The murder of Charlie Kirk at a university event shocked the nation and exposed the poisonous division rotting our public square. An innocent man was gunned down while exercising his right to speak, and Americans of all stripes should be united in grief and in calling for justice and safety at public events. The facts of that day and the suspect’s arrest have been widely reported and must guide our response rather than fevered partisan rumor.
Instead of solemn condemnation and a sober reckoning, too many on the left rushed to smear the victim and celebrate his absence. Rep. Ilhan Omar publicly dismissed those who would defend Kirk as “full of s*” and amplified a video labeling him a “stochastic terrorist,” remarks that reeked of callousness toward his grieving family and a refusal to recognize basic decency. Republicans rightly moved to hold her accountable, with Rep. Nancy Mace filing a resolution to censure Omar for comments that crossed every line of decorum.
Democrats then rallied to shield Omar, voting to table the censure resolution by the narrowest of margins, a decision that exposed their priorities for all to see. When politics trumps principle, the public loses faith in institutions charged with upholding civility and justice. Americans who believe in equal protection under the law should be furious that a member of Congress can mock an assassination and then be protected by party leaders.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio?Cortez took the predictable progressive position, opposing a resolution to honor Charlie Kirk and using the moment to lecture about free speech and alleged harms of the measure. Her public statement framed the vote as a partisan ploy and rehashed grievances about Kirk’s views instead of offering genuine solidarity with his widow and children. This is the moral bankruptcy of modern leftism: objecting to honoring a fallen man because his politics made them uncomfortable.
Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett added fuel to the fire by pointing fingers at conservative America, blaming “MAGA” culture and even invoking hysterical comparisons to Hitler while seeming to defend harsh insults as merely political disagreement. Her attempts to downplay the seriousness of rhetoric that targets opponents and then turn the moment into a sermon about gun culture were tone deaf and irresponsible at best. This isn’t debate; it’s performative outrage that normalizes demonizing your fellow citizens.
Hardworking Americans see what’s happening: left-wing elites weaponize tragedy to silence dissent and protect their own who cross every line of decency. The proper response is not to excuse or defend cruel words from powerful lawmakers, but to demand accountability, demand civility, and demand that both parties stop turning grief into political theater. If Washington won’t police its own, then voters must, by removing from power those who cheer when an opponent is felled and by returning courage, faith, and respect for life to our public discourse.
