Rep. Allen West (R-FL), a star of the Tea Party movement, delivered a raucous address at CPAC — ranging from such varied topic as extolling his own identity as a black conservative, lambasting liberals as wanting to crush the individual, and citing the 19th-century French libertarian philosopher Frédéric Bastiat in calling the social welfare state “legalized plunder.”

“We are truly a beacon of liberty, democracy, and freedom. We are the rabble in arms, the last best hope for freedom on this planet,” said West. “And we must not allow the liberals to move us away from the conservative values of the American past, which sustain our present, and shall secure our future. Our decision this December (sic) is an important one: Shall we honor the truth upon which the constitutional Republic that we love was established — or shall we be the mindless lemmings following liberal charlatans who seek to enslave the American will for their own ideological gain?”

He then read a quote from the Book of Joshua: “And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourself this day whom you shall serve: whether the gods your father served that were on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

West concluded in his own voice again: “The choice could not be any clearer. As for me and my family, we will serve God, will serve this constitutional Republic, we will serve America.”