Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) again went after Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) with coarse words on a conservative talk radio show Monday. Houston radio host Michael Berry asked West to play a "free association game" and say the first thing that pops into his mind in an "undiplomatic, unscripted" way. Berry said Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
"I need a bucket," he said.
Berry then mentioned the July 19th incident when West e-mailed Schultz and members of the Democratic and Republican leadership with the subject line: "Unprofessional and Inappropriate Sophomoric Behavior from Wasserman-Schultz." In the e-mail, he called her "the most vile, unprofessional, and despicable member of the US House of Representatives." He concluded: "You have proven repeatedly that you are not a Lady, therefore, shall not be afforded due respect from me!" He said an apology was "not happening" after suggesting to The Huffington Post's Jennifer Bendery that he was sorry for his remarks.
West stood by his e-mail on the radio, which he said was provoked by the congresswoman making "a personal attack against me on the House floor." The attack he referred to was when she criticized his support for the "Cut, Cap and Balance" bill without naming him on the House floor. "The gentleman from Florida. who represents thousands of Medicare beneficiaries, as do I, is supportive of this plan that would increase costs for Medicare beneficiaries, unbelievable from a Member from South Florida," she said.
Berry asked West, whose military career ended after he tortured an Iraqi policeman by firing a pistol past his head, if he had used any "psychological intimidation tactics" against Wasserman Schultz. "I think I did, because she's been pretty quiet."
He defended his characterization that she is "not a lady." "I don't think how she carries herself – gentleman, gentlelady -- she is not that way when you think about some of the things that she has said in the position that she's in as the DNC chair and also as the congressional representative."
West lives in Wasserman Schultz's neighboring district in South Florida. Members of Congress must live in the U.S. State they represent, but there is no law requiring they live in the district they represent.
Wasserman Schultz's Communications Director Jonathan Beeton responded to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel about West's comments. "We’ve come to expect these types of over-the-top comments from Allen West," he said. "It is a shame because Americans want their members of Congress to get people back to work and protect seniors and the middle class, not engage in sexist, sophomoric attacks."