Rep. Maxine Waters: ‘The tea party can go straight to hell’

California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters, who had some tough words for the leaders of her own party last week, took aim at the other side on Saturday, saying that the tea party could "go straight to hell."
"I'm not afraid of anybody," Waters said at a weekend community meeting in Inglewood, California. "This is a tough game. You can't be intimidated. You can't be frightened. And as far as I'm concerned, the tea party can go straight to hell."
 At a job fair in Detroit last week, the 11-term congresswoman said that black members of Congress were growing "tired" of defending President Barack Obama in the face of high unemployment rates.
"We do not put pressure on the president because y'all love the president," Waters said. "You are very proud to have a black man as president for the very first time in the history of the United States of America. ... The Congressional Black Caucus loves the president, too. We're supportive of the president, but we're getting tired. We're getting tired. The unemployment is unconscionable. We don't know what the strategy is."

Rep. Maxine Waters says blacks want Obama to get tough

The L.A. Democrat says unhappiness with the president is rising among African Americans who want him to stand up to Republicans and fight for the poor.

 

• August 18, 2011|By Michael Muskal, Los Angeles TimesAs far as Rep. Maxine Waters in concerned, it is time for President Obama to get tough with Republicans and put together proposals that help the poor and especially the hard-hit African American community.
  Speaking at a job fair in Atlanta on Thursday, the fiery Los Angeles Democrat said there was rising unhappiness among African Americans with the nation's first black president.