Fact check: How many members of congress support socialism and communism

1. Summary of the results

Based on the available analyses, there is no definitive count of how many members of Congress explicitly support socialism and communism. However, several key data points emerge:

• 86 Democrats voted against a House resolution denouncing socialism, while 109 Democrats voted in favor and 14 voted "present" ^{[1] [2]}
• The resolution passed with a bipartisan vote of 327-62 or 328-86-14 (depending on the source), indicating that a significant majority of Congress members oppose socialism ^{[3] [2]}
• Specific members identified as democratic socialists include Representatives Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Cori Bush, who voted against the anti-socialism resolution ^[2]
• One source references a list of socialist members of Congress, both current and past, who have either declared themselves socialists or been members of socialist organizations ^[4]

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question lacks important nuance and context:

• Distinction between socialism and communism: The analyses show these are treated as separate ideologies, with different levels of congressional support. The Crucial Communism Teaching Act received overwhelming bipartisan support (327-62), suggesting near-universal opposition to communism ^[3]
• Democratic socialism vs. socialism: Many members labeled as "socialist" are actually democratic socialists, which represents a different political philosophy than traditional socialism ^[2]
• Voting patterns don't equal endorsement: Members who voted against anti-socialism resolutions may have done so for procedural reasons or concerns about the resolution's language, not necessarily because they support socialism ^[1]
• Historical vs. current members: The question doesn't specify whether it's asking about current members only or includes historical figures ^[4]

Political motivations also influence this narrative:

• Republican leadership benefits from portraying Democratic opponents as socialist to mobilize conservative voters
• Progressive Democrats may benefit from embracing socialist labels to energize their base
• Moderate Democrats are caught between distancing themselves from socialism while not alienating progressive allies

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question contains several problematic assumptions:

• False equivalency: Treating socialism and communism as identical ideologies, when congressional voting patterns show they are viewed very differently by lawmakers (p2_s1 vs p2_s2)
• Oversimplification: The question assumes clear-cut "support" when the reality involves complex political positioning, procedural votes, and varying degrees of ideological alignment
• Loaded framing: The phrasing suggests there are significant numbers of Congress members who actively "support" these ideologies, when the evidence shows explicit communist support is virtually non-existent and socialist support is limited to a small progressive faction

The question appears designed to elicit a sensational answer rather than understand the nuanced political landscape of congressional ideologies. Conservative sources would benefit from inflating these numbers to paint Democrats as radical, while progressive sources might benefit from either embracing or minimizing these labels depending on their strategic goals.