Allan Brauer, the communications chair for the Democratic Party of Sacramento, Calif., told an aide to Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Tex.) on Friday that he hoped her children "die from debilitating, painful and incurable diseases."
@amandacarpenter May your children all die from debilitating, painful and incurable diseases.
— allanbrauer (@allanbrauer) September 20, 2013
He followed up the attack with a series of vicious tweets:
Busy blocking the tapeworms that have slithered out of hellspawn @amandacarpenter's asshole. How's your day so far?
— allanbrauer (@allanbrauer) September 20, 2013
I'm being attacked on Twitter for wishing one of Ted Cruz's pubic lice to experience the pain her boss is inflicting on Americans.
— allanbrauer (@allanbrauer) September 20, 2013
Brauer’s twitter bio says his tweets are "my own, not on behalf of any organization with which I work."
A request for comment from the Sacramento Democratic Party was not returned.
Update: Under pressure for his incendiary tweets, Brauer apologized for wishing that the children of a political rival died a horrible death:
Hi @amandacarpenter I am truly sorry for my tweet. I was very upset and lashed out. Your kids are not fair game either. My apologies.
— allanbrauer (@allanbrauer) September 20, 2013
Update (2:13 p.m.): The California Democratic Party spokesman Tenoch Flores said "the problem" with attacks like wishing a painful death on the children of a political staffer is that it lets people like Sen. Ted Cruz "off the hook," in a statement to Yahoo's Chris Moody:
"The problem with this kind of rhetoric is that it lets fringe characters—those who are actively trying to shut down the government—like Ted Cruz, off the hook. It's never acceptable to wish physical harm against political opponents, regardless of how objectionable their policy priorities are."