De Rocha didn’t respond to Hensley’s plea, but the governor’s office issued a statement emphasizing the state’s social-media policy didn’t force government employees to relinquish First Amendment rights. Organizations and individuals are “welcome to propose and discuss ideas to further the flourishing of civil society,” said Brownback spokeswoman Eileen Hawley.Governor Brownback's office seems to be equating throwing insults at persons with disabilities as (paraphrased) "Discussing ideas that help society flourish".
While I think we can all agree that we have first amendment rights and do not relinquish them, I'm quite unaware of first amendment rights inoculating you from termination as a state employee. More importantly, this argument runs significantly afoul of the Brownback administration's stance on free speech by a state employee.