'I'm A Capitalist': Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters Denies Being A 'Socialist' When Pressed During House Committee Meeting
Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters insisted she is not a “socialist” this week when pressed about her past threats to nationalize certain industries in the country, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Waters’ remarks came during a House Rules Committee hearing on Tuesday after GOP House Rep. Maria Salazar of Florida introduced H. Con. Res. 9 – a resolution that would denounce the “horrors of socialism” allegedly plaguing the nation.
During the House Rules Committee’s discussion of the proposed resolution, GOP House Rep. Chip Roy of Texas spoke out against socialism in the United States and emphasized the “famine, mass murder, and various crimes against humanity” that could result from the ideology.
"We can go around and around in circles about trying to talk about and defining socialism,” Congressman Roy said, “but at its core I was intrigued by an op-ed that I saw not too long ago by a Democrat from Cuba commenting on one of our colleagues, an avowed socialist, and essentially pointing out the extent to which democratic socialism is a lot like the system my family fled except its proponents promised to be nicer when seizing your business.”
“That’s the truth," Roy continued in support of the proposed resolution. "We can talk about these terms as if they don't matter, but they do. They do matter. They're actually at the core of who we are."
The Texas congressman then turned to Waters, who serves as a ranking member of the committee, and questioned her regarding a remark she made in 2008 in which she seemingly expressed support for “socializing” U.S. oil companies.
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"I’ve got one question for the ranking member,” he pressed. “Ranking Member Waters, in a 2008 hearing you said quote: ‘And guess what, this liberal will be all about? This liberal will be all about socializing – would be about basically taking over the government and the government running all of your companies’ end quote.”
"Simple question: Do you stand by that statement?" House Rep. Roy asked Waters directly.
"You claim that socialism has engulfed this country, that it keeps creeping, that it's gonna take over private businesses, etc., etc., that is not happening," Waters quickly responded.
"I’m not a socialist, I’m a capitalist and I commit to you that I am here to save Social Security, to save Medicare, to save seniors and veterans and for some of you who have adopted certain kinds of ways that you support what you now claim is socialism,” Waters added. “I’m here to say to you, come on.”
Roy was referencing a 2008 conversation Waters had with former Shell Oil President John Hofmeister, according to Fox News.
During a hearing at the time between Congress and oil executives about rising gas prices, Waters demanded “guarantees” regarding how oil companies like Shell would drop the cost of gasoline if permitted to drill for more oil.
After Hofmeister explained that gasoline prices would inevitably rise if oil companies were barred from finding new reserves to drill, Waters indicated she would support "the government running all of your [oil] companies."
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, this is the second incident in a matter of days in which Democratic House Rep. Waters came under scrutiny.
On Wednesday, Waters was criticized and accused of nepotism after it was revealed her daughter recently earned more than $192,000 for running the congresswoman’s slate mailer operation.