Robert Delgado was an American soldier. He left behind his pregnant wife to serve under Allen West in Iraq, where Delgado was wounded by fire from an AK-47. He was saved, he says, from body armor West gave to him, and he says it in the latest West campaign ad.
This is the latest reason Allen West says you should vote for him. And it is stupid.
Nobody's saying Delgado's service isn't important or that it wasn't a good thing that he had that body armor on in Iraq. But why, why does that make Allen West qualified to be a member of Congress? There's no discussion of policy or legislation or plans for the future -- just a soldier saying West is a "true patriot." How long are we going to let "AMERICAAA" be West's only campaign plank? (Unless you count "Obama sucks; vote for meee," which would make two planks.)
It's the second ad released this month that, like West's congressional career, is high on emotion but low, so low, on substance. Nothing about the grand (fictional) plans to replace Obamacare, nothing about plans to reduce the deficit (that are actually based in reality). And his voicing full-throated support for the indefinite detention of American citizens probably isn't really something he wants to put on television.
The other ad, posted online a week ago, shows West bragging about how he cared SO MUCH about children that he became a high school teacher after being forced out of the military for torturing a guy retiring from the Army. He doesn't mention that he was there for only a year, leaving after a student tried to fight him. He also doesn't mention that he said at this year's campaign kickoff that teaching at Deerfield Beach High was worse than Afghanistan.
The point is, there are many, many important issues to consider going into November. And body armor isn't one of them.
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