The late Rush Limbaugh called shit like that symbolism over substance. That is one of the things he got half right.
I don't know why the right gets all het up over it. Symbolic gestures are rooted in nice thoughts and spread good will. They are roughly the liberal equivalent, serve pretty much the same purpose, and are about as equally effective as sending thoughts and prayers.
I think people on the right get upset about it because it’s the SOP for a lot of liberals in office.
Having a bleeding heart and wanting to help people is good.
Putting shitty symbolic half baked policies into law that favor criminals at the expense of the law abiding is bad. Same goes for some of the bad legislature around the environment and pollution and other regulations.
Activity doesn’t equal accomplishment. Virtue signaling is just that: a signal. It accomplishes nothing. It is posturing in its purest form and is a complete waste of time and energy. Pass good legislation and strike a balance.