He didn’t say he had a list in his hand, but the man whose name is on many lips as a fine running-mate option for Mitt Romney, Rep. Allen West (R-FL), responded to a question about the number of congressional Democrats who were card-carrying member of the Communist Party USA by allowing as how it was a “really good question,” and that he’s heard there are “70 to 80” of the dirty Reds.

We hope West will be pressed to name names and perhaps find some video or audio of a House Democratic Caucus meeting that begins with this anthem:

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Ed Kilgore is a political columnist for New York Magazine; a longtime contributor to the Washington Monthly; and a former policy adviser to three governors and a U.S. senator from his home state of Georgia.