Stop With the Joke-Telling!': Allen West Talks Ammunition and the Need for a Serious GOP at CPAC

Former Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) visited with TheBlaze Radio Friday at the 2015 Conservative Political Action Conference. West, the president and CEO of the National Center for Policy Analysis, a conservative think tank in Dallas, talked conservative politics, possible 2016 candidates and President Barack Obama's executive actions.

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When asked about Obama's anticipated move to limit access to ammunition for popular rifles like the AR-15, West was quick to respond, "This is how devious people on the progressive, socialist left can be, if they can't stop the gun, they will look to see if they can't stop the means by which you operate the gun."

"Basically, what they want to do is turn the hand gun into a hammer and the rifle into a baseball bat," he added.

West wondered about the wisdom of disarming the American people in a time when the country is facing what he called "the threat of domestic Islamic jihadism." Referring to the brutal midday beheading of British soldier Lee Rigby in London, West said, "All that the people did in England — they stood around with cellphone cameras."

Asked for his thoughts on 2016, the former congressman said, "I believe the country will right itself. I believe that the American people are starting to arise and see we've got a government that's getting out of control."

While not formally endorsing any particular potential 2016 candidate, West offered some advice for any and all who might choose to run, saying, "We have to talk about solutions … we have to talk about how fiscally we get our country back on track, tax policy, regulatory policy, monetary policy, energy policy and national security policy."

He ended his advice with a request for a more serious tone from the GOP, adding, "And I hope that's what the people speaking here at CPAC will focus on and stop with the joke-telling!"

Listen to the entire interview with West (starting at 10:10):

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