By Crystal Wright

You have to love Rep. Allen West for his straight talk. Yes, he’s a firebrand, whose opinions can’t be watered down and more often than not, he says what many are thinking but dare not utter.

I agree with some political observers that Rep. West needs to begin moving beyond the catchy sound bites and offer substantive solutions to liberal policies of which he has been critical. Nonetheless, his style is refreshing for a member of Congress.

After his first meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) on January 19th, as its only Republican member, Rep. West told reporters he proved he was black and not a vampire. (Victoria Burke, editor of Crew of 42, posted her and radio host George Wilson’s recent chat with West.) “I don’t have long teeth and I don’t come out only at night and suck anybody’s blood,” he joked.

Radio host George Wilson asked West if the other black, Democrat members talked to him. Why wouldn’t they? West is after all a black member of Congress, a prerequisite for becoming a member of the group. The only difference is he is a Republican.

West provided the perfect answer:

“There is no issue. I mean the thing is you know it’s so funny. I don’t know where they thought I was born, what planet but I told them John Lewis was the guy my parents worked for when he was in Atlanta, Georgia.”

I’m sure this warmed up the all Democrat black crew of the CBC to West because he said his parents were Democrats. “All of a sudden people started thinking you are kinda like us.”

Apparently, what really made the CBC members believe he was truly black was when he told them he loved hoppin john (traditional black southern dish of black eyed peas and white rice), pot liquor and his family’s “favorite you know Christmas dinner was barbequed raccoon.”

So, he proved his black cred to his peeps. But all joking aside, as West said, blacks “all want the same things for our community, there may be different means by which we get there. “ No black politician, liberal or conservative, believes the number of black men in prison, black children born out of wedlock or the poverty and lack of education affecting more blacks than other ethnic groups is a good thing. One would think the CBC would welcome someone like West to reinvigorate discussions on developing social policies which address this pathology of crime and poverty that has plagued blacks for decades.

He said his parents would have been proud he joined the CBC because they raised him with conservative values and to not allow himself to become a victim. Smiling, he explained he told Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, chairman of the CBC, “You never put your investments in one fund. So, why would we put all our faith in one party. You got to diversify.” A message black Americans should heed and not blindly throw their support to the Democrat party, who takes the black vote for granted every election cycle.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Crystal Wright is a black conservative woman living in Washington, DC. Some would say she is a triple minority: woman, black and a Republican living in a Democrat dominated city. She’s contemplating moving back to her home state of Virginia, where her vote would count for something. By day, Crystal is a communications consultant. Crystal earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Georgetown University and holds a Masters of Fine Arts in Theatre from Virginia Commonwealth University.