US News

‘Vile’ GOP attack rile$ Dems

WASHINGTON — There’s gold in those “vile” insults.

A day after Florida GOP Rep. Allen West went ballistic in an

e-mail to Democratic National Committee chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, calling her “vile” and “despicable,” Democrats turned the insult into a $100,000 fund-raising appeal.

“Last night, Republican Rep. Allen West sent a disgraceful e-mail outburst to one of our most accomplished colleagues in the House . . . telling her to ‘shut the heck up,’ ” Rep. Steve Israel (D-LI), head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, wrote in the cash appeal.

“We can’t let this shameful display go unanswered.”

Tuesday, in an e-mail obtained by Politico, West unloaded on Wasserman Schultz after she criticized her fellow Floridian during a budget vote.