This, from state Sen. Stacey Campfield's blog, presented without comment:
Update (10:22 a.m.): A statement from Tennessee Republican Party chairman Chris Devaney:
"While Stacey Campfield routinely makes remarks that are over the top, today's comments are ignorant and repugnant. No political or policy disagreement should ever be compared to the suffering endured by an entire generation of people. Those comments have no place in our public discourse. He should offer an apology to members of the Jewish faith immediately."
Update (1:10 p.m.): The Knoxville News Sentinel's Tom Humphrey talked to Campfield:
Campfield, contacted by phone, said “it was never my intent to insult anyone,” but he is not making an apology and believes the analogy is appropriate. “I think Jewish people should be the first to stand up against Obamacare,” Campfield said. “If government is controlling people's health insurance, they are potentially controlling people's lives....letting the government choose who lives and who dies.”
Update (3:30 p.m.):
The Tennessean reports that Campfield now regrets his comment:
"It was not meant to offend, but rather to warn. My intention was to draw attention to Obamacare and the slippery slope that I see occurring in the lives of myself, my constituents and the rest of the country with the continued taking of freedom by the federal government. In no way was my post meant to diminish or detract from the pain, suffering and loss of life that occurred during this dark time in human history."
Update (4:00 p.m.):
From the Associated Press...wow:
Campfield said Monday he was unmoved by the criticism from the chairman of his own party. "He never called me," he said. "If he wants to apologize to Obama, he can."
Update (4:10 p.m.): A statement from House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick:
“I was shocked by Senator Campfield’s disgraceful blog post that compared a policy dispute with the suffering of an entire race of people. The far-reaching effects of the Holocaust are still felt today, and any effort to cheapen that suffering is distasteful and classless. I call on Senator Campfield to apologize immediately.”
Update (4:13 p.m.): Campfield's Democratic opponent Cheri Siler chimes in:
"With so much at stake in the state of Tennessee, we cannot afford to have our elected officials making inflammatory statements of this magnitude. It is deplorable that Campfield is trivializing the loss of millions of Jews. He is clearly politicizing this sensitive subject to get free earned media. By his own words, he proves that he is as cheap as he is classless."
