As a conservative, black Republican and former soldier, Congressman Allen West (R-FL) is here to set the record straight. In his speech to an enthusiastic crowd at CPAC, West invoked the greatness of America and conservatism’s status in the country.
West echoed the idea that we, America, are really the last and best hope of the world. Unfortunately, the body of West’s speech contained little that conference goers had not already heard. Attendees are becoming very familiar with the vision of the Founding Fathers and the importance of preventing the political left from corrupting or distorting that vision. He also emphasized the importance of a more limited government, saying that the term “public good” is “a misnomer.”
Like other speakers before him, West stressed the importance of winning control over other branches of government in the coming election, widening the focus of the electorate. Political activists at this conference will be leaving CPAC not only more energized about defeating the president in November, but also about establishing greater conservative leadership in Congress and the judiciary. In West’s view, voters may vote intelligently and in an informed manner, or they could be like liberals and be “mindless lemmings.”
Although most of the speech was not the most original or specific, Congressman West did strike a chord with the crowd as he concluded his speech. Quoting the book of Joshua in the Bible, West assured that crowd that “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
As West finished, he was barely audible over the applause and he left the stage to a standing ovation.
