In this May 16, 2013, file photo, Republican state Sen. Stacey Campfield of Knoxville speaks at a Senate subcommittee hearing in Nashville.NASHVILLE – A state Senator’s blog post likening the insurance requirement under President Barack Obama’s health care law to the forced deportation of Jews during the Holocaust drew swift condemnation Monday from leaders of both parties in Tennessee.
Republican Sen. Stacey Campfield of Knoxville wrote the comment in a post titled “Thought of the Day.”
“Democrats bragging about the number of mandatory sign ups for Obamacare is like Germans bragging about the number of manditory sign ups for ‘train rides’ for Jews in the 40s,” he wrote.
State Republican Party Chairman Chris Devaney called the comment “ignorant and repugnant,” and called for an immediate apology to the Jewish community. Democratic Party Chairman Roy Herron called the statement “outrageous, pathetic, and hateful.”
State Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey said Campfield’s comments were “extremely insensitive and crossed the line,” while fellow Republican state House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick called them “distasteful and classless.”