During This Week’s "Powerhouse Roundtable" discussion on the soaring crime rates in major American cities and what should be done about it, there seemed to be agreement that the Democrats’ “defund the police” agenda is dead.
Anchor George Stephanopoulos then turned to panelist and ABC congressional correspondent Rachel Scott and asked: “you don't hear defund the police too much on Capitol Hill, anymore?”
Scott confidently replied, “No, not at all, actually” and aside from the “handful of progressives over in the House” that want to defund the police, there hasn’t been a peep from Democrat lawmakers about that wildly unpopular agenda.
She also observed that both President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) have admitted defunding the police isn’t a message they even believe, and “Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has come out and said this is not our message. This is not what we're campaigning on ahead of the midterms.”
To make matters worse for the leftists who support defunding the police, Scott pointed out that even New York City “Mayor [Eric] Adams just pointed out there was funding within that Build Back Better plan to actually help police officers.”
Fellow panelist Chris Christie wasn’t going to let Democrats get away with their past support or silence on this wildly unpopular message. In typical Christie fashion, he torched Democrats for their flip-flopping and mixed messaging:
But this is not a funding problem, George. And no one is alleging this is a funding problem. This is a policy problem. And these are policies that are being instituted by liberal prosecutors.
Christie let Scott know the reason why so many Democrats have backed away from defunding the police: “they’re not saying it anymore because it's not popular anymore. But when it was popular, I’m not saying Schumer or those guys were in favor, but they were silent. They were scared and they were silent to oppose the progressives.”
The leftist media always helps the Democrats back away from their agenda when it becomes unpopular. Even MSNBC admitted back in July after Eric Adams won the Democratic primary for New York City Mayor, that defunding the police is a losing message for Democrats.
To read the relevant transcript of this segment, click “expand”:
ABC’s This Week
4/17/2022
9:52:13 a.m. EasternGEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Rachel, you don't hear defund the police too much on Capitol Hill, anymore?
RACHEL SCOTT: No, not at all, actually. I mean there's a handful of Progressives over in the House that want to potentially defund the police. But, I mean we heard from the President himself, we heard from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, this is not a message that they believe even. Exactly, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has come out and said this is not our message. This is not what we're campaigning on ahead of the midterms. And Mayor Adams just pointed out there was funding within that Build Back Better plan to actually help police officers.
CHRIS CHRISTIE: But this is not a funding problem, George. And no one is alleging this is a funding problem. This is a policy problem. And these are policies that are being instituted by liberal prosecutors, supported -- I know they're not saying it anymore, Rachel. They’re not saying it anymore because it's not popular anymore. But when it was popular, I’m not saying Schumer or those guys were in favor, but they were silent. They were scared and they were silent to oppose the progressives.
