State Senator Mocks Newly Laid-Off Reporter

Stacey Campfield asks her if she has any comments
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 18, 2014 7:40 AM CDT
State Senator Mocks Newly Laid-Off Reporter
Republican state Sen. Stacey Campfield of Knoxville, Tenn.   (AP Photo/Erik Schelzig)

It's not like outgoing Tennessee state Sen. Stacey Campfield, most recently in the news for standing by his Nazi-ObamaCare analogy, is known for his tact. But a taunting, personal message he sent to a newly laid-off reporter via Facebook is making headlines nonetheless. "So, do YOU have any comments now?" Campfield wrote to Cari Wade Gervin, who had just lost her job along with the rest of the staff at the Knoxville alt-weekly Metro Pulse. "Tacky and classless," is how Gervin described it to the Huffington Post after news of the dig began circulating. "Typical Stacey, but it doesn't make it any less ridiculous."

Campfield, who first rose to the national spotlight with his "don't-say-gay" initiative for schools, initially declined comment but has since posted some Facebook comments of the if-you-can't-take-it-don't-dish-it-out variety. “Do I care about someone who lost their job lying about me? No,” he tells Reuters. Gervin has covered Campfield the last few years, and the two have had what Poynter calls a "contentious" relationship. The state senator will be out of a job himself soon, having lost the Republican primary in August. He also faces a defamation suit from a previous political rival, notes Raw Story. (Click to read about his theory on the origin of AIDS.)

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