OKLAHOMA CITY - A controversial social media post by an Oklahoma state lawmaker in which she vented frustration over work on a budget agreement is raising eyebrows.
The 27-year-old representative says she took to a private Snapchat account, but the snaps didn’t sit well with some of her constituents.
Here is what Republican State Representative Tess Teague said in those videos:
“Day one of sine die week, we want to pass a budget and we want it to work and paid protesters were at the State Capitol... Let's just go ahead and say what we're all thinking... When you yell profanities outside the Speaker of the House`s door, he is not coming out... And I would be willing to bet that not one protester there today can tell you what 'GPT' is or that out-of-state royalty owners pay 18% and up. Moral of the story kids is that if you want to have a part of the discussion, you want to sit at the table, know what you are talking about.”
The voice filter and bunny ears are a little distracting, but it is clear Teague is venting about something.
"It sounds like a child,” Lorettta Lovelace said.
"Why is she using Snapchat with voice filters?" Byron Black said.
Teague says the snaps were supposed to be private.
"The context wasn't public,” she said. “It was a Snapchat that I sent to my friends. It was on my Snapchat story, but the only people I have on my Snapchat are all of my closest friends and two colleagues, and so recording it, I do think is a little bit of a breach of privacy."
Now, it is making viral rounds on social media.
"I'm getting about 30 notifications or so on Twitter every two minutes,” Teague said.
Her office has also received phone calls and emails. The incident comes at a time frustrations and tensions are high at the capitol, and Teague took hers to Snapchat about paid protestors showing up in capitol halls.
"It wasn't something that I put out to the public, but the content I do stand behind. My frustration is over the paid protestors at the capitol. Members of my caucus talked to members of the protest, and we're told that they're being paid $100 per day,” she said. "I absolutely do believe that we have citizens who are up here, rallying and protesting, and we get that often. We had oil and gas come in the other day."
While Teague’s voice and image may be filtered, the way it was perceived by those in her district is not.
"That's not professional,” Lovelace said. “Childish."
"My 15 year old daughter likes doing that,” Black said. “I think it's a little unprofessional."
"That's not my cup of tea,” another constituent said.
"I do apologize, it's not something I'm not super proud of,” Teague said. “But I do stand behind the content of it."
Teague says after another legislator recorded those videos and shared them they spread like wildfire. She also says lawmakers are working to gather proof protestors were paid.
