Allen West's Tough Campaign Talk Makes It Hard to Claim Victimhood

Categories: Crime, Politics
identity burglar.jpg
Flickr
Did a Democratic blunder put Allen West at the mercy of identity thieves?
A Florida Democratic Party hit mailer about Allen West's personal financial history failed to redact the congressional candidate's Social Security number. If it really is an "oversight," as the Democrats are claiming, it's a very stupid one. If it's a deliberate invitation to a criminal to steal West's identity -- as West's campaign manager argues -- then it's even stupider, because that kind of tactic would backfire for the Democratic candidate, Ron Klein.

Either way, it's hard to feel sympathy for West, considering that he has willfully, unequivocally encouraged his own supporters to intimidate Klein by making him "scared to leave his house." 

It's hard to know the true motives of the two candidates. But it speaks volumes that the Florida Democratic Party responded to its controversy with an acknowledgement of an error and an offer to pay for two years' identity theft protection for West.

West on the other hand refused to acknowledge that it was irresponsible for him to make those remarks against Klein. Nor has he clarified the remarks by telling his pro-gun rights supporters that by no means should they use violence to intimidate Klein. Instead, he's poured even more violent metaphors into his campaign speeches, defending this habit with a shrug. "That's how men talk," he told the Palm Beach Post.

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