Because of how badly their embrace of the “Defund the Police” movement hurt House Democrats in the 2020 elections (they lost 14 seats), they’ve spent a good deal of the summer trying to shed the label, even laughably suggesting that it was Republicans who wanted to cut funding for law enforcement over the last 18 months.

But no matter how hard they try, Democrats can’t escape their association with Defund the Police radicals, primarily because their advocates who were elected to serve in Congress like “Squad” members Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Talib, Ayanna Pressley, and Cori Bush seem keen on keeping the “Defund” message out front and center in the eyes of the American people – in the process unintentionally handing Republicans yet another gift.

Case in point, Rep. Bush’s recent comments on CBS News when asked about reports that she paid $70,000 for private security this year despite the fact that she’s called for police departments to be defunded. For those who missed the interview, here’s what she had to say:

“I’m going to make sure I have security because I know I have had attempts on my life and I have too much work to do, there are too many people that need help right now … If I end up spending $200,000, if I spend $10 more dollars on it — you know what, I get to be here to do the work. So suck it up, and defunding the police has to happen. We need to defund the police and put that money into social safety nets because we’re trying to save lives.”

The National Republican Congressional Committee wasted no time in using Bush’s comments against her – and her party:

.@CoriBush is STAR…in the @NRCC's newest ad >>>

Voters should never forget protection for them, crime for you.

VOTE THEM OUT.https://t.co/bwFaveRRgE pic.twitter.com/ecmXZnAiS5

— Michael McAdams (@M_McAdams) August 5, 2021

“We want to thank Cori Bush for reminding everyone [that] Democrats are the party of Defund the Police,” NRCC spokesman Michael McAdams told Politico. “While violent crime ravages communities, Democrats are spending campaign dollars on private security for themselves.”

Indeed, Democrat-run cities have seen a surge in violent crime in the aftermath of the Antifa/BLM-led protests and riots that took place in their cities last summer, where the predominant theme was (and still is) defunding the police. For example, Minneapolis’, Chicago’s, and Baltimore’s violent crime rates soared by double digits as local “leaders” joined in on the anti-police rhetoric and basically signaled to police officers that they were not going to be supported, and to criminals that it was open season.

As I said before, while the left’s push to tie “defund the police” efforts to Republicans is cute, it’s won’t work and Bush’s comments along with the crime rates in Democrat-run cities are two big reasons why. And because Democrats have kept up this line of attack, this debate has been revived all over again heading into the 2022 midterms, where Republicans will be more than happy to remind voters as to just which party it is that turned their backs on the men and women who help keep our communities safe, starting at the local level with Democrat-run city councils and working all the way up to President Biden himself.

Flashback: MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle Mashes Panic Button Hard as Dem Fears of 2022 Midterm ‘Red Wave’ Grow