Allen West Ticks Off The Black Caucus

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Rep. Allen West (R-FL) is someone I really like.  I like that he says what he  thinks and doesn’t mind if it ticks off the left.  Apparently he made a nice  gesture of providing free food for the Black Caucus.  Instead of the Black  Caucus being thankful that someone else provided food for them, they were  offended.  Why?  Because what Rep. West sent them were Chick-Fil-A biscuits!

Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) said that it was a deliberate attempt to offend  the members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

“We have a rotation in the Congressional Black Caucus where every member  provides the lunch one of the weeks when we meet,” Hastings told Huffington Post  on Monday.

“We have fried chicken. And we have catfish and BBQ. We do not have  watermelon, although sometimes people will have fruit. We serve a full course  meal with collard greens. We have Jamaican beans and rice,” he continued. “But  West ”sent Chick-fil-A with biscuits. Ok?”

“That was an ‘in your face.’ Every member of the Congressional Black Caucus  that was there was offended,” he added.

So let’s get this straight (pun intended, since the controversy over  Chick-Fil-A deals with homosexual ‘marriage). Mr. Hastings and his Democrat  colleagues are ok with chicken just as long as it isn’t chicken from  Chick-Fil-A.  they are such thin skinned, little people that they could not  respond graciously and thank Rep. West for providing such wonderful food for  their meeting.  No, they had to go and get their dander up about what brand of  Chicken was provided.

The Huffington Post reports,

The Democratic lawmaker said West hasn’t been back to any CBC meetings since  then.

A West spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment. A  spokeswoman for the CBC also did not immediately respond to a request for  comment.

Hastings and West represent adjacent districts in Florida. Hastings is in  a solidly Democratic district, but West is running in a newly drawn district  this year, the bulk of which President Barack Obama won in 2008. Despite the  close proximity of their districts, Hastings said they never talk, not even in  passing on Capitol Hill.

“He doesn’t speak to me by his own choosing,” Hastings said, taking issue  with some of West’s harsh personal attacks on fellow Florida Rep. Debbie  Wasserman Schultz (D). Among other things, West last year called her “vile,  despicable and cowardly” for challenging his views on Medicare during a House  floor debate.”

“I wouldn’t want to go into his mental state,” Hastings added. “All I know is  his verbiage and his rhetoric is way over the top. Way over the top.”

According to Yahoo News,

West spokeswoman Angela Melvin said his choice of Chick-fil-A “had nothing to  do” with the company’s values or stance on marriage.

“He loves Chick-fil-A,” Melvin told ABC News. “Catered the event on something  that was affordable and what average Americans eat. The fact that Mr. Hastings  would turn this into anything else is laughable and desperate.”

Melvin said West spent about $600 on the Chick-fil-A meal and that there was “not a plate left” by the end of the meeting.

So what does West have to say?  In an interview in Chicago last, West told  CNBC that he wanted to open up his own Chick-Fil-A franchise in Chicago.  “I had  to come up from down South because I wanted to try to open up a Chick-fil-A  franchise here in Chicago,” West said in an interview with CNBC’s Rick  Santelli.

While Santelli said that West was being “sarcastic” and doesn’t really intend  on opening a Chick-Fil-A, he also asked West if he thought it “a bit unusual” for a mayor, like Rahm Emanuel to  block a business based on the beliefs of the  owner.

West responded in typical fashion saying that he was not surprised at all by  how “the other side” reacted.

“It doesn’t when you understand the other side, the liberal side, because  free speech is only free if you agree with what they say and what they believe,” West said.

Now I ask you:  West spent $600 on the Chick-Fil-A he gave to the  Congressional Black Caucus and not a plate was left, does that sound like people  were offended or enjoyed good food while trying to make a hypocritical political  statement?

Allen West: I grew up on Chick-Fil-A

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