Allen West: 'The president is a Marxist'

Tea party Rep. Allen West (R-FL) said this week that President Barack Obama was intentionally crippling the U.S. economy because he was a "marxist" and a "socialist."

"President Obama's policies have had a devastating effect on our economy, not just unemployment but investment," conservative radio host Michael Berry told West Monday.

"The whole gambit," West agreed.

"Do you think that President Obama, that the negative result of his policies and the destruction in his wake is inadvertent because he's inept or do you think -- as some people increasingly believe and as Rush Limbaugh has suggested -- that this is intentional?"

"It is intentional," West declared. "It is intentional because this is who the president is. The president is a Marxist because he believes in the separation of classes. We have never heard a president in the United States of America speak as he is. And when you have a national leader -- you look throughout history -- when you have a national leader that demonizes a certain segment of the society and attacks them, it has never ended up well. Yet, that is what we have. He is a socialist because he believes in nationalizing production."

The congressman's criticisms weren't confined to the president of the United States. He also said that Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) "needs a debate team," and Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) was "off the ranch."

As for fellow Floridian Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, West said he would "need a bucket" just to discuss her.

Watch this video from The Michael Berry Show, broadcast Sept. 26, 2011.