Florida's 18th US Congressional District: Another Clear Choice

With Election Day and all of the political races heating up and drawing to the grand finale, much of the focus has been on the Presidential Race.  However, among the other most closely watched races, financed heavily by the left against Republicans, is the newly created US House seat identified as Florida’s 18th US Congressional District.

In that race, freshman US Representative Allen West is facing political newcomer Patrick Murphy.  I thought I’d take a closer look at that race and share my thoughts.

Make no mistake about it; Allen West is making waves and powerful enemies in DC.  The proof of that bears out in the millions of PAC dollars and attack ads against him.  The liberals hate him, and have accused him of everything from beating up seniors and hating women to torturing an insurgent in a war zone, and twisting lots of other stuff to mar his record and good name.

In reality, Allen West is a proven leader who is not afraid to do what needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.  Case in point is the much ballyhooed incident in Iraq in which a detainee, insurgent, enemy, or whatever else one cares to call him had information concerning an imminent attack against then Lt. Colonel West’s unit.  The ‘sanitized’ interrogation methods being utilized up to the point where Allen West stepped in were simply not working, and the ‘intel’ was desperately needed immediately.  Therefore, Allen West took matters into his own hands; essentially, he removed the insurgent from the interrogation area and discharged a pistol round near his head, likely causing a bit of tinnitus.  Was this an approved technique?  No it was not.  In fact, Lt. Colonel West broke the rules, and he knew it was going to cost his career dearly.  

However, as soon as possible after the incident, West informed his superiors of his actions and prepared to face the consequences for those actions.  And the punishment was harsh; he had to resign his commission and pay a hefty fine.

The other side of that story is real simple to grasp, even for those that may not care for Allen West.  The action resulted in the attack being thwarted, and all of the men and women in his unit returned home to loved ones.  All of them got a second chance to enjoy watching their children and families grow, attend weddings, spend time with friends, have a career, laugh and cry, and do all of the other things life has to offer.  No wife, child, parent, relative, or friend of anyone in his unit had to suffer through the lifetime anguish of a lost loved one.  Allen West didn’t and doesn’t have to look anyone in the face and say, “…I’m sorry for your loss, but rules are rules.” 

The incident has been spun to make Allen West look like some sort of a war criminal.  I believe it can be said without fear of contradiction, that no one in his unit and none of those families and friends would call his actions criminal.  In fact, I believe anyone with half an ounce of common sense and patriotism will recognize this as the act of a true leader and hero.  It was the right thing to do.

There are a lot of other issues in this race, but any soldier or officer, be they man or woman, with the integrity and willingness to risk it all to save the life of their comrades in arms…that is the kind of individual we need sitting in the highest leadership positions in the land.   

Just as with the presidential race, the choice in this race is very clear; a proven leader willing to do the right thing, or an inexperienced candidate that relies on smear tactics, talking points, and his father's money.