Freshman House Democrat Eric Sorensen (D-IL) came out on Twitter last week and admitted that he only voted with Republicans on a bill to cancel a Washington, D.C. law so it couldn't be used against him in later elections. 

Sorenson was among the 14 Democrats who voted with Republicans to pass the bill, but he called it a "messaging bill" that had little chance of passing the Senate or being signed into law.

The Republican resolution aimed to cancel a Washington, D.C. law that is restricting police officers in ways that are encouraging a surge in crime there.

Police are no longer allowed to use any neck restraints, and body cam footage and some police discipline records can be made public in certain circumstances.

Saying the quiet part out loud

Sorenson said the quiet part out loud about the resolution.

“Google ‘messaging bills,’" he said. "I’ve been in contact with the White House, and this bill has no chance of being signed. [Republicans] know that, and now they can’t use this vote against me in the next election.”

Some social media commenters pointed out that Sorenson looks disingenuous for voting in a way that doesn't seem consistent with his actual views.

But in his defense, Sorenson said, “I’ll always tell it like it is. The [Republicans] are specifically wasting our time with these bills, trying to divide us by going extreme and avoiding the real problems the people sent us here to do,” the congressman added. “If you have a chance, watch the last 15 seconds of the floor speech I gave this week.”

NRCC targeting soft on crime Democrats

To be sure, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is actively targeting Democrats for being soft on crime, which has been an effective strategy in special elections and the 2022 midterms.

Soft on crime policies just don't work. As of April 25, homicides and thefts in the capital are up 24%, sex crimes are up 51%, and overall crime is up 25%.

Democrats don't care about rising crime because it makes people more dependent on the government, and they can use high crime numbers to justify more spending.

Higher crime works for Democrats, which is a sad fact.

They don't care about crime victims and the impact of these crimes on individuals.

As more people become crime victims and experience these impacts, they will hopefully jump off the Democrat bandwagon and vote for candidates who will bring back reasonable law and order policies.