The chairman of the Texas Democratic Party, Gilberto Hinojosa, sent the following email Tuesday morning.

Emphasis in the original.

Problem: The guy with the Confederate flag was just a guy. Not a crowd. Certainly not the majority of the crowd, which was composed of veterans who sought to re-open their memorials after the Obama administration closed them down and surrounded them with barrycades.

Here’s the “crowd” with whom Ted Cruz is aligning.

Here’s more of the same crowd.

And more, with Sen. Cruz in the midst of the crowd that the Texas Democrats call “ugly.”

This “ugly crowd,” as Chairman Hinojosa and/or his email ghostwriter slurs them, is made up of veterans who put their lives on the line defending this country. The Texas Democrats might not recognize the best word for them: Patriots.

Texas Democrat Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa owes them and Sen. Ted Cruz an immediate apology. The Texas Democrats should consider replacing him with someone who respects our veterans. Of course, being the party that pioneered the racist “white primary” and which is still beholden to some nefarious characters including career trial lawyers like himself, Hinojosa’s replacement is likely to be just as out of touch.