Tea-party darling Allen West railed against Broward U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz in an email, calling her "vile and despicable” and suggesting, "you are not a Lady" after she picked apart a Republican budget-cutting plan Tuesday night on the House floor.
The subject line of the email: "Unprofessional and Inappropriate Sophomoric Behavior from Wasserman Schultz."
He went on to write:
"Look, Debbie, I understand that after I departed the House floor you directed your floor speech comments directly towards me. Let me make myself perfectly clear, you want a personal fight, I am happy to oblige. You are the most vile, unprofessional, and despicable member of the U.S. House of Representatives. If you have something to say to me, stop being a coward and say it to my face, otherwise, shut the heck up. Focus on your own congressional district!" West wrote in his email.
West said Wasserman Schultz, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, had gone after him personally and suggested she had a vendetta dating back to a protest at his Broward County, Fla., headquarters.
"I shall defend myself forthright against your heinous characterless behavior……which dates back to the disgusting protest you ordered at my campaign hqs, October 2010 in Deerfield Beach. You have proven repeatedly that you are not a Lady, therefore, shall not be afforded due respect from me!" West responded.
West wrote the email after Wasserman Schultz said on the House floor that it was “unbelievable for a Member from South Florida" to support a plan that slashes Medicaid and Medicare “in favor of protecting tax breaks for Big Oil, millionaires, and companies who ship American jobs overseas." She never identified West by name.
"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," Schultz said.
West had left the House floor at that point.
According to
The Miami Herald, the West and Wasserman Schultz' staffs continued to spar even after the email.
"I don’t think that Congressman West is upset at the Congresswoman, but rather with the fact that she highlighted that he and other Republicans are once again trying to balance the budget on the backs of seniors, children and the middle class," Jonathan Beeton, Wasserman Schultz’s spokesman, told the Herald.
Angela Sachitano, West’s spokesman fired back: “The constituents in Florida see Congressman West as a true leader and a man of principle while Congresswoman Wasserman-Schultz is once again viewed as politics as usual, and her true character sadly shown today."
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