The Southern Scholar

Rep. Stacey Campfield, the Republican freshman representative from Knoxville who has created quite a stir on the Hill with his blog in the past, has called the Tennessee Black Legislative Caucus more racist than the Ku Klux Klan.

Huh? Here's what all-around good guy Matt Gouras from the AP reports:

"'My understanding is that the KKK doesn't even ban members by race," Rep. Stacey Campfield, a freshman lawmaker from Knoxville, told The Associated Press, adding that the KKK "has less racist bylaws" than the black lawmakers' group."

In case you don't know, here's the original story.

I admire Stacey for his forthrightness on other issues and the fact that he has the guts to blog about the Hill from his, ahem, unvarnished perspective. I almost must say that, in my brief time working on the Hill, my conversations with Stacey were often a highlight of my day. He is an interesting conversationalist and a good guy, party affiliations aside.

But man, what are you thinking? His impossibly stupid comments putting the KKK above the Black Caucus is the kind of schtick that makes a man unelectable for the rest of his life. Then again, he IS from Knoxville...