We at The Lid are big fans of Lt. Col. Allen West U.S. Army Ret. Since the first time I met him at CPAC I have called him Lt. Col. Mensch (Yiddish meaning a person of integrity and honor). West is one of the few politicians that I have interviewed in person who looked me in the eye and didn’t give me a feeling that I was being thrown a spin loaded with bull-sh*t. I have seen him a few times since and am convinced the mensch title is well deserved.
My friend and Liberty Alliance colleague Onan Coca agree, as you can tell by the way he talks about Lt. Col. Mensch in the post he wrote for Constitution.com which is reproduced below:
…..Lt. Col. West has a long and storied history of defending our nation and defending those under his care – even to his own detriment. He is exactly the kind of man that we should seek to press into public office, because he always puts his constituents before himself.
Last week, on the same day that Al Gore made an appearance at Trump Tower, West was also in New York meeting with Vice President-elect Mike Pence and the presidential transition team. The scuttlebutt emanating from the meeting (though no one there would confirm) was that the team might be discussing foreign policy and national defense with the former Florida Congressman. When pressed for a comment, West simply said he was happy to be of service in any way he could be. “Nothing was offered. I mean, they know my reputation very well. I’m just a simple soldier and I’m the third of four generations that served this country going back to my father in World War II, and we still have a relative of ours that is continuing to serve in the Army now.” He added that he was “just considering how I can best serve this country and through this administration.”
Interestingly, Col. West was back in New York on Monday, again involved in high-level meetings at Trump Tower. When asked about the current media frenzy over a possible Trump-Russia connection, West advised the President-elect to ignore the commotion and to “focus on what’s most important. What’s happening with Syria right now, Allepo is about to fall… I think there are more important things. We’re about to see a collapse in Syria, Iraq is falling apart, the Iran nuclear deal is horrific, China and Russia are expanding.”However when it came to discussing what he was at Trump Tower to discuss, West was reticent to divulge what had been said in their meetings, joking that he’d only come back to Trump Tower to pick up an umbrella he’d left “the last time” he was there.
While West wouldn’t elaborate on what the meetings were about, I thought it might be fun to venture a guess or two.
I don’t think Lt. Col. West is being considered for any of the major defense or foreign policy positions; those Cabinet level jobs are likely to go to more experienced politicos who already have greater influence in these areas. However, there is one Cabinet-level job that West may be perfectly suited for, and it could lend immediate goodwill to President-elect Trump from our nation’s veterans. I think that Lt. Col. West is being seriously considered for the role of Secretary for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
West has been a vocal and consistent advocate for our veterans, and he has loudly denounced their mistreatment by a cold and unhelpful bureaucracy. In fact, on the very day he was holding his second meeting with the Trump transition team, West also published an open letter excoriating the Veterans Affairs administration for the terrible job they’ve done protecting, defending, and assisting our needy veterans.
Mr. President, what kind of cold hearted, callous, uncaring, obtuse person are you? You expect us to just accept this horrific treatment of our veterans under your purview? And to Robert McDonald, current VA secretary, you should be ashamed, sir! You are the ignorant individual who compared our veterans waiting for proper care to being at a damn amusement park — and the pathetic Obama claimed you’ve done a fantastic job and have his complete confidence. Both of you should be made to go into every VA hospital in America and apologize. However, we know that won’t happen because the essence of liberal progressive socialists is that you don’t care about our veterans. Heck, you jerks believe a deserter serves with honor and distinction.
Who is running the show at the VA? I can tell you one thing for certain: this is about to end.
And you government union bureaucracies which protect the VA jackasses that allow things such as this to happen, beware. There is a day of reckoning coming for y’all.
This is personal for me. My own dad worked in the Atlanta VA Hospital next to Emory University as a nursing assistant. And it was there my dad breathed his last. He was cared for with the dignity and the honor he deserved as an American combat veteran.
Sadly, something has gone very wrong in our VA system and our veterans are no longer the prized and precious group, held in utmost regard, as before. All of this falls at the feet of one Barack Obama…who it truly appears, based on truth, fact and anecdotal evidence — not fake news — couldn’t care less.
Read the rest of his heartfelt piece at his website.
It sure sounds like Lt. Col. West is working up to something with this latest post, and to be honest, he’s 100% correct. Something needs to be done about the callous inefficient way that the VA is being run, and Lt. Col. Mensch U.S. Army Ret. may be just the man to right the sinking ship.