Florida Rep. West says there may be dozens of communists in Congress

Rep. Allen West, R-FL (Pic by Debra Todd, via Facebook)

Rep. Allen West, R-FL, told mostly supportive members at a town hall meeting yesterday that he has heard “up to 80 U.S. House Democrats are Communist Party members,” The Palm Beach Post reports.

But Jonathan Mattise, of the Post, reports that the fiery tea party-aligned congressman would not name names.

Add West invoking Joseph McCarthy to the long list of incendiary remarks lobbed at Democrats during his short tenure in the U.S. House. This past December West said Democratic Party messaging was something Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels would be impressed with.

Last year, West sent an email to colleague Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Pembroke Pines, calling her “vile, unprofessional, and despicable,” “a coward,” “characterless” and “not a Lady.” He demanded that the current Democratic National Committee Chairwoman “shut the heck up.”

Around that time he also called supporters of President Obama “a threat to the gene pool” and has claimed that liberal women “neutering American men” are to blame for the country’s growing debt.

West’s reelection is expected to be one of the most competitive races in the country, due to his popularity in right-wing circles and his propensity to be an easy target for the left.