CO: Right-Wing Legislator Tries to 'Provoke' Thought With Racist Email

Rocky Mountain News:

A Loveland lawmaker has been blasted by his colleagues for e-mailing an essay written by someone else that accused "welfare-pampered blacks" of waiting for the government to save them from Hurricane Katrina.

[...]

One passage says, "President Bush is not to blame for the rampant immorality of blacks."

Rep. Jim Welker, the legislator who sent the email, the trotted out the oldest defense in the book:

"Some of my best friends are of different skin color, like Ed Jones," said Welker, referring to Sen. Jones, a Colorado Springs Republican who is black.

Jones said that he and Welker are friends, but not best friends.

Unsurprisingly, Rep. Welker has brought embarassment to his cause in the past:

Welker last year took heat from his own caucus for saying he feared that if gays were allowed to marry, then people might eventually marry their animals. Republicans said they were embarrassed by his comments.

Classy.