At this point in time, Allen West is not in the House. His opponent is.
My point exactly. The speaker is an elected position decided in the house and does not have to be a member of that body. Louis Gohmert (R)Texas has already nominated Newt Gingrich. That will go nowhere. But, I think Allen West could be the ideal 'outsider' candidate.
The (R)s control the house and it only takes a simple majority to elect the speaker. But, Boehner swings a lot of weight with RINOS so it's probably a remote chance.
I have written all the Tea Party reps to ask them to make this nomination. I think it would be especially newsworthy while the recount debate is still ongoing.