Radio host Joe Walsh thinks Elizabeth Lauten, the Republican congressional staffer who resigned after airiing her unfiltered, outrage-inducing view of President Barack Obama's daughters on Facebook, "should have kept her mouth quiet."
Walsh, a political conservative and former Illinois congressman, made the statement to the Chicago Tribune on Monday, the day Lauten announced her resignation as communications director for Tennessee Rep. Stephen Fincher.
As it happens, Walsh and Lauten used to work together when he was a GOP House rep. Her stint in his Washington office lasted from January to August 2011, according to the Trib. He told the paper, "She didn't last long with me. She just didn't work out in the office."
Lauten transformed from obscure Capitol Hill aide to national lightning rod seemingly within milliseconds after posting a blistering Facebook rant against Sasha and Malia Obama last week. She said the two should have shown "a little class" during a White House turkey-pardoning to-do.
"Rise to the occasion. Act like being in the White House matters to you," she sniped, adding the baffling insult: "Dress like you deserve respect, not a spot at the bar."
Lauten eventually removed the post and put up a mea culpa, lamenting that she'd realized "more clearly just how hurtful my words were."
