海角大神

As dark fell over Taji, Iraq, on an August evening in 2003, Lt. Col. Allen West 鈥� angry and afraid 鈥� decided to take matters into his own hands.

His battalion had been ambushed several times, and now it had information of another imminent plot to attack them 鈥� and an alleged accomplice in custody.聽

鈥淚 came here for two reasons, to get the information I need or to kill you,鈥� Colonel West, his 9 mm pistol drawn and resting on his knee, told the alleged accomplice, according to a U.S. Army investigation of the incident.

But with each denial of knowledge of the plan by the alleged accomplice, local police officer Yehiya Hamoodi, the rumored attack grew more imminent and deadly in Colonel West鈥檚 mind. He ordered everyone outside. Minutes later, he was pushing Mr. Hamoodi鈥檚 head into a clearing barrel 鈥� a sand-filled container used to clear ammunition from weapons. He put the pistol a foot from Mr. Hamoodi鈥檚 head and fired a round into the barrel.聽聽

鈥淭he man inside me probably did want to inflict hurt,鈥� Colonel West , 鈥渂ut the soldier and leader just wanted the pertinent intelligence for the safety of my soldiers.鈥�

To this day, the incident 鈥� which dislodged faulty information 鈥� vexes ethicists and academics. It鈥檚 a in Army officer training for how to navigate moral gray areas in a war zone. But even when a situation is gray, Colonel West has a penchant for viewing it in black and white.聽

He wasn鈥檛 court-martialed, but the incident brought to an end 鈥� while launching his political career as a conservative cause c茅l猫bre for sticking to his principles despite the consequences.

Now, as the new chairman of the Texas Republican party, Colonel West鈥檚 unbending commitment to conservative principle has become a window on how Trumpism will survive the Trump presidency, say party regulars watching in astonishment as well as grassroots Republicans watching in righteous support.

A Tea Party forerunner of Trumpian disruption, he criticized the president in 2017 but now backs him to the hilt.聽Last week, within an hour of the U.S. Supreme Court dismissing a Texas lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump鈥檚 election defeat in four states, he blasted the ruling, suggesting that 鈥渓aw-abiding states should bond together and form a Union.鈥� He has critiqued outright calls for secession 鈥� 鈥淎merica needs Texas to lead, not secede,鈥� he also聽聽last weekend 鈥� but聽as the Republican Party fractures nationally over Mr. Trump鈥檚 election defeat, he is staking a claim to be a vocal, earnest leader of the party鈥檚 grassroots Trumpian wing.

鈥淎llen West is tailor-made for this moment,鈥� says Fred Wellman, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who is now a senior adviser at the Lincoln Project, a group of Republicans opposing Mr. Trump.聽

鈥淗is political approach to this day [is] 鈥榯ake no prisoners,鈥欌�� he adds. 鈥淗e doesn鈥檛 work with anyone. He鈥檚 constantly making threats. ... Trumpism rises, and here he is, state chair of a large state.鈥�

With a precise high-and-tight military haircut and wire-rimmed spectacles, the conservative warrior presents seriously in measured tones and frequent historical references. But the content of his zero-sum view of politics 鈥� as a war between conservatism and 鈥減rogressive socialism鈥� 鈥� fires up restless grassroots Texans more than it does the trustees of the old Bush 鈥渃ompassionate鈥� conservatism.聽

An African American born in a Blacks-only Atlanta hospital, he grew up in the same neighborhood that decades earlier produced Martin Luther King Jr. But he has called himself 鈥渓iberals鈥� worst nightmare鈥� and has rebranded the state GOP with a slogan, 鈥淲e are the storm,鈥� linked to the QAnon conspiracy theory (though the state party 听肠辞苍苍别肠迟颈辞苍).听听

His shoot-from-the-hip critiques are aimed equally at 鈥渟ocialist鈥� Democrats and 鈥渢raitorous鈥� Republicans who would consort with them. And while the majority of Texas Republicans may not share that Manichaean view of U.S. politics, it鈥檚 a pillar of the Trump base.

鈥淲est wants to say you鈥檙e either with us or against us,鈥� says Brandon Rottinghaus, a University of Houston political scientist. 鈥淭hat sends a clear signal that Donald Trump鈥檚 influence on American politics continues.鈥�

A Florida 鈥渢horn鈥�

Like one of his heroes, Davy Crockett, Colonel West likes to say he鈥檚 another Tennessee Volunteer who followed the call to Texas. He graduated from the University of Tennessee before joining the Army, where a glittering 22-year career included tours in the first and second Gulf Wars and a Bronze Star, among other decorations.

Crockett and another of West鈥檚 heroes 鈥� the Spartan King Leonidas 鈥� both perished in heroic last stands, and it鈥檚 this angle that best illustrates how Colonel West views his job in Texas and nationally. The political marketplace of ideas is, in his view, more a battlefield of ideas 鈥� not a dialogue, or even an argument, but a conflict.

