GOP Challenger Denies Involvement With Biker Gang

OFF THE WIRE
By Jeremy P. Jacobs

Republican congressional challenger Allen West -- the latest Republican House candidate to be embroiled in a personal scandal -- denied on Saturday that he has ever been affiliated with a controversial motorcycle club that has ties to criminal activity.
In an interview with Hotline On Call West said flatly that the issue is a nonstarter because the club does "not accept blacks, Jews or gays" in their membership. (West is black.) He has, however, written a column for a magazine that appears to endorse -- if not promote -- the Outlaws biker club.
West also said he will not be attending a rally for the magazine Saturday evening despite being listed on advertisements as a featured speaker.
The Republican is challenging Rep. Ron Klein (D) in FL 22 for the second time and is a favorite of the Tea Party. He has been a fundraising dynamo, outraising Klein in the third quarter by a $1.7M to $783K margin. He also has $1.6M in the bank to Klein's $270K, a difference that is particularly worrisome for Democrats.
But this latest scandal could seriously hurt his chances. On Friday, NBC news reported that West was tied to The Outlaws, a motorcycle club associated with criminal activity. NBC produced an email from West supporter that warned him that a "criminal organization members in leather riding up [i]-95 is not the picture Allen wants."
West, NBC reported, replied by emailing: "Please no more references to 'criminal'. I was never more amazed at how members of the Outlaws guarded me during an interview."
In an interview Saturday, West denounced the report as a "liberal character assassination attack."
"This most recent desperate insidious attack where Lisa Myers [of NBC News] did her piece where they are trying to associate me as a member of the Outlaw motorcycle club," he said. "If she did her research, she'd know that the Outlaws do not accept blacks, Jews or gays."
The DCCC has cried foul because West has written a column for "Wheels On The Road," a South Florida biker magazine that includes demeaning photos of women. The magazine also appears to endorse the Outlaws; the publisher, "Miami Mike," wrote about going to an Outlaw party in the September issue this year.
"There is no connection between the Outlaws motorcycle club and the magazine," West said. "There certainly is no connection with myself and the club."
With regard to his column, West said it goes out to other blogs and magazines in addition to "Wheels On The Road."
"I was asked to do that [column] by the editor because he wanted the South Florida biker community to learn more about politics," West said.
West is skipping a rally for the magazine Saturday night. He was listed as a speaker on fliers for the event.
"I'm not going because its been a long day and I'm just going to be here with my wife and kids," he said.
West is the latest Republican challenger to face a personal scandal. In the past few weeks, Tom Ganley (R) has seen his chances against Rep. Betty Sutton (D-OH) fade because of allegations of sexual misconduct. Similarly, Rich Iott (R), who is challenging Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D), is struggling to recover from pictures of him in a Nazi uniform.
http://hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com/archives/2010/10/gop_challenger.php