My Next Congressman?

Below is a video of a remarkable speech made by Congressional Candidate Lt. Col. Allen West that is going viral.



The speech includes some pretty strong rhetoric, including talk of a "producing class vs an entitlement class" and the idea of "taking the country back" and grabbing your "bayonets". I guess he is just another one of those "teabagging rednecks", as Janeane Garofalo likes to say.

I reviewed his website (which could use some work), and it is clear that he is a fairly consistent small government conservative, except for the fact that he is in favor of nationalizing the windstorm insurance market, a proposal also known as "bailouts for beach houses". Given the geography of the district, which hugs the coast from Northern Palm Beach county down into Broward County, I guess he can be forgiven. The other thing that is striking about the website is that it includes an entire section on Israel. Again, being outspokenly pro-Israel is perhaps another pre-requisite for winning this seat. On foreign policy, he is decidedly hawkish, calling for an end to the "PC non-sense" when it comes to fighting the war on terror, while also arguing that "we must get away from occupation warfare and nation building".

He is certainly one to watch.