Capitol Weekly released a memo yesterday from the joint Legislative Rules Committee that resorted to ad hominem attacks against today’s Tea Party protesters. While it is certainly an individual’s right to disagree with the protest and, though in poor taste, even within the rights of some to use their national TV program to do so (see Anderson Cooper). What is unacceptable, and what is reprehensible and embarrassing for our state, is for our public legislature to refer to hard-working Californians with such a derogatory term.

It is not as though this was a slip of the tongue, we can give the benefit of the doubt to Anderson Cooper and say he had a lapse in judgment, but this was a calculated move to demean the protesters at today’s rally. The author of this memo wrote it with the full knowledge that it would be widely distributed and still opted to include this slanderous term. Seeing the politicians and their staff, who are supposed to represent the people of California, write something like this on a memo only speaks to the arrogance and dismissive attitudes that these members of the legislature and their staffs have developed

The worst part is who he/she has attacked with this memo. These are not paid SEIU members getting $10 an hour and bonuses if they bait others into responding. Rather, these are hardworking people who take time out of their lives to have their voices heard. These are farmers, small business owners and real working class Californians who are tired of having the budgets balanced on their backs. The participants in these protests do not have to be paid people to come to the capitol with a sign because the truth and the essence of what it means to be an American is on their side. The opposition has to resort to using terms that, in any other context, would be grounds for hate crime charges from ACLU because they realize they have no grounds on which to stand and this is all they have left.

It is also important to note what would have happened if someone had used a similar sexually charged statement to describe the people who gather around the capitol in purple shirts. The backlash would be exponentially worse than the slight buzz that is going around inside the capitol. This double-standard is a terrible thing, but at least the protestors can take solace in the fact that they have genuine support for their cause and do not have to attack others to get their message out.

It may be a while before we determine specifically who is responsible for this memo, but I expect when we do, there will be consequences. Continue to check Hogue News for updates as the situation develops and for a list of the members on the joint Legislative Rules Committee click here.