Republican tweets 
that Dems ‘lost a true believer’ in Chavez

Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas) suggested in a hastily deleted tweet Tuesday afternoon that Democrats had "lost a true believer" with the passing of Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez.

"Chavez nationalized oil companies, censored opposition media and banned guns. Democrats lost a true believer," Stockman posted to his Twitter account.

The post was deleted three seconds later, but archived by Politwoops, a website that chronicles deleted tweets from politicians.

Stockman, who returned to Congress this year, has made waves in his first few months in office. In February, he invited rocker Ted Nugent to the State of the Union address. Earlier that month, House officials ordered Stockman to remove his "Obama Failometer" scoreboard from a Cannon House Office Building hallway.

Stockman's tweet was not the only controversial lawmaker reaction posted to social media. The Republican National Committee seized on a tweet praising Chavez posted by Rep. Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.) shortly after the Venezuelan leader's death.

"Hugo Chavez was a leader that understood the needs of the poor," Serrano wrote. "He was committed to empowering the powerless. R.I.P. Mr. President."

A spokeswoman for the RNC called that tweet "simply insulting."

"Chavez systematically cracked down on the basic freedom and liberties of Venezuelans, nationalized private industries, and befriended anti-American dictators like Castro, Ahmadinejad and Assad. Americans should stand together with the freedom loving people of Venezuela as they hope for a peaceful transition to a democracy, instead of praising the former dictator," the RNC statement read.

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