Rep. West rips guests for ‘living it up’ at correspondents’ dinner

Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) was one of the few members of Congress to snag a ticket to this weekend’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, but the Tea Party freshman was not impressed by the proceedings.

The congressman took to Facebook on Monday to denounce those “laughing and living it up” at the annual dinner while “our Constitutional Republic is eroding.”

{mosads}”While the President laughs and dines, our Constitutional Republic is eroding and my countrymen are suffering. In this election year, it is sad to think that some of those who were sitting in that ballroom Saturday night laughing and living it up, are helping to perpetuate the manipulation and deception of our country,” West wrote.

The dinner is often criticized for depicting a coziness between the president — who regularly attends — and the Washington press corps. But West seemed to seek a more populist tone in his review of the evening, noting he walked from the event “in the rain to catch the Metro back to the Batcave.”

While West derided the optics of the event relative to the outside world, he also might have felt slighted after comedian Jimmy Kimmel singled him out during his remarks.

Kimmel set up the joke by noting that President Obama had called hip-hop star Kanye West a “jackass” in a recent interview.

“No offense sir, but I think you got the wrong West. I think you meant Allen,” said Kimmel.