The House passed a resolution Friday condemning political violence and honoring the life of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, but 58 Democrats voted against it, 38 more voted “present,” and 22 simply skipped the vote.
The resolution, backed by all Republicans and 95 Democrats, praised Kirk as a “courageous American patriot” who engaged in “respectful, civil discourse across college campuses, media platforms, and national forums.”
But for many Democrats, even condemning Kirk’s murder and recognizing his contributions was too much.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) released a statement explaining her “NO” vote:
“House Republicans today brought to the floor a resolution ‘honoring the life and legacy’ of Charlie Kirk. I voted NO.”
She claimed that the resolution itself was harmful:
“Instead, the majority proceeded with a resolution that brings great pain to the millions of Americans who endured segregation, Jim Crow, and the legacy of that bigotry today.”
Listen to her speech on the House Floor:
Representative Frederica Wilson (D-FL) cited Kirk’s past comments about prominent Black women as her reason to oppose the resolution:
“As a Black woman, the verbal assault on so many Black women coming out of his mouth stunned me. He insulted so many. This country stands on the shoulders of Black women.”
Representative Bennie Thompson (D-MS) echoed that line of attack, pointing to Kirk’s criticisms of racial preferences:
“Kirk made this horrendous statement that if he gets on a plane and sees a Black pilot, he doesn’t know if this is a DEI hire. So I think that kind of offensive, divisive language is not something that Congress ought to be involved in honoring. Look, again, it was bad he got killed in the way he did. But to try to somehow sanitize [his record]? I just go with the facts.”
Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN), who has been referred to the Ethics Committee over her comments, had earlier sneered at the idea of honoring Kirk:
“It’s effed up that people have described Kirk as ‘just wanting to have a civil debate.’”
Contrast that with the stance of Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), no conservative by any stretch, who voted for the resolution:
“In general, the statement opposes and deplores political violence, and we need to oppose and denounce political violence across the board, in every case, regardless of the victim, regardless of the perpetrator.”
The White House’s rapid reaction X/Twitter account summed it up bluntly:
“58 Democrats just voted against a simple resolution honoring the life and legacy of Charlie Kirk after his assassination last week. Disgraceful.”
At a moment when lawmakers should have united in condemning political violence, dozens of Democrats chose instead to relitigate their grievances against a murdered conservative. Their words and their votes reveal a disturbing truth: for some on the Left, hatred of political opponents matters more than standing against political assassination.
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