It was a windy day in Austin, June 13 when Tea Party activists gathered for an anti-immigrant rally on the steps of the Capitol. The wind makes part of Rebecca Forest’s speech inaudible. So here it is:

“If you want to know why we can’t pass legislation in Texas it’s because we have 37, no 36, Hispanics in the Legislature. All of the states that have passed legislation have a handful and I mean literally, some of them have NO Hispanic legislators, well, maybe 3 or 5 or something. So that’s, umm, part of our problem and we need to change those numbers. Umm, we need to do something about that in fact, during the debate on “sanctuary cities,” several Hispanic legislators testified that their grandparents and their parents were migrant workers who came over here to work and that THEY even worked in the fields. And some of them even admitted that they had been here illegally and that they came illegally. So the problem is these Hispanic legislators … is that it’s too close to them and they, umm… simply cannot vote their conscience correctly. So that’s about all I have to say to you, please come to the hearing, and help us spread this message. Thank you.”

mysa.com reports that top Republicans moved quickly to distance themselves from Forest’s statements:

“The governor certainly does not agree with such misguided and unproductive comments. This is not about race or politics — it is about public safety. We must ensure our peace officers have the discretion they need to keep Texans safe,” Perry spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said.

House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, called Forest’s statements “divisive and intolerant” and said they “have no place in our (Republican) party or in the Texas House of Representatives, where our Hispanic members bring a diverse and valuable perspective to the legislative process, just as our Hispanic citizens do in our state.”

Added Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, “The sanctuary cities bill is not about the color of any person’s skin — it’s about enforcing the law.”

Texas Democrats saw it differently and TDP Deputy Executive Director Anthony Gutierrez released the following statement:

“While Ms. Forest’s comments are incredibly offensive, it’s about time a Republican was finally upfront about their Party’s hateful attitude toward Hispanics. The ‘sanctuary cities’ debate is really about the belief Ms. Forest confirmed: that Republicans simply think there are too many Hispanics in Texas.

“This legislation being debated today is yet another attempt by Republicans to pander to the Tea Party by attacking Hispanics. Cowardly Republican politicians like Rick Perry, David Dewhurst and the legislative majority have shown they are willing to trample the rights of Hispanic Texans in order to score points with their Tea Party base.”

One thing is for sure, if you support anti-Hispanic legislation like SB9, you are standing with sad people like Forest.