Guest Commentary: Obama's Worst Nightmare: Allen West for VEEP

Friday, July 20, 2012 - 08:11 Bob Adams

Congressman Allen West (R-FL)

American electoral history is replete with good and bad choices for Vice President. Who can forget the hole Walter Mondale dug for himself after choosing Geraldine Ferraro, with all of the baggage of her husband’s tax records and finances?

The feather-light logic of choosing the “first woman Vice Presidential nominee” held weight with the national media at the time. After all, she came highly recommended by the pro-abortion National Organization for Women. Deemed a key Democrat constituency, women, would eat it up and the press would credit Mondale for “making history.”

But a Vice Presidential nominee should satisfy more than just one constituency. What’s more, picking a VP based upon skin color, ethnicity, or gender is a tacky gimmick that’s doomed for disaster, and even more so at a time when our nation is coming apart at the seams.

How about competency? Gov. Romney’s running mate should be a person whose content of character, intelligence, and life experience not only embolden leadership in a new administration, but also provides for continuity in the event of national crisis or tragedy.

Rep. Allen West fills all of these requirements, and if he is not strongly considered for the Vice Presidential slot on Gov. Romney’s ticket (as apparently everyone else has) it will be a serious error.

Beyond the insult to the Tea Party supporters of Congressman West, Gov. Romney would deprive the ticket of a man with serious military credentials as a retired Lieutenant Colonel. Moreover, Rep. West has been “on point” since day one in Congress as a conservative leader in the debate over the budget, debt, and national defense.

Here’s a short list of legislation co-sponsored by Rep. West: Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act (H.R. 2), Sunset All Czars Act (H.R. 59), and the Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act of 2011 (H.R. 9).

Now take a look at Rep. West’s bonafides, and then ask yourself how other potential candidates stack-up.

Consensus Builder: First GOP African-American Congressman in Florida since Reconstruction.

Military/Foreign Policy Experience: Retired as a Lieutenant Colonel from the U.S. Army with multiple tours of combat duty in Iraq. West understands how policy affects soldiers and their families. Multiple awards, including the Bronze Star.

GOP and Tea Party National Leader: From the moment he was endorsed by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Rep. West has picked up the mantle of conservative leadership nationally. He is an outspoken champion of the values that our Founding Fathers used to create our country, as well as longstanding American allies like Israel.

In Rep. Allen West, Gov. Romney would fill out the GOP ticket in a meaningful and dramatic fashion. Rep. West would bring military service, a keen understanding of those citizens who are demanding fiscal responsibility from Washington, and a sure sense of national purpose to the Republican ticket this year.

Gov. Romney must assure conservatives that he will not abandon them if he is elected President. This point cannot be underscored enough. Choosing Rep. Allen West would send a clear message to conservatives and Tea Party activists, much in the same way, but different, as choosing Condoleezza Rice.

No doubt, other potential candidates have their strengths, too. But Rep. West, after just one term in Congress, stands out.

This is why leftist-billionaire George Soros is targeting Rep. Allen West re-election to Congress with a $5 million “Dump West” smear campaign. Who else being considered for Vice President has drawn this kind of fire? Only Allen West. That ought to tell us something.

When George Soros zeroes-in on a conservative it’s because they’re a threat to his radical agenda. Soros knows that Rep. West on the campaign trail is Team Obama’s worst nightmare.

Gov. Romney can make it come true.

Bob Adams is the founder and chief strategist of PresidentDowngrade.com, an independent-expenditure-only SuperPAC to defeat President Obama.