While plenty of candidates are going to be trying to make their opponents look like off-kilter, rhetoric-spouting do-nothings, it's not likely any have an easier time of it than Patrick Murphy, the Democratic candidate aiming for the District 18 seat.
He's running against that velvet-voiced charmer Allen West, and, in what appears to be the first openly hostile move from their camp, they announced the launch of WhatWestSaid.com, a little slideshow showing some of the congressman's craziest quotes. Some even have video!
The only move against an opponent from West's campaign thus far has been an April Facebook post in which he put Murphy's picture next to those of Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi under a "TAXMAGEDDON" banner. Many of the quotes Murphy is pointing to at WhatWestSaid.com have been referenced in New Times blog posts. Here are few of them:
"President Obama, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi... get the hell out of the United States of America. Yeah, I said hell."
West screamed this chestnut at a Lincoln Day dinner in which he misquoted, among many others, Abraham Lincoln. When he was pressed on it later in an interview with CNN's Soledad O'Brien, he brushed it off by accusing O'Brien of not being familiar with the Federalist Papers.
"[Obama] does not want you to have the self-esteem of getting up and earning and having that title of American. He'd rather you be his slave."
Another example of a calculated move to get into the headlines. West was mad that the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the health-care law, so he resorted -- and not for the first time -- to accusing Democrats of being slave drivers. Something to do with how Democrats have tricked stupid poor people into voting for them by "helping them eat and vote" or whatever. (Also of note: the time West declared himself a "modern-day Harriet Tubman."
"Having taught high school at Deerfield Beach for one year after retiring, that was such an enjoyable experience that I volunteered to go to Afghanistan for two and a half years."
The audience at his campaign kickoff loved this one! West tried to teach and bailed for the better money in military contracting. He then, of course, promptly used his "high school history teacher" experience as the basis for an entire campaign ad.
Allowing gay people to serve openly in the armed forces would "break down the military."
West has frequently mentioned his opposition to the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, though aside from his general feelings of ickiness, he's never explained why. He's been asked over and over, and over and over, he has responded with nonsense that never actually addresses the question. We tried to break it down last summer, really, we did. It just makes no logical sense.
"I believe there's about 78 to 81 members of the Democratic Party that are members of the Communist Party."
West actually said "members of the Democrat Party," because when you're a Tough Talker who Only Tells It Like It Is, sometimes that means calling your enemies names instead of focusing on "issues." We analyzed West's statement (and his subsequent criticism of the news coverage), the lies he told on the radio to try to cover up his nonsense, and, finally, his admission that he said it only to cause controversy.
There are more examples on Murphy's site, if you really need further proof that our congressman is more interested in sneering at people on Fox News than he is in doing anything helpful for our country.
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