House Resolution 784, "Honoring the 2560th anniversary of the birth of Confucius and recognizing his invaluable contributions to philosophy and social and political thought" turned out to be controversial for 60 different House members.
While 361 voted "Yes" - 47 voted against the resolution, and another 13 members voted "Present."
Democrats split 234-12-2 on Confucius and his legacy, while Republicans voted 127-35-11 on it. Here is a list of the 47 "Nays".
Akin (R-MO), Altmire (D-PA), Barton (R-TX), Berry (D-AR), Boccieri (D-OH), Broun (R-GA), Burgess (R-TX), Camp (R-MI), Carter (R-TX), Chaffetz (R-UT), Conaway (R-TX), Davis (R-KY), Davis (D-TN), Driehaus (D-OH), Ellsworth (D-IN), Emerson (R-MO), Flake (R-AZ), Fleming (R-LA), Graves (R-MO), Hoekstra (R-MI), Johnson (R-IL), Johnson (R-TX), Jordan (R-OH), LaTourette (R-OH), Latta (R-OH), Marchant (R-TX), Massa (D-NY), Matheson (D-UT), Mica (R-FL), Miller (R-FL), Platts (R-NE), Poe (R-TX), Radanovich (R-CA), Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Shadegg (R-AZ), Shimkus (R-IL), Simpson (R-ID), Skelton (D-MO), Souder (R-IN), Space (D-OH), Taylor (D-MS), Tiberi (R-OH), Walden (R-OR), Westmoreland (R-GA), Wilson (D-OH), Young (R-AK) and Young (R-FL).
That's a lot of "No" votes, considering that no one spoke against the resolution during debate on Tuesday.
Confucius wasn't very popular in the state of Ohio, where eight members of that state's delegation voted against the resolution. That is almost half of the state's 18 members in the U.S. House.
Next was Texas, where seven lawmakers from that state voted no.
How about the "Confucius 13" who voted "Present"?
Brown-Waite (R-FL), Burton (R-IN), Buyer (R-IN), Campbell (R-CA), Donnelly (D-IN), Fallin (R-OK), Fortenberry (R-TX), Foxx (R-NC), Marshall (D-GA), McHenry (R-GA), Neugebauer (R-TX), Nunes (R-CA) and Roe (R-TN).
So there you go. 60 members of the House who weren't too keen on voting for a resolution on Confucius.
Why? Well, one of the "No" voters said it was simply a "protest vote" against the idea of doing resolutions like that, instead of being focused on health care, Afghanistan or other legislation.
I figured I should go find a Confucius quote to finish up this blog entry.
"Without feelings of respect, what is there to distinguish men from beasts?"
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