That all being said, the prospects of defund the police should not only be considered on a policy level but also on a political one. And the past year shows that this is where defund the police advocates have some serious thinking to do. The slogan itself only focuses on the divestment side of things, and it is so acutely vulnerable to bad faith messaging from the right — wherein Republicans and other conservatives suggest that the movement is basically calling for lawlessness — that it’s become a source of constant anxiety for Democrats, particularly as the midterm elections approach as murder rates increase.

Rather than trying to explain the true meaning of defund the police or engage in conversation with it, nervous Democrats in Washington have tried to outflank the GOP by trying to promote themselves as more faithful champions of funding the police and, in a long shot messaging maneuver that’s too cute by half, insist that Republicans are the ones trying to defund the police (because they have declined to back coronavirus relief bills that have provided money for law enforcement).