Rep. Allen West (R-Florida) came under fire last week for a few choice comments about liberal racism, as well as about President Obama actively engendering a culture of dependency.

I really feel that it is demeaning to me to think that I need some individual to justify me and my existence. Look, I went through 22 years being in the military, I rose to the rank of Lt. Colonel, I have a bachelor and 2 masters degrees. And for these white liberals to believe they can have this condescending manner toward black conservatives that we need to have approval from our quote unquote, I guess “masters”, for us to be able to speak – see that’s where the true racism really lies governor is with the white liberals who don’t want to see someone such as myself that broke away from their dependency class and is out here and able to possibly contend against them with the policies that they are promoting that’s destroying the black community. I know I’m their #1 target and it just emboldens me to speak out even stronger.

And:

“Self-esteem comes from doing esteemable things. Sitting at home and getting a check from the government is not going to help your self-esteem. What it will do is make you an economic slave to people living in a far, far, distant place,” West said on Sunday.

“He does not want you to have the self-esteem of getting up and earning and having that title of ‘American,’” the congressman said of the president. “He’d rather you be his slave and be economically dependent upon him.”

Rep. West is often criticized for being incisive, intemperate, shooting from the hip, rabble rabble rabble — but West is having none of it. He doesn’t care what the liberal media does to exacerbate and twist his words, and he doesn’t care who knows it:

“I don’t care about my critics,” Rep. Allen West (R-Fla) said about the response to his comments about slavery and liberal racism. “I understand that my country is at a very perilous situation and i’m going to use the type of words that are necessary to get the attention of the American people.”

“I want to make sure that the United States of America, that has been around for 236 years as the beacon of liberty, freedom and democracy, continues on for our subsequent generations. Our children and grandchildren. And I really don’t care about critics. I really don’t care about the liberal media,” West said.

So. Boss. Even if you don’t like what Rep. West has to say, it’s hard to help admiring the way he says it. He’s never screeching or whining — he’s always calm and measured when he’s laying out his case, and he refuses to be cowed by anyone. Sorry, but I’ll take perhaps-politically-unwise-but-straight-shootin’ real talk over carefully-planned-populist-pandering rhetoric any day of the week.