WASHINGTON ( AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine isn’t taking kindly to being called a communist.
Republican Rep. Allen West of Florida said this week that he believes 75-plus House Democrats are members of the Communist Party. He was referring to members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, to which Pingree belongs.
Pingree tweeted Thursday that she’s a “proud progressive, not a communist.”
In a formal statement, she said name-calling does “nothing to help members of Congress bridge their differences.” And just to be perfectly clear, she says, “I am not now and never have been a member of the Communist Party.”
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