Shellenberger: How 'Defund The Police' Backfired On Democrats Shellenberger: How ‘Defund The Police’ Backfired On Democrats Authored by Michael Shellenberger via Unherd.com, Over the last two decades, progressives have established a new consensus on crime. Nonviolent felonies like shoplifting and drug possession should be reclassified as misdemeanours. Cities should defund the police and spend the …