I was not familiar with retired Army Lt. Col. Allen West until today -- he is running for a Republican congressional seat in Florida in the upcoming 2010 election. He is a fiery and articulate speaker and a staunch conservative opposed to the current administration's policies and the direction of the country. I'm posting the following two videos simply as information since we'll likely hear his name in the coming months.
You can read the Wikipedia article about him which provides some detail about alleged aggressive interrogation tactics in Iraq which resulted in charges and his ultimate retirement from the military. Ninety-five members of Congress signed a letter to the Secretary of the Army in support of Col. West after his "forced" retirement. But he nonetheless has this affair on his record. My fear is that he might ultimately go the way of Allen Keyes -- a fiery African-American whose message was too strong for the public to swallow. He seems genuine, but unfortunately too naive and unsophisticated in the ways of Washington-world. He makes some good points but his hard-core military style won't resonate with a lot of folks -- just a first impression. But we'll see what happens.
Here is the six-minute video of a speech he gave recently that went viral on the Internet and raised his public profile: (In case you're not sure what his reference to "the President at Home Depot" refers to -- a few days ago President Obama's entourage went to a Home Depot to talk about people insulating their homes better; how "insulation is sexy." I was embarrassed for Obama when I read about the trip and his remarks.)
(Addendum: For those who don't know me well, I need to clarify that my hopes for the future are built on "nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness." I put no trust at all in human governors to do either the right or righteous thing, try as they might. Indeed, I fear all political efforts are akin to straightening the deck chairs on the Titanic. That said, I am more than willing to thank them for their efforts when their acts and intents overlap those of God (as Samuel Rutherford outlined in Lex Rex in 1644). Also, I feel the responsibility to participate in the political process as intelligently as I can and so like to be aware of those on the playing field. I post videos like these purely for informational purposes -- not as an endorsement. If you know anything more about this particular candidate I'd be happy to hear from you.)
Here is a video of an interview with Col. West by Sean Hannity (of whom I am not a big fan for various reasons) after West's speech went viral:
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