In commenting about the Tea Party movement, Rep. Rick Larsen told the Seattle Times Editorial Board Aug. 2 that he had been to one of their demonstrations and that they were well-meaning people. “I don’t question their integrity,” he said, “but I question where they want to take things.” In other words, he had a policy disagreement with them. Which is fine.

On Aug 3, the Republicans pointed out a video at the campaign site www.ricklarsen.org smearing Larsen's Republican opponent, John Koster, for praising the Tea Party. This video includes shots of signs that make the Tea Party folk look like racists and weirdos, such as Obama-as-Hitler signs.

I’ve only been to two Tea Party demos, one of them a Rick Larsen town hall at a baseball stadium in Everett last year—an event about the health-insurance bill—and the other April 15 this year in downtown Bellevue. In both cases the only Obama-as-Hitler signs were by the LaRouchies, who are not Tea Party people. They are gate-crashers. I didn’t see any racist signs among the Tea Party people, but I know there have been some tasteless ones, to say the least, at other demos. The progressives have made much hay from these signs, trying to brand the whole movement with them. And that is what Larsen’s people are doing here.

And so—a reasonable, respectful candidate in person and a nasty, unfair attack ad on the same candidate’s Internet page. This is politics today.