By: Mark Glennon*
Majorities of members from both parties in the U.S. House of Representatives voted last week in favor of a nonbinding resolution condemning socialism. All Republicans and 109 Democrats voted for the resolution but 86 Democrats voted against it and 14 voted “present.” The resolution “denounces socialism in all its forms, and opposes the implementation of socialist policies in the United States of America.”
Illinois Democrats Chuy García, Jan Schakowsky, Danny Davis and Delia Ramirez and Robin Kelly voted against the resolution. Illinois Democrat Sean Casten declined to vote, writing “I have too much work that the voters expect me to do. And I have too much respect for them to pretend this is of value.” The rest of the Illinois delegation voted in favor.
Sure, the resolution was designed by Republicans for political reasons and, yes, there are problems with how the resolution was worded.
But votes on the resolution still tell us something.
MSNBC found enough significance in the vote to praise the “no” voters, writing that the “Democratic establishment is still largely hostile to even incrementalist left-wing principles,” an MSNBC column says. “Ultimately embracing its left wing will yield better results for the American people than living in constant fear of association with the s-word.”
Today’s Democratic establishment is hostile “to even incrementalist left-wing principles”? Um, OK.
Chuy García’s vote against the resolution is particularly significant because he’s a candidate for mayor in Chicago, and the vote is one more bit of evidence about where he stands on big picture issues.
For a more comprehensive look at García’s views, the best summary I’ve found is an article prepared jointly by the Chicago Reader and In These Times, which are both on the left.
The report’s headline says it best: “He’s a Real One”: The Squad’s Middle-Aged, Mustachioed Ally in Congress.” It’s about García’s allegiance to the radically left “Squad” in the House led by Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn).
He’s a real one, alright. If you like the Squad, he should be your guy.
In a statement to In These Times, Pressley called García “a trusted partner in good trouble” and praised his legislative record. “I often say that the Squad is big, because it includes anyone committed to the work of building a more equitable and just world. I can think of no one who fits that description better than Chuy García. He’s a real one.”
García returned the compliment, writing In These Times: “They are my allies. They are my soulmates. I love them,” he said.
Returning to the House resolution, it would have been better not to equate socialism with the worst of communism, which it did.
More importantly, if you want to put today’s left on the spot, isn’t there a more comprehensive word than socialism? Don’t the defining characteristics of today’s left go well beyond socialism?
While many on today’s left are socialists, some by name and many more in practice, they are much more than that. On top of socialism, they commonly oppose free speech, support racial discrimination as “equity” and reject, for their political opponents, due process and equal treatment under law. They often don’t hide an intention to establish one-party rule by trying to brand, if not outlaw, their opposition as insurrectionists and racists.
That’s certainly not true of all Democrats, but it’s fair to say those traits are common on today’s left.
What the right word would be is a lengthy topic for another day. I’m not entirely sure what it should be, but something a whole lot nastier than socialism.
*Mark Glennon is founder of Wirepoints.
This column was updated to include Reps. Danny Davis and Delia Ramirez as “no” votes on the resolution.
Audio and summary 
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
Communists just doing what communists do.
Inside every big government loving Democrat is a tyrant waiting to burst out and enslave all of the lesser peons.
Casten was correct. Performative bs needs to be callled out. Maybe then the republicans will regain their sense of honor and duty to the country, and start being good faith legislators again, instead of wacko extremists who pander to the public’s weaknesses such as sensationalism and corruption.
Maybe then the Il republicans can get back to business, and ie push for a DOJ special prosecutor to investigate the corrosive effects of Il public union Tier 1 (trillions) pensions on a key state of the union, Illinois.
The Republicans wouldn’t need to do performative BS if the rest of the Democrat party would just go along with and vote for the Republican’s proposed legislation.
Casten is as useless as tits on a bull.
Back in the early 60’s the Soviet Premier, Nikita Khrushchev, said that the United States did not have to worry about the Soviet Union and America will destroy itself from within. Those times are soon upon us.
Socialism is popular because 60% of the country is so poor they can’t afford a $1,000 emergency. Because the Federal Reserve has been printing money for a generation and funneling it directly to it’s crony capitalists banks. The banks funnel that money into asset classes, or, lend it to other investors, like private equity, who buy assets and jack up the price for everyone as the create monopolies, duopolies or other captured markets. The price of everything has increased: health care, education, housing, cars, consumer goods, clothing, commodities, food, while at the same time, the ability to earn a living… Read more »
Debstor gets it. Every time you turn on CNBC or read the Wall Street Journal gushing on about Jamie Dimon or Godman’s Sachs’ genius, that isn’t capitalism. That’s economic fascism or Central Bank socialism. Capitalism is bottom up and when you lose you lose, no bail outs. Fascism is top down and the government gets to pick the winners, privatize the profits and socialize the losses. When you have a monopoly on money printing and your cabal can buy all the assets in the world, that’s tyranny.
They’ve literally bought up every asset class in the world to buy, sell and trade amongst themselves. Years back there was an article in some financial rag lamenting there were too few new areas for high finance to exploit, so there were moving far down the financial market, so they were securitizing Vietnamese motor bike loans. All those new unexploited opportunities have dried up now too, so now the financial market is just double dipping in areas they’ve already exploited, like commodities, housing, consumer credit, etc. Meanwhile, all that money is floating around the investment economy and has finally worked… Read more »
It’s the inevitable road of fiat currency.
A clearly political resolution with a great objective. Shine the light on the communists in our own government! And some people still don’t see the light!
Worth noting that Delia Ramirez, who is delivering the state of the union response, also voted no.
https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2023106
I guess these “Three Stooges” have ignored the fact that over 100 million have perished in the name of “socialism:… and billions more enslaved…
For Communists, collateral deaths are acceptable.
Yes, the call for a vote was a political stunt. It was intended to put members on record. But Sean Casten is so much smarter than the rest of them, isn’t he?. “I’m too busy doing the people’s work.” He’s not fooling anyone. As an uber-progressive, he’s way left. In a purple district, his “no” vote would be an anchor around his neck until the next election.
The Democrat Party is the incubator for the communist cancer that eats away at everything good and decent in America.
New World Order – a truly scary statement.
… and so we say goodbye to capitalism in the new socialist republic of Illinois.
Illinois machine style/ fake socialism is all about throwing out a lot of equity bs bread crumbs to the masses while guaranteeing upper-income/zero risk/ retire at 55 $multi-millionaire$ deals for the few at the expense of the many……but then again maybe that’s the way socialism ends up working world wide?