Thuggish Republican Allen West Says It's OK To Beat Up Peaceful Protesters

Sometimes I worry about my old pal, radio host Nicole Sandler. She keeps pressing her luck. Her district is represented by fascist Allen West and she keeps questioning him. Fascists don't like being questioned. He had her dragged out of a Florida townhall, arrested and jailed a few months ago. And this week she had the temerity to show up at his DC office with a whole bunch of other constituents to talk with him about his voting record against the middle class. You know, even before he managed to get into Congress, West was known for having been kicked out of the military for torturing a suspect he didn't like. That's why I worry about Nicole; West is a dangerous sociopath and if he can hurt her and get away with it, he will.

"It sickened me to see his name on the door of a congressional office," Nicole told me today. "Allen West should be in a military brig, not in Washington DC. I went with a group of other constituents to see him, and he refused to meet with all but four of us. Even his staff was rude, something I didn't encounter in any other office I visited. I guess that's just his leadership trickling down.

"I've invited him on my show numerous times, as he says he represents ALL of his constituents. I think that means all of his constituents who agree with his twisted way of thinking."

West, an Army veteran, became a YouTube sensation by criticizing “this tyrannical government” and crying out: “if you’re here to stand up to get your musket, to fix your bayonet, and to charge into the ranks, you are my brother and sister in this fight.” He said that the country was engaging in “class warfare” between “a producing class and an entitlement class,” which is composed of Obama supporters.

While serving in Iraq, he was forced out of the Army for his violent handling of an investigation of a police officer. During the interrogation, West dragged “him outside, pushed his head into the sand, and fired a gun next to his face to get him to sing.” According to West: “It wasn’t torture. Seeing Rosie O'Donnell naked would be torture.”

A real comedian!

Lois Frankel, the frontrunner among Democrats eager to challenge West at the polls next year, doesn't think he's very funny. After his appearance on Fox earlier this week, glorifying violence to some zombie right-wing propagandist masquerading as a journalist, against his own constituents for protesting, peacefully, at his office-- this is, after all, specifically guaranteed by the Constitution he's sworn to defend-- Mayor Frankel had a suggestion for him: "Allen West needs to re-read the copy of the constitution that he carries around in his pocket. West is there to represent all of his constituents not just the four that he let in his office." She issued an even stronger statement to West Palm voters:

Congressman West has again shown how out of touch he is with the concerns of the middle class. For Congressman West to joke about violence directed at citizens exercising their constitutional rights and expressing their outrage at a system that he helped tilt against them is disgraceful. West's contempt for working families and seniors will not create jobs for Floridians or help the country tackle the deficit responsibly. Mr West, when will you actually have the courage to defend your plan to protect billionaires at the expense of Medicare and a middle class tax break? Once again Allen West panders to the most extreme Washington elements and makes fun of the very people he is supposed to serve and represent. Congressman West's behavior proves why we need to make a change in Congress and get it working for Florida's hard pressed families. West's behavior yet again confirms that he is an arrogant elitist who embodies all that is wrong with Washington.

The is an important race-- a Democratic district with one of the most-- if not the most extreme right-- Member of Congress. The one percent is running their own candidate in the Democratic primary, "former" (he switched party registration a few months ago so he could run) Republican Patrick Murphy. If it's an Allen vs Murphy face-off, the one percent wins-- and laughs. Lois Frankel has a record of standing up for the middle class and working families. Allen West and Patrick Murphy don't. When Allen West becomes a fulltime Fox commentator in 2013, let's make sure he's replaced by a real Democrat, not a rich Blue Dog type. And, yes, West is already practicing for his new role: "I’m very concerned about this very divisive rhetoric the president is using when he continues to talk about ‘equality’ and ‘fairness’ and this thing that I think is really contrary to the principles that I mentioned, as far as life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. Because the government cannot guarantee happiness."


UPDATE: Patrick Murphy Fundraiser

If you're a wealthy Republican-- but like a mainstream one, not a crazy one-- you might want to consider going to Patrick Murphy's fundraiser at Morgan & Ibrahim Al-Rashid home at 2443 Fisher Island Drive on Fisher Island this Tuesday evening. Minimum contribution is $500 but you get to schmooze with that great Democratic fighter for progressive values, ex-Governor Charlie Crist, perhaps more of a Democrat than Murphy is.