Allen West created an apparent controversy when he stated at a Florida event, “I believe there’s about 78 to 81 members of the Democratic Party that are members of the Communist Party.” Democrats decried West’s comment–and even the Communist Party USA slammed the Florida congressman.
However, West is not backing down, sticking with his claim even though he won’t name specific names.
“The Congressman was referring to the 76 members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus,” West’s communications directors writes in an email. “The Communist Party has publicly referred to the Progressive Caucus as its allies. The Progressive Caucus speaks for itself. These individuals certainly aren’t proponents of free markets or individual economic freedom.”
West’s spokesman refers to the Communist Party’s own website. Specifically, this paragraph, the spokesman says:
The implication is that the Communist group claims to have unnamed “allies” in Congress. It appears, too, that they are referring to the Progressive Caucus and John Conyers. The context is the single payer health coverage proposal supported by a number of Democratic members of the House, and which also seems to be supported by Communist Party USA.
The Progressive Caucus itself makes up almost a third of the Democratic members of the House of Representatives. Prominent members include: Barney Frank, Charlie Rangel, Dennis Kucinich, and Maxine Waters.
