Allen West Backpedals, Challenges Me to a Debate

By Brandon K. Thorp Thu., Feb. 10 2011 at 5:01 AM

Allen West

Did I call it, or did I call it? Last week, in this very space, I predicted Congressman Allen West would retract his feeble support of the pro-democracy Egyptian protesters when he learned how very, very much they were disliked by the conservative Israeli punditry.

And lookit this! In his most recent weekly e-missive, West wrote:

[T]he events in Egypt and all across the Middle East are a grave concern for America and our greatest ally, Israel. Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. It was 1979 when this played out in Iran and I was a senior in high school. And here we are with a parallel situation in Egypt as my oldest daughter is a high school senior.

No question, we ought to worry about a conservative, theocratic takeover of Egypt. Thankfully, it's unlikely to happen -- the mean level of religiosity in Egypt is significantly lesser than that in yesteryear's Iran, and Egyptians have far fewer reasons to loathe America than did the Persians who embraced the Ayatollah. But, oh well. West isn't a nuance guy.

Elsewhere in his missive, West tossed off a few shockingly sane lines about oil consumption ("How much longer shall we go on sending our taxpayer dollars to those who seek our destruction?") that made me almost like the guy, until I remembered he'd called me out a few paragraphs earlier. "I want to offer a simple message to those who support radical Islamists and liberal progressives," West wrote:

No amount of personal attacks will result in my reticence in speaking the principled truth... To those accusing me of not being "politically correct," here is a simple challenge: Meet me on the stage for an intellectual debate.

As a matter of housecleaning, I should point out that no "liberal progressives" of my acquaintance support "radical Islam," since radical religion of all kinds is anathema to the spirit of liberality. And I should also point out that nobody dislikes you, Mr. West, for your lack of political correctness. More, it's your shocking intellectual dishonesty, your creepy fixation on the Old Testament, and your antipathy for a two-state solution in Palestine that gets on our nerves.

Despite your inability to grasp this distinction, I'll happily take you up on your offer. Provided you promise not to have me beaten and/or discharge a gun near my head. Where shall we do it? Your place or mine?

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Tags:

Allen West, debate

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Donadef97

West and his ilk are hypocrites; they shoot their mouths out about wanting to sprout democracy in the Middle East and then when it happens, they duck and run for cover. Virgil is right, West is a Zionist stooge, he has no idea what the living conditions are like for the average man, woman and child in Egypt, oh, and West is also a God fearing Christian also. What a gun totin liar, only got elected cause of Joyce Kaufman's big mouth.

Daniel Thomas Pryor

I like this dude, West. He uses superfluous words in an obvious effort to sound well educated and highly informed. I'd be quite interested in seeing anything that could resemble an intelligent debate, where Mr. West is concerned.

Diogenes6670

And how about West's outright dishonesty? Here, on his official government website, he claims to be "the" keynote speaker at the Conservative Political Action Conference which runs today through Saturday: http://west.house.gov/press-re...

In reality, he's no more than the closing speaker. Scroll to the very bottom of the CPAC agenda: http://www.conservative.org/wp...

Anyone who's ever attended any conference or convention knows well how few attendees that final speaker gets to address. C'mon, Congressman, stop the self-aggrandizement and be honest with us!

SaltyDog

nanook

having already seen west's shallow inanity in person, i would dearly love to see him in a debate with anyone that actually understands what his job is, because he doesn't, and his followers are too busy declaring that he should run for president instead of asking him to stand for something. (how palinesque.) please ask him to explain the graph he brought to his townhall meetings that showed what the national debt would look like in 2081. if he has a time machine, he needs to be open and transparent about it.

WESTSUX

Allen WestZERO Sponsored Legislation. (Great Representation)http://west.house.gov/legislat...That which he cosponsors is offensive, inconsequential, or alters the constitution he so worships.This man does not represent the interests of South Florida.

Virgil Starkwell

As I have been saying for over 6 months, West is a Zionist stooge. He does not support democracy in Egypt because a true democratic uprising is not in the best interests of his zionist masters, who prefer instead to support a despot like Mubarak, who sold his own people out.

The masses in Egypt reject Zionism and support the Palestinians in their quest to be treated like human beings. (Which they are not)

If you are a true patriot, you support true democracy in Egypt and throughout the Middle East. There is nothing patriotic about Zionism.

Zionism is akin to fascism.

Imjustsayin

Absolutely Correct! He lost any opportunity at being able to rationally view the world when he refused to wear his mind-ray blocking tin-foil hat in 1985. The Easter bunny would have his ass if he supported the Egyptian street...look how they treat Coptic Christians who have been practicing their faith in Egypt for 600 years before Mohammed was even born.Plus Jesus, the Aliens, and the Bilderbergers who control them ( all of whom secretly know that every single issue concerning broke, maltreated, jobless Egyptians MUST ultimately boil down to their feelings about Israel) would probably remove their support for Mister West if he stopped playing Curley to their bloodthirsty, Zionistic Shep (and the three stooges were also jewish...kinda makes you go "hmmmm?")I'm glad that in a complicated, tumultous, geopolitical world with competing spheres of influence and centers of gravity that you, Virgil, could see through the illusory smokescreen to reveal to us that it really DOES all boil down to the evil Zionists.At first I thought your post was a serious attempt at intellectual mockery, but now I see that when it comes to an intelligent conversation, this is a holdup. So, may I see your gun?

nanook

your conspiratorial, "protocols of the elders" of zionism is a little different than what virgil is talking about. you can ask any one of allen west's supporters about how they view an issue in the middle east and it will all come down to protecting israel at all costs. calling someone zionist is not anti-semitic; most zionists in america are christian. still; a zionist is willing to oppress & murder whoever it takes to maintain the israeli status quo. some of them (now maybe not all in this case) believe that the bible says that any peace treaty in israel will be brokered by the anti-christ and must not come to pass.

to summarize: boycott, divest, sanction!

get off his back

West was sworn in just one month ago and has accomplished more and presented more town halls than Klein in the four years his behind warmed the seat in DC.

Diogenes6670

What has West "accomplished?" And how many Town Halls has he presented?

nanook

allen west's TEATASTIC achievements so far: extending the patriot act (FAILED), blocking healthcare reform (FAILED), forcing the UN to refund security funds (FAILED). obama has done terribly at creating jobs, dealing with taxes, and lowering the debt, but these are supposedly the only & only focus of TEA and they have done nothing!!!