"I am honored and privileged that Republicans of Texas have selected me to Chair their party and to be at the helm during this coming election cycle.  We need to focus on maintaining the conservative policies that made Texas strong and drive voter outreach across the state."  These are the words of Allen West, in the wee hours of Monday, July 20, 2020, upon being elected Texas GOP chairman.  Only two months ago, West was dealing with injuries he had sustained as the result of a motorcycle accident.

Allen West is, in his own words, "alive by the Grace of God."  Colonel West, an American freedom-fighter who strives to keep his nation free by keeping Texas free, was injured in a motorcycle accident back in May, after having attended a "Free Texas Rally" in Austin.  According to a press release by Colonel West's West4Texas website, the retired colonel "was involved in an accident when a car cut in front of him."

Colonel West is already a historic figure.  When he was elected to Congress from Florida, he took office in January 2011, the first black Republican sent to Congress by the State of Florida since Josiah T. Walls left office in 1876, 135 years prior to West's arrival.  As a congressman, West — along with Niger Innis — became famous as a highly visible member of the Tea Party.  Subsequent to his congressional service, West eventually made his way to the Lone Star State, where he became active in Republican politics.

Allen West was born and reared in Atlanta, Georgia, "in the same neighborhood where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. [also a Republican] once preached.  He is the third of four generations of military servicemen, all combat veterans, in his family."  Having grown up in Georgia, and having gone to college in Tennessee, West represented the State of Florida in the House of Representatives and has now succeeded in becoming GOP party chair in Texas.  West's strong advocacy for the Second Amendment demonstrates the seriousness with which he takes constitutional rights in general.  This will serve him well as GOP chairman in a state where the people take their constitutional rights seriously.

Colonel West, prior to his motorcycle accident, was "headlining the Texas Freedom Rally in Austin, TX," an event to which he had led "a caravan of motorcycles and cars from Dallas ... that morning," where he would ultimately find himself in the company of patriots like Shelley Luther, Stewart Rhodes, Chad Prather, Jennifer Fleck, and others.  This rally focused on the Constitution, civil liberties, the rights of business owners, and "[e]nsuring that the rights of all Americans...are protected needs to be the top priority for all politicians...in Austin or Washington."  For West, life is about freedom, and it is West's avowed belief that, if Texas's freedom can be preserved, then America's freedom may likewise be protected.  "Hold Texas, Hold the Nation," West contends — "by the grace of God," he might add.

Paul Dowling has written about the Constitution, as well as articles for American Thinker, Independent Sentinel, Godfather Politics, Eagle Rising, and Conservative Notions.