#fl-18

Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL-18) used a picture of a Russian naval vessel to say ‘Happy Birthday’ to the US Navy. The ship shown happens to be the Russian atomic battlecruiser «Пётр Великий» (Pyotr Velikiy -- which translates as «Peter the Great»).

This floating faux pas was caught by David Brown, deputy defense editor at POLITICO, who posted it on Twitter and later did a follow-up.

The Florida Republican is not exactly a stranger to things Russian.

Last year Brian Mast’s campaign was mentioned in connection to the "Guccifer 2.0" hackers who stole information from the Democratic National Committee. Guccifer 2.0 was a front for the GRU (ГРУ) -- Russian military intelligence.

A few days ago Mast had to return a $2,173 campaign contribution from Igor Fruman, one of the two Soviet-born associates of Rudy Giuliani who were arrested when trying to flee the US.

Allen West as Secret Service Director would be a far bigger disaster than the current Secret Service leadership

War criminal-turned-congressman-turned-FOX News blowhard Allen West, a far-right Republican lunatic from Florida who was voted out of Congress two years ago after repeatedly embarrassing himself and his constituents, has at least one person, Dan Emmett, at the Washington Post who wants him to be the next U.S. Secret Service Director should current Secret Service Director Julia Pierson resign:

(Ju…

In an exit befitting his outspoken, controversial two years in Congress, Rep. Allen West (R-FL) said that he only lost his re-election because his opponent cheated.

West lost narrowly to Democratic up-and-comer Patrick Murphy last month, but refused to concede for weeks, demanding a recount of ballots in St. Lucie County. Only after a re-tabulation slightly increased Murphy’s lead did West finally accept defeat just before Thanksgiving.

Appearing on Mark Levin’s radio show last Thursday, West accused Murphy of only winning by breaking the rules. “I’m not going away just because of a congressional race where he seems to have to cheat to beat me,” said West. He did not specify precisely how Murphy supposedly cheated.

LEVIN: You are a national treasure. You are way too important to have something like this to happen and off you go. That can’t happen. So I’m really curious to know. Do you have further public service in mind, potentially?

WEST: The most important thing everyone has to understand is my voice is not going to be lost. We’ve gotten a lot of opportunities, a lot of offers, and we’re going to make sure we continue to have that platform. [...] I’m a warrior and I’m a statesman and I’m a servant of this republic.I’m not going away just because of a congressional race where he seems to have to cheat to beat me.

LEVIN: He sure as hell did. It’s disgusting.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla.—Florida Republican Rep. Allen West conceded to Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy on Tuesday, two weeks after the Nov. 6 election.

West challenged the results that showed him about 2,000 votes short of Murphy in Florida's 18th Congressional District but was unable to persuade local officials to grant him a full recount. He released a statement on Tuesday saying he plans to take "no further action to contest the outcome of this election."

"For two weeks since Election Day, we have been working to ensure every vote is counted accurately and fairly. We have made progress towards that goal, thanks to the dedication of our supporters and their unrelenting efforts to protect the integrity of the democratic process," West said in a statement. "While many questions remain unanswered, today I am announcing that I will take no further action to contest the outcome of this election."

National news outlets called the race for Murphy on election night, but West refused to concede at the time.

Twitter's wingnuts are screaming bloody murder at this writing after Florida's St. Lucie County failed to finish their court-ordered recount by today's noon deadline, prompting Patrick Murphy's campaign to claim final victory over Rep. Allen West. 

The Palm Beach Post reports that West's supporters have charged into the St. Lucie election office screaming, "Count our votes!" West's lawyers have raced to a judge's office to demand an injunction against the state deadline. Numerous West supporters are claiming on Twitter that the county deliberately sabotaged a tabulation machine in order to miss the deadline. More on this later today as the story develops.

Murphy won a total of 166,799 votes to West's 164,370, the Palm Beach Post reported. That puts Murphy ahead by 2,429 votes and gives him a 0.7 percent advantage. Florida law only requires a recount when the margin is 0.5 percent or less.

[...]

The race in Florida's 18th Congressional District still hasn't been officially called. Palm Beach officials must submit their results to state officials for them to become official, but Saturday's final vote tally all but ensures the race is over.

BREAKING: Deranged extremist Allen West loses to Patrick Murphy in #FL18. Recount likely. #FL #Election2012