Chas Sisk

csisk@tennessean.com

State Sen. Stacey Campfield says he regrets that "some people have missed the point" of a blog post he made earlier today that compared Obamacare signups to Nazi "train rides".

In a statement released this afternoon, Campfield stood by the analogy, saying that the Affordable Care Act would open the door to "bureaucrats deciding who should be given life

saving medications and who should be denied" and government funding for abortion. But he said that point had been lost amid the reference to the Holocaust.

"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."

Campfield is no stranger to the provocative analogy, but his one-line "Thought of the Day" posted this morning has drawn an unusually high level of criticism, including condemnation from the head of the Tennessee Republican Party.

Campfield wrote, "Democrats bragging about the number of mandatory sign ups for Obamacare is like Germans bragging about the number of manditory (sic) sign ups for 'train rides' for Jews in the 40s."

Campfield's confirmation of Godwin's Law prompted state GOP Chairman Chris Devaney to demand he apologize.

"While Stacey Campfield routinely makes remarks that are over the top, today's comments are ignorant and repugnant," he responded in an official statement emailed to reporters this morning. "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."

Devaney's counterpart, Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Roy Herron, wasn't much a fan of the comparison either.

"Senator Campfield's blog post this morning is just the latest example of Tea Party Republican extremism. To compare attempts to save American lives through access to healthcare with Nazis killing European Jews is outrageous, pathetic, and hateful," he said. "Sen. Campfield and other Tea Party Republicans ought to look at the 5,000 Tennesseans who will die within the next 3 years because Tea Party Republicans refused to take the 100% federal funding to expand Medicaid and have denied working Tennesseans access to healthcare."

(h/t Pith in the Wind)