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Allen West Hits Opponent Hard on Bar Fight

By Julie Sobel // September 28, 2012 | 10:46 a.m.

Updated at 11:00 a.m.

Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., in one of the most blistering campaign advertisements of the cycle, hits Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy hard for a 2003 arrest.

West's new spot flashes back to February 16, 2003. "Fort Hood, Texas. Lieutenant Colonel Allen West had just received deployment orders, and prepares his men to go to war," intones the ad's narrator. "That night, South Beach, Miami. Patrick Murphy is thrown out of a club for fighting. Covered in alcohol and unable to stand. Murphy then confronts and verbally assaults a police officer. Patrick Murphy was arrested and taken to jail. Two men, a country in crisis -- you decide."

The ad makes ample use of Murphy's unflattering mugshot, as well as photos of West in uniform.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee this week canceled a week of airtime in the race starting October 9. They cited a House Majority PAC buy supporting Murphy in their decision. House Majority PAC announced on Friday that they upped their ad buy in the district to over $1.5 million. They released a new ad hitting West on various statements he's made, on Communists in the Democratic Party, censoring the news media, and on Social Security as a form of "modern, 21st century slavery." The ad concludes with a statement flashing across the screen that West "had 6 liens for unpaid bills including $11,000 for the IRS."