Greetings friends, hope everyone had a Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas to you all. It’s been a while since I sat and shared the W3 (West Weekly Wrap-up) report with you. I must tell you, since I boarded a plane on November 29th for Israel, it has been a whirlwind. So as 2009 winds down, let me catch you up on the campaign happenings as we begin our journey towards victory in 2010.
Let’s begin with my trip to Israel where I was a speaker at the 2009 Israel Gateway/Safe Cities conference in Tel Aviv. My topic of discussion for the conference was “Global security effects upon local municipalities”. My point was that local law enforcement in America now finds itself dealing with threats outside the routine range of expertise for which they have been trained. We are seeing more and more impacts from Islamic terrorism, illegal immigration (unsecured borders), and infiltration of international gangs. I addressed how in my city of Plantation in 2001, Mohammed Atta, one of the 9-11 hijackers was picked up on a routine traffic stop, but was released and the rest, of course, is tragic history.
The Israeli National Police has been focused on the issue of combating terrorism within its steadily shrinking borders. However, the local municipalities there are seeking more involvement in day to day law enforcement activities, some of which I witnessed during a behind the scenes security tour of Israel. There is a rise in crime in Israel and the police there have an intricate balancing act dealing with both day to day crime and the threats of terrorism. However, it is the same balancing act which our police forces face here in America as more terrorism task forces are created at the local levels to deal with the ever present threats facing our nation.
The rest of my time in Israel was phenomenal. To walk the via Dolorosa, path of Jesus to Golgotha and then stand at that place was simply the most spiritual event I have ever experienced. No matter your religious beliefs, soaking in the history that exists in that part of the world is something that everyone should experience someday and for me, it was a spiritually fulfilling trip. Incredibly memorable for me were two other visits: first, Masada where I stood and looked out over the desert and the Dead Sea as Eleazar and the Jewish supporters did facing the Roman Legions. I have always known the story but to have my feet on that hallowed ground was inspiring…for those of you who do not know the story of Masada, please, take a moment to read about it. Standing there it suddenly struck me, the spirit of Masada was captured in the early days of our country by a patriot named Patrick Henry, “Give me Liberty or Give me Death”.
The second awe inspiring visit was to a simple place called Kibbutz Yad Mordecai. It was there for 6 days in May 1948 where Jewish settlers of the newly formed state of Israel fought back the Egyptian army invaders seeking their destruction. At that battle, which the Egyptians believed would only be a few hours, the Jewish settlers inflicted 400 casualties while only suffering 26. They did withdraw, only to reform their defenses near Ashkelon and, after inflicting another 500 casualties on the Egyptians, the invading army lost the initiative and withdrew. At Kibbutz Yad Mordecai there is a memorial with a simple epithet, “As much as one can withstand, we withstood”. The spirit of freedom and determination can be found in that simple phrase. Those of us who still believe in a strong America can withstand the dismaying news coming from our failed leaders in Washington DC knowing that we will all be united to restore responsibility and proper government to our capitol.
I left Israel committed to the indomitable spirit of Masada and Kibbutz Yad Mordecai, to the preservation of the state of Israel, and to the people of the Holy Land without which my spiritual being would not exist. To Hizbullah, Hamas, Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic Jihad, Al Qaeda, Al Quds brigade, Al Aqsa brigade, Syria, and Ahmadinejad I have one thing to say: threaten Israel at your peril because Israel has no greater friend than America.
Upon my return to the U.S., I found that there was a video of me on YouTube going viral. It was only 6 minutes long and done at the Revolution club in Ft. Lauderdale back in October. As a result of that video, we have appeared on the Sean Hannity show, Laura Ingraham radio show, and had a piece about our campaign in the Weekly Standard, found here. The comments and response to the video has been absolutely overwhelming, and we are driving the liberals crazy. Too often in the past few years, there have been many in the media and in government who have declared conservative values to be simplistic or not sophisticated enough for today’s problems. I believe the problems of this nation have occurred because we’ve too often strayed from the ideas and values that made this the greatest nation in the world and I believe it is time we return to the ideas of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, George Washington and our founders. Politicians like Ron Klein and Nancy Pelosi offer you bloated, wasteful government and control of your health care and your lives while damaging our economy, weakening our dollar and placing us deeper in debt. Whom do you trust? The values and ideas on limited government espoused by Adams and Washington and exhibited by conservatives? Or the values and ideas of Klein and Pelosi that waste your money, grow an already too large federal government and take our freedoms? I know where I stand. Stand with me on the side of history and on the side of responsible, limited government and join our campaign at www.AllenWestforCongress.com. You can no longer afford to remain on the sidelines and hope for the best. These times call not for the “sunshine patriot”, but for the spirit of American independence to return.
2010 is about to be upon us and this race is about us, our campaign and our great country. Principles, leadership, policies and all of you will help guide our efforts. I will leave the empty politics for those like Ron Klein and Nancy Pelosi. We must win this Congressional race and restore American freedoms and responsible government while ending the liberal legislative agenda of “stimulus” waste and health care takeovers. That is our goal and I ask you to help join the team!
Steadfast and Loyal,
Allen
