trying to get the legislation across.”
Axios asked Bush whether she feels pressure from Democrats to change her rhetoric surrounding the issue.
She responded, “Oh, absolutely.”
Bush claims she has “had colleagues walk up to me” and say the slogan does not help them in their districts.
The outlet noted members of the Congressional Black Caucus had discussed the idea of breaking up the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act into smaller portions.
The lawmaker disagrees with it, saying, “If we couldn’t get George Floyd done back when millions of people were marching in the street, then how do we expect to get more than one thing done [on policing] over the next few years?”
During the interview, Bush also indicated there is division within the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
“What is a ‘progressive’ here in the House? We need to hone in more on what that really is,” she said.
Bush’s comments come less than a week after President Joe Biden voiced his opposition to defunding the police, as IJR reported.
While discussing crime in New York City, Biden explained, “The answer is to come together, police and communities, building trust and making us all safer. The answer is not to defund the police, it’s to give you the tools, the training, the funding to be partners, to be protectors and the community needs you, know the community.”
