Defund the Police, Then Defund the Military

FOLLOWING THE BRUTAL POLICE KILLING OF GEORGE FLOYD in Minneapolis in late May, activists and protesters are calling on the government to “defund the police.” The Minneapolis City Council has declared its intention to do exactly that. But national Democratic pundits and elected officials have been wary of adopting the idea. Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has opposed defunding the police; so has his erstwhile primary opponent Sen. Bernie Sanders.

But throttling cash flows to harmful institutions isn’t a new idea on the left or for Democrats. For decades, Democrats and the left called for the defunding of the military in much the same terms as protesters and activists are now calling for the defunding of the police. “Defund the