One often hears the endless rants of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz (D-Fl.), the new chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, wailing about liberal causes to the cameras of C-SPAN from the floor of the House of Representatives. In the recent spat between Wasserman Shultz and Congressman West, the congressional Democrats are rallying to show their support for Wasserman Shultz. Now Republicans need to step up to the plate and rally behind a true leader, Congressman Allen West (R-Fl).
On July 18, Wasserman Shultz utilized false scare tactics on the House floor, to excoriate fellow Floridian Congressman West behind his back, for supporting the GOP Cut, Cap and Balance Act alleging that it would “end Medicare as we know it” in order to frighten senior citizens. Targeting West, she said: “Incredulously, the gentleman from Florida, who represents thousands of Medicare beneficiaries, as do I, is supportive of this plan that would increase costs for Medicare beneficiaries. Unbelievable for a member from South Florida.” She went on to play class warfare word games criticizing the bill for “rewarding the wealthy at the expense of our seniors and working families” just as did the Bush tax cuts, she claimed. Without the opportunity to defend himself on the floor, Congressman West immediately fired back a blunt email in response to this apparent stab in the back, after enduring a long string of insults from the congresswoman who serves in the neighboring district in South Florida.
In his email to Wasserman Shultz and the House leadership of both parties, he asked her to address her floor comments directly to his face, not after he departed, “otherwise, shut the heck up.” He said she is “the most vile, unprofessional, and despicable member of the US House of Representatives.” Referring to the history of her relentless past attacks, he asserted that she has proven repeatedly that she is “not a Lady” and he said “understand that I shall defend myself forthright against your heinous characterless behavior……which dates back to the disgusting protest you ordered at my campaign hqs, October 2010 in Deerfield Beach.”
The antagonism between Wasserman Shultz and West goes back to that date in the 2010 congressional campaign when she was an ally of West’s opponent former Rep. Ron Klein, (D-Fl) whom West defeated. It started when she led the protest rally outside the headquarters where she blasted his monthly columns in a biker magazine, “Wheels on the Road,” a publication which features some scantily clad women. During the rally she said: “He thinks it's OK to objectify and denigrate women. He thinks it's OK to take away our reproductive freedom. He thinks it's OK to associate with people who refer to women as oral relief stations.”
In addition to her continued smears as the West campaign began to mount a real threat to Klein’s seat, West’s comments are honest and right on the mark in characterizing Chairwoman Wasserman Shultz’s new role as attack dog of the DNC. She revoltingly played the race card recently, charging the GOP with racism for advocating new requirements for voters to show photo ID’s when registering to vote in order to combat rampant voter fraud, by saying Republicans “want to literally drag us all the way back to Jim Crow laws.”
Jim Crow laws were discriminatory practices of the segregationist South after the period of Reconstruction which required blacks to sit in the back of buses and use separate restaurants, rest rooms and water fountains. It was a deliberate mean-spirited attack to compare these bigoted practices with the sensible GOP proposal to show photo ID’s, which are now required throughout society from the DMV to airports to the public library.
Her inflammatory performances accusing Republicans of racism and sexism make even fellow Democrats shudder. As her verbal assaults continue to fly, she stated that if they had the chance, Republicans would reinstate segregation and that they are “waging a war on women” while the facts show quite the opposite, that Michele Bachmann, Sarah Palin and other extraordinary women are the shining stars of the GOP today.
In an interview with Stuart Varney on the O’Reilly Factor on Fox News, Congressman West asserted that he would not apologize for his remarks. Both Varney and O’Reilly came to West’s defense saying he has the right to defend his honor against Wasserman Shultz. Most everybody else seems to think so, except for the liberal Democrats on Capitol Hill. In the latest poll of the Sun Sentinel, a South Florida newspaper with a largely Democrat reader base, over 11,000 readers responded to the question: “Has Allen West gone too far with his criticism of Debbie Wasserman Schultz?” 83% responded saying: “No way. Allen West says it like it is. You go, Congressman. We love you,” while only 2% responded saying: “Yes. West should publicly apologize immediately, if he has any class at all.”
However, Rep. Bruce Braley, (D-Iowa) is showing his support for Wasserman Shultz by wearing a pink button that reads “We Stand With The Lady” and made hundreds of them which he is distributing to congressional Democrats, who are likewise supporting Wasserman Shultz, some of whom are demanding an apology.
However this shows how the Democrats are out of touch with the public majority who see a man of character and principle standing up righteously to defend his honor, who should not apologize for his candid remarks. In fact the congressional Republicans should immediately break their silence and show their support for Congressman West by public statement or by distributing red, white and blue buttons that read: “We Stand With The Gentleman From Florida.”
Beyond the war of words between Wasserman Shultz and West, we see two diametrically opposed visions of America. Wasserman Shultz, a career politician has been living off the taxpayers since she began her career first as a Representative and later a Senator in the Florida State Legislature. She acts as the poster child for the blame and victimization games, often seen crying out for more at the public trough, aiming her animus at Republicans for throwing women, minorities, the poor and seniors under the bus. On the other hand West, who served his country for 22 years in the Armed Forces, a true leader of moral fiber and principle has a different vision of America, one that harkens back to our foundational and pioneering spirit as Americans. But he also is a man of honor who will fight back and valiantly stand against vile smears and despicable charades of political grandstanding and we need to show that we all stand with the gentleman from Florida.
FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributor Phil Orenstein is a Republican County Committeeman from Queens, N.Y. and a manufacturing systems manager at Orics Industries Inc., NY. He blogs at Democracy-Project.com.
