The blogging legislator has a link to a white supremacist site on his blog.
Rep. Stacey Campfield's decidedly small and selective blogroll includes a link to Staghounds, a white supremacist blog which features these repulsively racist statements:
"The trash in New Orleans know that soon people with degrees and skills will drain the water, turn the power on, clean the streets, and replace the houses provided for them."
"So why not tear things up? Why shouldn't the zoo animals run wild when the fence breaks?"
"Desperation? Yeah, right. I am beginning to believe that black people, no matter where in the world they are, are cursed with a genetic predisposition to steal, murder, and create mayhem."
For even more nauseatingly racist excerpts see the venerable Jesus General.
When Rep. Campfield was asked why he wanted a copy of the Black Caucus bylaws, the Republican replied that he was "just curious." The Knoxville lawmaker added:
"I have my questions. How is their money spent? What are membership requirements? A lot of things are contained in the bylaws. I haven't decided how far to push it."
When a public official makes insinuations of wrongdoing, certainly he should offer a clear and rational explanation for his suspicions. Media accounts attest to Campfield's refusal to do so.
The story about Campfield's request to join the Black Caucus has spread across the internet. Everyone asks the same question. Why would a white lawmaker (a Republican lawmaker, at that) want to join a Black Caucus?
If Campfield subscribes to the repugnant views which he links to, then clearly he has his reasons for believing that Black Caucus members need a little white supervision. Anyone who would promote a blog with such loathsome and racist statements would certainly believe that Caucus members are suspect because they are Black.
The Tennessee lawmaker has long been an embarrassment to the state and to the Republican Party. The only silver lining in this story is that the rumours about the Republican Party's plans to ditch Campfield in 2006 must surely be true.
(Thanks are due to General Jesus who has several consecutive posts on the subject of the embarrassing Tennessee lawmaker. The General also has screen shots of the offensive pages lest the ol' Memory Hole be invoked.)
Stacey Campfield Black Caucus Tennessee Racism Republican legislator Race White supremacy
