Opinion: McGovern condemns QAnon, conspiracy theories
The House has passed, by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 371 to 18, a resolution condemning QAnon and the rampant conspiracy theories it promotes.
Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA), Chairman of the House Rules Committee, spoke in support of the bill, H. Res. 1154, which condemns the dangerous delusion known as QAnon and rejects the conspiracy theories it promotes. McGovern also spoke in favor of H. Res. 1153, which condemns forced medical procedures performed on detained immigrants without their consent, which follows a whistleblower complaint regarding a facility in the state of Georgia.
McGovern’s full remarks are available to watch here and are transcribed, as delivered, below:
“Madam Speaker, I want to thank the distinguished member of the Rules Committee, Ms. Scanlon, for yielding me the time. I rise in strong support of this rule and the underlying resolutions.
“We must pass the resolution from Congresswoman Jayapal. Medical procedures being done on immigrants without their consent harkens back to a dark time in our nation’s history, when medical abuse against the poor and people of color happened again and again.
“I rise today, though, to discuss the bipartisan resolution condemning the collective delusion known as QAnon.
“I don’t say that description lightly, Madam Speaker. But we must call it what it is: a sick cult.
“We are not talking about a group of people with just some differing political views. Americans respect political disagreement.
“But what we do not respect – and what this House should not tolerate – are people using conspiracy theories from the darkest corners of the internet to spread hate and lies.
“QAnon isn’t some harmless distraction – it’s an extremist ideology that exploits exploited children and opens the door to real-life violence. That is what we are talking about here.
“Reality vs. delusion.
“Political discussion vs. political violence.
“Just ask the sponsor of this resolution, Congressman Malinowski. In an interview that was published yesterday, he talked about the death threats and hundreds of hate-filled attacks sent to him from QAnon supporters after introducing this bill.
“He’s not the only Member that’s been targeted. And sadly, there are candidates across the country running to serve in Congress that peddle this trash. It is sick. It is wrong. And it is dangerous.
“It’s frustrating that the President wouldn’t condemn QAnon. He says they like him. But then again, I never thought I’d see the day when a President of the United States would tell a white supremacist group to “stand down and stand by” in a national debate.
“He didn’t use a dog whistle. He used a blowhorn!
“Extreme views like these are dangerous. Are we really going to stand by and do nothing, Madam Speaker?
“That’s not who we are as a nation. And all of us – all of us – especially my Republican colleagues, must condemn QAnon or risk being complicit in their dangerous hate peddling. Let’s make it crystal clear that this sick and twisted ideology.
“I yield back the balance of my time.”
