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Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., one of the most vocal supporters in Congress of the “defund” movement, attacked Biden on Twitter for not mentioning “saving Black lives” in his address. “All our country has done is (give) more funding to police,” she tweeted. “The result? 2021 set a record for fatal police shootings.”

No, Biden also didn’t mention the word “race” or his often-repeated call for equity. But he did call on the Senate to pass the Freedom to Vote Act, pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and, “while you’re at it, pass the DISCLOSE Act so Americans can know who is funding our elections.”

In other words, I don’t think Biden is caving to the “lock-’em-all-up” folks. The record shows he’s just being the Joe Biden we knew before he was elected president: a traditional middle-of-the-road pro-labor Democrat who loves the inside game of getting bills passed with votes from both parties, if possible. And he never wanted to defund the police.

As I have often said, I support holding police accountable and crime solutions that work, but the “defund the police” slogan, like “abolish the police” and “Black Lives Matter” is a movement in pursuit of a program.

Without an agenda or some form of centralized leadership, such slogans are too easily hijacked by those who probably don’t have the movement’s best interests in mind.

That’s what’s happened to “defund the police.” Polls show far greater support for more spending on police budgets than less.

Although there’s nothing wrong with local governments reevaluating where funding might do the most good — directing money to violence reduction, mental health and other social programs that can take unnecessary burdens off police — the “defund” movement has too often led to confusion, lowered police morale and bitter political feelings while violent crime rates have climbed in many cities, even before the pandemic.

That’s why some city leaders across the country have walked back their decisions to cut police funding while others, such as Mayor Lori Lightfoot, opposed such cuts all along and allocated more funding.

“We should all agree: The answer is not to defund the police,” Biden said. “The answer is to fund the police with the resources and training they need to protect our communities.”

It was one of the rare remarks that evening that managed to bring robust applause from both parties. Who could oppose a call to “keep our neighborhoods safe?”

But he also wants universal background checks, a ban on untraceable “ghost guns” and other controversial measures.

Let the debates begin. But let’s be honest about what’s being debated.

(E-mail Clarence Page at cpage@chicagotribune.com.)

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