After watching several video clips on Wednesday of fellow black lawmakers attack the tea party, Rep. Allen West, Florida Republican, told Fox and Friends host Steve Doocy,to think about is reconsidering my membership in the Congressional Black Caucus.”
This remark came from Rep. West, a popular lawmaker among tea party activists, happened after a clip was played of Rep. Andre. Carson, Indiana Democrat, told an audience in Miami that tea-party supporting members of Congress look at African Americans as “second-class citizens” and would like to see them “hanging on a tree.”
Congressman West immediately defended the tea party. “I think what you see is a desire to not recognize some of the serious problems in the black community,” Congressman West said. “To try to have a scapegoat that is the Tea Party… that’s just a distraction. The Tea Party stands for some basic, constitutional principles.”
The Florida Republican also called Rep. Carson’s statements “reprehensible” saying, “When you start using words such as lynching… that’s a reprehensible word and I think we should move away from that language,” He added, “One of the things I’m starting to think about is reconsidering my membership in the Congressional Black Caucus, because I don’t think they’re moving in the right manner toward solving the problems in not just the black community, but all of America.”
Rep. West is the only Republican who is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. When he first came to Congress back in January, he and fellow Republican, Rep. Tim Scott of South Carolina, were invited to be members of the CBC. Congressman West accepted, while Congressman Scott rejected the offer.
