Allen West: I‘m Here to Lead Blacks Off the Democratic Party ’Plantation’

GOP Rep. Allen West believes that the Democratic Party is akin to a modern-day "plantation."

In an interview on Wednesday night's "O'Reilly Factor," he told guest host Laura Ingraham that he is the "modern-day Harriet Tubman" and that he wants to lead fellow African Americans away from the the "21st century plantation."

West made extremely bold statements throughout the interview, apparently undeterred by any negative response he might receive from the Democratic Party or from fellow African Americans. Commenting on anger that was seen at a Congressional Black Caucus (of which West is the only GOP member) town hall meeting in Detroit this week, he said:

“The people on that plantation are upset because they’ve been disregarded, disrespected and their concerns are not cared about...I’m here as the modern-day Harriet Tubman to kind of lead people on the underground railroad away from that plantation into a sense of sensibility."

West went on to dismiss some African American leaders as "nothing more than overseers over that plantation" and he stated his belief that white liberals have relied upon people like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton to support Democratic policies. These individuals, he claims, have failed to addresses important matters. West also discussed recent flash mobs (as per the Huffington Post):

The freshman Republican said the fact that black leaders have done nothing in response to the recent spate of flash mobs in U.S. cities is proof of their disconnect from the black community. This summer has been marked by flash mobs in several cities, including Philadelphia and Cleveland, and are thought to be fueled by growing discontent among unemployed urban youth.

He also went on to say that Republicans have not done well drawing black voters into the conservative movement. That said, he explained that there is an opportunity for conservatives to reach African Americans by connecting with them on the issues of "individual responsibility and accountability, faith and family, [and] hard work ethic."

Watch West's comments, below (his Harriet Tubman statement is at 2:35):

(h/t Politico)