Patrick Murphy on Allen West: This Is Congress, Not Professional Wrestling

Patrick Murphy -- who hopes to face off against Rep. Allen West in the 2012 election -- sent out an email yesterday to his supporters, reminding them that although it may seem West is running for WWE heavyweight champion, he's actually running for reelection to Congress.

Murphy's been keeping tabs on West's oft-outlandish statements -- which can consume a large portion of one's time -- and this time he's sounding off on West's "Debbie is not smart" quip he dropped at the Fort Lauderdale Tea Party gala over the weekend.

"Allen West's latest attack on Debbie Wasserman Schultz encapsulates everything wrong with politics today and why the world has so little faith we can work together to solve our own problems," he says.

Murphy says this kind of talk from West isn't playful banter but instead reflects his failure to lead.

"This is Congress, not a professional wrestling match where you rile up the fans to sell tickets," Murphy says. "True leadership in a crisis requires people of all ideologies to be able to call each other up or sit at a table and negotiate -- something hard to do when there's this kind of discourse. What's next?"

Right now, we're imaging West with his flattop haircut on the top rope of the wrestling ring, pumping his fist to the crowd with his gold championship belt before jumping off for the body slam on Debbie Wasserman Schultz, but continue, Mr. Murphy.

"Millions of Tea Party extremists -- the same people who cheered when he said things like 'Liberals hate America' -- throw money at him every time he says something like this," he says. "Ironically, they then join the chorus of valid complaints that Congress can't work together to get things accomplished. Don't they wonder why?"

We can smell what Murphy's cookin', especially with this Congress breaking the record for lowest approval rating of all-time.

The Pulp is meeting with Murphy later this week for some candid candidate conversation, so stay tuned for that.