From The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room
Rep. Allen West (Fla.), the lone Republican in the Congressional Black Caucus, said Tuesday morning that he is considering leaving the group in light of comments by Rep. Andrè Carson (D-Ind.), the caucus whip, who said at a town hall that Tea Party affiliated members of Congress see African Americans as “second-class citizens” and would be happy to see blacks “hanging from a tree.”
“When you start using words such as lynching … that’s a reprehensible word and I think we should move away from that language,” West said on “Fox & Friends.”
“One of the things I’m starting to think about is reconsidering my membership in the Congressional Black Caucus, because I don’t think they’re moving in the right manner toward solving the problems in not just the black community, but all of America.”
West is the first Republican to join the CBC since Rep. Gary Franks (Conn.) left Congress in 1997.
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