Dupage Policy Journal

U.S. Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) chose not to vote on a resolution denouncing socialism. 

H.Con.Res.9 - Denouncing the horrors of socialism, passed the U.S. House in a 328-86-14 vote. All Republicans and 109 Democrats voted for the resolution. 

“I will not be going to the floor for this vote," Casten said on Twitter. "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.” 

Congressmen Chuy García (D-IL), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Danny Davis (D-IL) and Delia Ramirez (D-IL), and Robin Kelly (D-IL) voted against the resolution who were part of the minority of 86 Democrats who voted against it. A further 14 voted “present.” Casten declined to vote. “While many on today’s left are socialists, some by name and many more in practice, they are much more than that,” Mark Glennon wrote in Wirepoints of the contingent. “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.”

The resolution “Denouncing the horrors of socialism” recalls worldwide atrocities including the famines and wars that have resulted in untold millions of deaths in the name of socialism. 

“Socialist ideology necessitates a concentration of power that has time and time again collapsed into Communist regimes, totalitarian rule, and brutal dictatorships,” the resolution reads. The resolution also name-drops regimes including the leadership of “Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Fidel Castro, Pol Pot, Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un, Daniel Ortega, Hugo Chavez, and Nicola´s Maduro.” 

“Whereas the United States of America was founded on the belief in the sanctity of the individual, to which the collectivistic system of socialism in all of its forms is fundamentally and necessarily opposed,” the resolution continues.

U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) sponsored the resolution. She grew up among Cuban exiles in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood and her district includes “the heart of the Latin America exile community.” “The district I represent is one that knows the failures of socialism all too well,” Salazar said in a statement. "My constituents understand firsthand the consequences socialist ideology brought to our continent: misery, oppression, and exile. I am proud to introduce a resolution that makes it clear… socialism fails wherever it has been tried, and we don’t want it here.”