Local Rep. Stacey Campfield, who blogs here and is white, may want to become a member of the Tennessee Legislature’s Black Caucus:

The chairman of the state Legislature’s Black Caucus has questioned the motives of a white Knoxville lawmaker who asked to become a member of the group and sought a copy of its bylaws.
Black Caucus Chairman Rep. Johnny Shaw, D-Jackson, denied both requests from Rep. Stacey Campfield, R-Knoxville, according to separate interviews with the two men.

They differed on some details of their conversation, which for now has ended in something of a stalemate. Campfield said he might take further steps in the next legislative session.

“I think he just wanted to mess with somebody,” said Shaw. “Stacey Campfield is a strange guy. That’s the best I can say. He would never say why he wanted the bylaws or what he was trying to do.”

Campfield said he was “just curious” about operations of the Black Caucus and decided to ask Shaw for a copy of the bylaws. He said Shaw at one point asked for a copy of Republican Party bylaws and Campfield had a copy of the GOP document sent to Shaw.

“I have my questions” about the Black Caucus, Campfield said. “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.”

In the course of their conversation, the possibility of Campfield becoming a Black Caucus member came up.

By Campfield’s account, Shaw replied in a staunch negative.

I think it’s hysterical. It’s also amusing to watch Campfield repeatedly poke the establishment with a stick. Now, who said this:

“We still want to make sure the black community gets the representation it needs,” he said. “But it’s not just the black community. We represent people as a whole. When you start dividing people up into race, if you’re not careful you can get yourself into a lot of trouble.

Not Campfield but Shaw. Maybe they do get Campfield’s point.

Posted in uncategorized on September 22nd, 2005 by SayUncle | RSS 2.0 |