Last November, Rep. Bob Filner (D - Cali.) was re-elected to Congress. The supporters of Tea Party-backed Republican Nick Popaditch sure were gracious in defeat, though! Except for when they screamed "Jew" at Filner and spat at him.

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Well! That seems like a fun election night party. Maybe that young fellow is yelling "Drew"? Or "You"?

I'm not sure why this video didn't get more national play in November, when the events actually happened. But it sure is, uh, unsettling, isn't it? Popaditch doesn't seem to think it was so bad:

While Filner was surrounded by a group of Popaditch supporters who were waving signs and yelling, Popaditch, who was present, said he did not see or hear any threats.

"Absolutely not," said Popaditch. "Why would I tolerate that? I'm a United States Marine. I wouldn't tolerate that."

Ha, ha, no, of course United States Marines would never tolerate unhinged aggression. Ever! And obviously, this mob of deeply angry white people is not at all representative of the Tea Party. No, probably these people are paid liberal plants!

(I don't, contrary to Filner and Lawrence O'Donnell, think that Jared Loughner was influenced by heightened or violent right-wing rhetoric; he seems to mostly have been influenced by being a nutcase. But I don't know why we'd need to connect angry Popaditch supporters to Loughner to be, you know, disturbed by the video. Nor do we need to make a nonexistent connection between Lougner and right-wing rhetoric when there are plenty of deranged killers who have made that connection perfectly explicit.)

Update: San Diego City Beat has been all over the nutty Popaditch and his supporters here and elsewhere. The folks there were also kind enough to send us a better-quality video:

[via Jeffrey Goldberg]