Maxine Waters

Maxine Moore Waters (born August 15, 1938) is the U.S. Representative for California's 43rd congressional district, and previously the 35th and 29th districts, serving since 1991. She is a member of the Democratic Party. She is one of the most senior Democrat politicians currently serving in the United States Congress, and is a member and former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. Before becoming a member of Congress she served in the California Assembly, to which she was first elected in 1976.

1990s

 * I am extremely angry, and I have no problems with saying that. You know, there comes a time when it’s all right to be angry. That’s how I feel. And I’m sure that the people that you see, no matter what you think about what they’re doing, and no matter how we would not like to see that kind of violence, you can understand the anger.
 * Remarks on the 1992 Los Angeles civil disorder, Today show (30 April 1992)


 * The anger that you see expressed out there in Los Angeles, in my district this evening, is a righteous anger, and it's difficult for me to say to the people, "Don't be angry." When people are angry and enraged, they do do senseless things. They do act even sometimes out of character, and that's why it is the responsibility of America to try and avoid putting people in these kinds of situations.
 * Nightline (30 April 1992)


 * Many other cities could go the way that Los Angeles went last night unless the president is willing to step in and take some strong action in terms of letting people know that he cares about this issue.
 * San Francisco Chronicle (1 May 1992)


 * I think we have to say it's okay to be angry. It's not all right to be violent. I know it would make people happy if I said I could wave my hand and make people behave less violently. I am not that presumptuous. We have a moral responsibility to share the resources of this country.
 * Washington Post (1 May 1992)


 * If you call it a riot, it sounds like it was just a bunch of crazy people who went out and did bad things for no reason. I maintain it was somewhat understandable, if not acceptable. So I call it a rebellion.
 * Remarks (May 1992), quoted in Los Angeles Times (29 April 2007) "Was it a 'riot,' a 'disturbance' or a 'rebellion'?" by Swati Pandey


 * Riot is the voice of the unheard.
 * Los Angeles Times (4 May 1992)

2000s

 * I don't see white police officers slamming the heads of little white boys into police cars.
 * Remarks about the police beating of Donovan Chavis, quoted in CNN.com (10 July 2002) "FBI probing videotaped beating"


 * We’ve spent $400 billion between Iraq and Afghanistan. That amounts to a couple of billion dollars a week. I stood on the floor of Congress begging, trying to get just one billion to fight HIV and AIDS, to be able to fund all the outreach programs. But we’re at a time when very smart people have been allowing this dumb-ass President of the United States [ George W. Bush] to do as he pleases.
 * Interview with Kam Williams (16 November 2002)


 * I have to march because my mother could not have an abortion.
 * mentioned 3 May 2004 by Tucker Carlson on CNN crossfire


 * The president is a liar. Dick Cheney, the chief architect of the Big Lie, is not only a liar, he is a thief.
 * The Washington Times (6 December 2005) "Inside Politics"

2010s

 * The shouting, the overrunning of the Capitol, the sneaking in of Tea Party participants into the basement of the Capitol, the name-calling, the spitting, all of that…. The Tea Party emerges as not only outrageous, but they have turned up the volume in ways that even Code Pink have not been able to do.
 * Morning Joe (31 March 2010)


 * And I want to tell you, for these members of his Cabinet who remain and try to defend him, they're not going to be able to go to a restaurant, to be able to stop at a gas station, to be able to shop at a department store. The people are going to turn on them, they're going to protest, they're going to absolutely harass them until they tell the president: 'No, I can't hang with you.'** Remarks regarding the illegal immigrant family separation crisis, quoted in The Washington Post (25 June 2018) "‘Be careful what you wish for Max!’: Trump takes aim at Waters after she calls for public harassment of his Cabinet"


 * And, as you know, there’s a difference in how some of our leadership talk about how we should handle all of this. They say, ‘Maxine, please don’t say impeachment anymore.’ And when they say that, I say impeachment, impeachment, impeachment, impeachment, impeachment, impeachment, impeachment, impeachment.
 * Mad Maxine Waters Brags That She Threatens Trump Supporters ‘All The Time’, Dailywire, 10 September 2018


 * I had a conversation here today with someone asked, ‘Well, what about Pence? If you are able to impeach, Pence will be worse. Well, I said, ‘Look, one at a time. You knock one down, and we’ll be ready for Pence. We’ll get him, too.'
 * Mad Maxine Waters Brags That She Threatens Trump Supporters ‘All The Time’, Dailywire, 10 September 2018


 * Let’s make sure we show up wherever we have to show up,” she said at a rally in Los Angeles on Saturday. “And if you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd. And you push back on them. And you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere.
 * Fortune Magazine 25 June 2018 "Fortune Magazine article"


 * Jussie is my friend - a very talented & beautiful human being. It is so hurtful that homophobic haters would dare hurt someone so loving and giving. I'm dedicated to finding the culprits and bringing them to justice. Jussie did not deserve to be harmed by anyone!
 * 29 January 2019 regarding Jussie Smollett

2020

 * It is not enough to say he was a revered civil rights icon. He was a man of impeccable integrity who dedicated his life to fighting against racism, discrimination & injustice. John was a true leader who inspired us all to have the courage to fight.
 * Quoted in Rep. John Lewis remembered for legacy of ‘good trouble’, United Press, San Diego Union-Tribune, (18 July 2020)

Quotes about Maxine Waters

 * I would say that there are a few [black politicians]-like Ron Dellums and Maxine Waters-who are not out for themselves, but for the people. But people shouldn't expect them to accomplish anything progressive without the community demanding it. The election of Maxine Waters to Congress was an important moment in our history. A progressive Black woman, solidly backed by her community, whose record as an elected official in California is strong as it can get. People in South Central Los Angeles can vouch for that. We also need organizers.
 * 1992 interview in Conversations with Angela Davis Edited by Sharon Lynette Jones (2021)