Rep. Allen West (R-FL), is getting a high-level speaking post for a freshman — the closing keynote speaker at CPAC.
This is a huge gig. Back in 2009, the closing speaker was none other than Rush Limbaugh, and in 2010 the honor went to Glenn Beck.
West, an Iraq War veteran whose military career ended after the alleged torture of an Iraqi policeman, has since gone on to emerge as a star of the conservative movement. (No evidence was found to corroborate the information obtained from the policeman, of an alleged planned attack against West’s troops.)
Soon after his election in 2010, defeating an incumbent Democratic Congressman in a swing district, West quickly ran into controversy when he nearly hired as his chief of staff local talk radio host Joyce Kaufman, who had previously declared that she would mount a violent revolution if the Republicans did not win the 2010 elections.
West also recently made news when he criticized the manner in which President Obama visits the troops, saying that if he were President he would fly directly into the theaters of combat and visit the troops in danger.
Eric Kleefeld
Eric Kleefeld joined TPM as an intern for the final months of the 2006 midterm elections, and then kept showing up for work. His other interests include guitars, old comic books and the politics of various English-speaking countries.
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