Rep. West on Geithner: 'No lights on'

WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Rep. Allen B. West, R-Fla., Monday called on Timothy Geithner to resign, saying the U.S. treasury secretary has no idea what to do to help the economy.

"Well, I think having had Timothy Geithner sit before us and testify in the Small Business Committee and I had an opportunity to query him, when you open that refrigerator door, the lights don't come on. So I really think that he should move on," West, a freshman, told Fox News.

"I don't think that Timothy Geithner really has a handle on the fiscal situation here in the United States of America."

West also slammed Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass, for calling action against the U.S. credit rating the "Tea Party downgrade."

Kerry Sunday blamed the Tea Party's refusal to accept any changes to the current tax code for Standard & Poor's decision Friday to lower the U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA+.

"I believe this is without question the Tea Party downgrade. This is the Tea Party downgrade because a minority of people in the House of Representatives countered even the will of many Republicans in the United States Senate who were prepared to do a bigger deal," Kerry said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

"I find those comments to be absolutely the most insidious things that I've ever heard. I think that what you continue to see from the left is looking for someone to blame," West said.