West May Leave CBC Over Carson’s Remark
Rep. Allen West (Fla.), the only Republican in the Congressional Black Caucus, said Wednesday that he might depart the 40-year-old organization in light of a controversial remark made by CBC member Rep. André Carson (D-Ind.).
At an Aug. 22 CBC event in Miami, Carson said that “some of them in Congress right now of this tea party movement would love to see you and me … hanging on a tree.” The Congressman’s office confirmed his remarks and stood by them, according to a report on a Washington Post blog.
On Fox News on Wednesday, an anchor played a sound bite of Carson’s comment for West, a tea party favorite from South Florida. The Republican condemned his colleague’s reference to lynching and told the “Fox & Friends” program that he was considering leaving the CBC.
“One of the things I’m, you know, starting to think about is reconsidering my membership in the Congressional Black Caucus,” West said. “I don’t think that they’re moving towards the right manner in which we’re going to solve the problems, not just in the black community, but all across the United States of America.”