Opinion: Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver Defends - Not Defunds

Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver made a surprising statement Friday regarding the very loud movement to defund police departments that's been sweeping across the nation.

During a 9/11 memorial service in West Orange, Oliver said, "To law enforcement, I want to share a message with you: We need you, we appreciate you, and want you to know with all the noise that’s going on, we will never defund you."

According to NJ.com, her remarks drew applause from the small crowd that was there.

I don't know what's more shocking -- a high-ranking, card-carrying Democrat going against the media-enhanced grain and publicly supporting police officers or the fact that people applauded her statement in as-blue-as-it-gets Essex County in as-blue-as-it-gets New Jersey.

Not only did Lt. Gov. Oliver say she supports cops, but she appreciates them as well.

What a refreshing statement for someone to say -- our blue state supports the men and women in blue.

What a refreshing statement to hear.

Maybe this is how most of us really feel as opposed to what you see on the news every time you turn on the TV.

Maybe it took standing across the river from Ground Zero on the 19th anniversary of 9/11 for all of us to stop and remember those that lost their lives when they ran into those buildings as everyone else was running out.

Maybe a quiet little 9/11 ceremony was enough to cut through the defund-the-police noise.

Maybe a little common sense is beginning to appear.

One can hope.