Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California illustrates precisely why so many Americans hold their elected officials in contempt.
Rather than rage at them, however, we often find it healthier to mock those officials. And no one provides more unintentional-yet-cathartic comic relief than Waters.
Testifying Wednesday before the House Financial Services Committee, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent asked if Waters could “maintain some level of dignity” after the lawmaker, in her typically self-important fashion, adopted a bellicose tone while trying in vain to silence him.
The exchange followed a tedious monologue in which Waters “questioned” Bessent on tariffs and inflation.
Of course, veteran observers of congressional hearings know why the word “questioned” belongs in quotation marks. At no point did Waters seek anything but a “yes” or “no” response from the Treasury secretary.
When Bessent did try to elaborate, the lawmaker howled like a banshee: “Reclaiming my time! Reclaiming my time!”
Exasperated taxpayers must demand an end to such spectacles. After all, Waters hardly qualifies as the only leftist female legislator who behaves like a buffoon during these hearings.
By the end of the “questioning,” Bessent had had enough. So he decided to keep talking over the clownish congresswoman.
Waters, who had no interest in Bessent’s answers, tried desperately to silence him.
“Mr. Chair, will you let him know that I asked for my time to be reclaimed,” Waters said.
But Bessent paid no attention.
“Can you shut him up?” she asked seconds later.
“And can you maintain some level of dignity?” the smiling Treasury secretary replied.
Readers may watch the entire spectacle in the YouTube video below. The relevant exchange began around the 4:25 mark.
The mere fact that Waters holds elected office should, in a mood of severity, make us question democratic self-government.
In a lighter mood, however, we might thank Waters for this and all the other times her futile assertions of self-importance and privilege provided unintentional comedy. Indeed, people who take themselves as seriously as she does tend to have that effect.
For instance, who can forget the stoic security guard who withstood a haranguing from Waters while denying her and other Democrats access to the Department of Education building in February 2025?
Likewise, who can forget the federal official who closed a door in Waters’ face last summer?
In short, sane Americans despise our elected legislators with intensity, and Democrats in particular do so much evil, that it feels good to laugh at those who, like Waters, seem oblivious to their own ludicrousness.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
