Allen West: Obama Campaign's 'Forward' Slogan Promotes 'Soviet Union, Marxist-Socialist Theme'

West Blasts Obama's Campaign's 'Soviet Union, Marxist-Socialist Theme'

Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) recently expanded his list of things that are based on socialism, declaring over the weekend that President Barack Obama's "Forward" campaign slogan was designed to push a "Soviet Union, Marxist-Socialist theme."

Speaking to the Republican Jewish Coalition on Sunday, West claimed the 2012 presidential election would determine "whether or not we continue to be a Republic, governed by the Constitution, and individual sovereignty, or will we become a liberal-progressive bureaucratic nanny-state."

West continued by pointing to the Obama tag line as evidence that the president wanted to take the nation down the same path as the communist-run Soviet Union, which dissolved in 1991.

"We are now $16 trillion in debt. We have 47 million Americans on food stamps. We have close to 9.5 million more Americans in three-and-a-half years on the poverty rolls. That’s not turning the corner," West said. "But yet, they want to bring out an old Soviet Union, Marxist-Socialist theme for their campaign called “Forward.” I have to ask you one simple question. Where is the Soviet Union today?"

(Remarks begin in the video above around the 40-second mark)

Murmurs spread throughout the audience, while one woman gave West an actual response.

"A mess," she said.

Think Progress notes that the alleged link between Obama's "Forward" and the rallying cries of prior socialist movements has been a frequent talking point in conservative blogs, which argue that the word has ties to a publication founded by Vladimir Lenin.

For what it's worth, "Forward" is also the name of a Jewish daily newspaper, and has been Wisconsin's motto since 1851, long before the creation of the Soviet Union.

In 2011, West called Obama a "low-level socialist agitator" well-versed in "Marxist" rhetoric. And earlier this year, West made a highly criticized comment about his Democratic congressional colleagues, charging that up to 80 of them were actually communists. He later defended this allegation.

Before You Go

The Republic Will Collapse

The World According To Allen West

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