On November 21, the US House of Representatives voted 285-98 to pass a resolution titled “Denouncing the Horrors of Socialism.”

The text starts off with lurid – and historically inaccurate – charges of death, devastation, and ruin allegedly flowing from socialism, and ends with the declaration that “Congress denounces socialism in all its forms, and opposes the implementation of socialist policies in the United States.”

It’s as if Congress went to sleep on November 20, 2025, and woke up on November 21, 1950.

The resolution was introduced by Maria Salazar, representing a district including parts of Miami and surrounding suburbs, and cosponsored by 63 other Republicans. Rep. Salazar is the daughter of Gusanos who fled Cuba after the revolution.

Given her family’s origins, it’s easy to see where this passage comes from:

“[T]he Castro regime in Cuba expropriated the land of Cuban farmers and the businesses of Cuban entrepreneurs, stealing their possessions and their livelihoods, and exiling millions with nothing but the clothes on their backs…”

In simple language, “the Cuban revolution took away my family’s property and wealth, therefore I hate socialism.”

But that happened 66 years ago. Why this resolution, and why now?

Rep. Mike Simpson, Republican from Idaho, offers a clue. "Now more than ever, with newly elected leaders like Zohran Mamdani in New York, it is crucial we remain vigilant against this failed ideology,” he said in a press release after the vote. “America has always been the guiding light of freedom, and socialism is far from that founding principle.”

Beyond smearing popular democratic socialists like Mamdani, it’s clear that the Trump administration is preparing for war against Venezuela – which was specifically condemned in the resolution – and ratcheting up tensions with China. So this document also serves to justify future US military actions against those “horrible socialists.”

The House roll call indicates that 86 Democrats teamed up with Republicans to vote Yes on this measure.

Among them were senior leaders like Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Katherine Clark, and Jim Clyburn, along with a long list of pro-business suburban Democrats such as Pete Aguilar, Ami Bera, Gil Cisneros, and Josh Gottheimer.

In the Washington State delegation, both Republicans voted Yes. They were joined by three Democrats – Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Kim Schrier, and Marilyn Strickland.

Three Democrats voted No – Pramila Jayapal, Emily Randall, and Adam Smith. Two more Democrats – Suzan DelBene and Rick Larsen – did not vote, along with 52 other Representatives.

Many of the most senior House Democrats are apparently still hostile to bold, progressive young candidates like Mamdani, and Seattle’s Katie Wilson, and still afraid of their rising popularity. At the same time, many Democrats seem to agree – at least tacitly – with Trump’s “America First” foreign policy.

That means that we have some work to do.

Our elected representatives should understand that it’s not acceptable to join with the far right and vote for right-wing propaganda pieces like this resolution. And if they don’t understand it now, they should be made to understand.

They should also understand that candidates like Mamdani and Wilson didn’t win their races because they tricked the voters into casting ballots for sinister socialist schemes. They won because they offered practical ways to make people’s lives better – free bus service, publicly-owned grocery stores, more social housing.

Most people think Hakeem Jeffries will become Speaker after the 2026 Congressional elections. Let him make people’s lives better. Then he can condemn socialism all he wants.