‘Anything short of a unanimous vote for the resolution could be a messaging coup for Republicans,’ Axios reports
House Democrats are worrying that Republicans’ resolution to honor assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk is actually a set-up for a politically risky vote, even though the Republican-controlled House has also honored assassinated Democrats.
“People are worried that we’re being totally set up,” one House Democrat told Axios on Thursday, with the publication reporting that Democrats are concerned they may have to vote for the resolution because “anything short of a unanimous vote for the resolution could be a messaging coup for Republicans.”
In June, the House unanimously passed a resolution condemning the shootings of Democratic state lawmakers in Minnesota.
The Kirk resolution, introduced Tuesday by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) and cosponsored by 165 House Republicans, is scheduled for a vote this week. The measure, which no Democrats cosponsored, praises Kirk as a “courageous American patriot” who “personified the values of the First Amendment, exercising his God-given right to speak freely, challenge prevailing narratives, and did so with honor, courage, and respect for his fellow Americans.”
Kirk’s assassination is “a sobering reminder of the growing threat posed by political extremism and hatred in our society,” the resolution says.
Some Democrats used the opportunity to blame Kirk for his murder, with progressive congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (D., Texas) telling Axios that she will vote against the resolution because she is “not sure what is honorable” about Kirk. House Democratic leaders have not advised members how to respond to the resolution, leaving each lawmaker to decide individually, according to the report.
An assassin shot and killed Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, on September 10 during an event that the activist was hosting at Utah Valley University. Police have arrested 22-year-old Utah man Tyler Robinson, who Utah governor Spencer Cox (R.) has said has a “leftist ideology,” for the murder.
One Democrat, Florida congressman Jared Moskowitz, has said he plans to vote for the Kirk resolution. “I disagreed with him on a lot of things, but that doesn’t change the fact that he was shot in the neck on live TV in front of his kids and wife,” Moskowitz told Axios. “We talk about bringing the temperature down, this is one way to do that.”
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