鈥淩ight now what we see are two conflicting philosophies of governance, two conflicting ideological agendas,鈥� Colonel West told the Monitor in a September interview. 鈥淧eople are truly ready to get out there and make sure that [conservatives] hold on to Texas.鈥�

A state party chair is supposed to help the party gain or stay in power, but Colonel West has put his personal stamp on the job. Where past chairs kept a low profile, recruiting candidates and keeping party finances healthy, he makes regular appearances at rallies and on cable news. 聽

While he most often rails against Democrats, he鈥檚 fueled his rise in Texas by criticizing the state鈥檚 Republican leaders for what he calls the 鈥渢yranny鈥� of Gov. Greg Abbott鈥檚 response to the COVID-19 pandemic: 鈥淢y criticisms of Governor Abbott have nothing to do with the person. It has everything to do with the fact that we should not be ruled with orders, mandates, edicts, and decrees.鈥澛犅�

But in terms of uproar generated, Colonel West鈥檚 attacks on the governor pale compared with his November criticism of Dade Phelan, a Republican state representative from East Texas, as 鈥渁 Republican political traitor鈥� for seeking 鈥渁ffirmation from progressive socialist Democrats.鈥�

State representatives were quick to hit back at Colonel West with one of the most potent political attacks in Texas: not being a true Texan.

鈥淎llen West [needs] to be bought a one-way bus ticket back to Florida,鈥� said Dennis Bonnen, the outgoing Republican House speaker, in a radio interview. 鈥淭he problem is that I don鈥檛 think Florida will take him.鈥�

Colonel West鈥檚 approach also runs counter to how the GOP has been able to comfortably hold political power in the state for 25 years, some Texas Republicans say. Making a heroic stand against 鈥減rogressive socialism鈥� in Texas is all well and good, but the reality is that Republicans have been winning voters just fine already 鈥� in part because they have worked with Democrats without compromising their fundamental principles.

鈥淐olonel West is certainly focused on the grassroots perspective of the party,鈥� says Jamie McWright, president of the Associated Republicans of Texas,聽adding that they need to focus on issues that matter most to all Texans. 鈥淚f we do, we鈥檒l continue to win.鈥�

While the state GOP as a whole has drifted to the right of the business-friendly, of the Bush family, it has declined to push the envelope in governing. Bombastic ultraconservatives have always been a feature of Texas politics, says Jim Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas, Austin, but they haven鈥檛 been 鈥渙verly successful.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檓 not saying he鈥檚 not important or relevant,鈥� he says, but Colonel West 鈥渨ants to claim a majoritarian status within the Republican Party, and to my mind it鈥檚 not clear that that鈥檚 true. ... Allen West is a thorn in the side of many people. My suspicion is they鈥檇 rather pluck it than support him.鈥�

鈥淎ll business鈥�

Colleen Stolberg was there at the colonel鈥檚 political start in southeast Florida, and it embarrasses her still that she spelled the newcomer鈥檚 name wrong 鈥� Alan West 鈥� on publicity material.聽

As president of the Broward County Federation of Republican Women, her group was getting tired of cookie-cutter speeches from local candidates. She asked Colonel West to say something different, and he obliged: A talk about the women he served with in the military and the differences they鈥檇 faced in the countries he鈥檇 served in.

鈥淗e had everybody sold,鈥� recalls Ms. Stolberg, who decided on the spot to volunteer for him. 鈥淗e鈥檚 one of those people who will stand up for what he believes in and it doesn鈥檛 matter what the consequences are. ... If he ran for president tomorrow, I鈥檇 probably work for him again.鈥�

鈥淣ot your average politician.鈥� It鈥檚 a compliment often heard about Colonel West 鈥� and another trait he seems to share with President Trump.

鈥淚鈥檓 going up [to Washington, D.C.,] and I鈥檓 going to drain that cesspool,鈥� he said at one April 2010 , foreshadowing the 45th president. 聽And in his one term in Congress, from 2010 to 2012, he was committed to his ideological mission.

鈥淗e was all business,鈥� says Tom Rooney, a former Florida Republican congressman who served with him on the House Armed Services Committee. 鈥淥n the House floor he鈥檇 talk to you about issues, but he wasn鈥檛 a back slapper.鈥�

And, he adds, in trying to compromise with some lawmakers on the Hill 鈥測ou don鈥檛 know how to get from Point A to Point B. 鈥� You may never get to Point B with Allen, because he鈥檚 set in his ways, but at least you know where he stands.鈥澛�

Southeast Florida was an ideologically diverse area at the time, and Colonel West may have lasted longer in the House save for his consistently favoring principle over compromise. Of 11 bills he sponsored, two passed, neither with Democratic cosponsors.

In Texas, frustrated grassroots Republicans hope his rigid conservative ideology will force state leaders to finally fight for their interests and concerns 鈥� like banning abortion, reinforcing traditional views of sexuality, and cracking down on unauthorized immigrants.聽

鈥淭he energy to keep Texas red didn鈥檛 come from Texans who want purple government,鈥� says Luke Macias, a conservative political strategist.

鈥淩epublicans in Texas are ready for their elected officials to actually deliver conservative results, he adds. "Chairman聽West recognizes that and has rightfully [become] an ambassador of the grassroots.鈥�

Colonel West would certainly be an earnest ambassador. Had he been willing to compromise on some of his values, he might still be in the Army or Congress. As it stands, with a constituency comprised exclusively of Republicans, he hopes to maintain 鈥� and expand 鈥� that grassroots base as a new standard-bearer of the Republican Party鈥檚 Trumpian wing.

鈥淚 would rather be in a position where I could do something to support candidates, where I could do something to support Texas overall,鈥� he says.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify a statement by聽Jamie McWright, president of the Associated Republicans of Texas, that the party should focus on issues that matter most to all Texans. And the regional name of Mr. West's southeast Florida congressional district has been corrected.