Keith Olbermann rips GOPer over Muhammad Ali comments: 'Racist clown unfit to represent parakeets'

A previously obscure Republican lawmaker from Tennessee felt the harsh glare of the national spotlight Saturday night after he slammed Muhammad Ali -- calling him "Cassius Clay" -- on Twitter following the heralded athlete's death

In a tweet since taken down, Tennessee House Rep. Martin Daniel (R-West Knoxville) wrote: "Cassius Clay was a skilled, great boxer, but failure to enlist in the military when the call was made is a black cloud on his character."

The response was fast and furious with Twitter commenters outraged by his calling the boxing great by the name he went by before converting to Islam, as well as his ahistorical view concerning Ali's famous refusal to be inducted as part of the draft -- as opposed to enlisting.

Commenters were quick to note that Daniel -- whose biography states he was born in 1956 -- would have been old enough to enlist in the military at a time when the war in Vietnam raged on.

His bio indicates that he went to college instead.

Others pointed out that Daniels is a Trump supporter -- noting that the presumptive GOP presidential nominee received multiple deferments during the war before being classified 4-F due to bone spurs in the heels of his feet.

Daniel has since replaced the tweet with another, changing "black cloud" to "dark shadow," but has left other critical Tweets about Ali in place.

A screen grab of Daniel's deleted tweet and responses below, with Keith Olbermann leading the way: