Frank Cagle has a good piece about the wacky white Republican lawmaker who said the State Black Caucus is racist like the Ku Klux Klan. The lawmaker's outrageous remarks made international news, and he was nominated for the Worst Person in the World award on MSNBC. (The dirty details are in the previous posts below.)
The local NAACP urged the State Republican party to censure the wacky Rep. Stacey Campfield and demand his resignation, but, of course, Republicans don't listen to Black people. Guess that's why Black people don't vote for Republicans.
Originally Campfield told a Knox News Sentinel reporter that his interest in the Black Caucus stemmed from his desire to see how they spend their money. Later Campfield changed his story. The Republican now says he wants to "help minorities." Yeah, right, that's why the Republican Freshman harasses minorities and compares them to the KKK.
Everyone is still rolling their eyes in disbelief at Rep. Stacey Campfield's strangeness. According to the emails I've been getting, Campfield has become an important reason for people to avoid moving to this state. I'll have more on him soon.
In the meantime, does anyone know how the Freshman Caucus spends its money? Or the Republican Caucus? Cuz I'd sure like to "help" some Republican Freshmen.
Why a Black Caucus?
Just rely on the kindness [sic] of Republicans, rural Democrats
by Frank Cagle
How come we have a Black Caucus in the General Assembly; do we have a White Caucus? This is a question I’ve heard a lot lately.
Why, indeed, should legislators from poor urban districts band together? Why don’t they just disperse themselves among the general population of legislator land? They could depend on the kindness and generosity of Republicans, rural Democrats and suburban white people of both parties to do the right thing for the urban poor and black people in general. Why are they suspicious of that approach, just because they have been marginalized, denied voting rights and discriminated against for more than 100 years?
Could it be that, by banding together, they have the strength, even as a minority, to negotiate with the House leadership to get things for their districts? To demand that minority rights are protected? To see that leadership positions include a proportional share of blacks?
You would think that the Black Caucus is the only special-interest caucus in the General Assembly. But there’s an East Tennessee Caucus, a Sportsman’s Caucus, a Freshman Caucus. There are any number of like-minded legislators who get together to discuss common issues, introduce legislation and vote together to advance an agenda. . . .
Campfield is like the kid with the scab on his knee; he can’t resist scratching it. He gets onto something, and he won’t leave it alone. He started poking around the Black Caucus, a fishing expedition to discover if any shenanigans are being perpetrated.
That’s fine, as far as it goes. But rather than thinking through his position and preparing himself to defend it, he wandered off into dangerous rhetoric. Comparing the Black Caucus’s membership requirement to the Ku Klux Klan was a slip that will be impossible to take back. You don’t compare your colleagues to a terrorist organization and not expect to get hammered.
Campfield had already gotten the Democratic leadership angry, with his observations about how things are done in the General Assembly. Campfield has put himself in the position of letting the Black Caucus and the media bleed him out, and the Democratic leadership can just sit back and watch.
Perhaps Campfield thinks the Black Caucus, as a powerful force in the House, is overstepping the bounds of propriety. Then he should make that argument. But to suggest they shouldn’t exist because they aren’t needed is a specious argument. Evidently some conservative Republicans think we have reached a Golden Age of colorblindness. Do they really believe that blacks would get a fair shake in the Tennessee General Assembly if they didn’t stick together and look out for one another? Get real.
Read the whole thing..
Previous Posts on the Wacky Republican Stacey Campfield:
Black Legislator: Is the Republican a KKK Member?
Campfield's Racist Card Lands in Washington Post
Rep. Campfield (R) Linked to Racism
Jesus General Offers Sympathy to Rep. Campfield (R)
White GOP Lawmaker Wants to be Black (Not Santorum!)
Republican Rep. Campfield Hurls Insults at Dissenting Constituent & Exhibits Failure to Master 3rd Grade Language Skills
Stacey Campfield Black Caucus Tennessee Racism Wacky Republican legislator Race KKK
