Titelman, caught swearing on camera outside Ky. fundraiser, fires back at film crew, Republicans

An Internet video that shows him cursing at a camera crew has longtime Pennsylvania politico Bill Titelman firing back at the filmmakers and their Republican backers, who he said pay amateur videographers to "stalk" Democrats in search of embarrassing out-of-context footage.

The video shows Titelman arguing with the crew outside a home hosting a fundraiser for Bruce Lunsford, a U.S. Senate candidate in Kentucky whom Titelman contributes to. He swears at the camera crew twice while telling them to move from the home's sidewalk.

In an interview with PolitickerPA.com, Titelman said he had seen the crew three times in two days, each time with a different Senate candidate. He had had enough.

"So I said to the guy, 'You know, you think this is a respectable activity? You're proud of making a living this way? Would your parents approve of your living? Is this the way politics should be conducted?'

"One of the guys dropped an f-bomb about Democrats, and I responded. I probably shouldn't of, but I just had enough," Titelman continued.

The video says Titelman assaulted the camera crew, which Titelman denies.

"I didn't lay a hand on them," he said. "He got up in my face, and I got back in his. One of the (Lunsford supporters) said, 'I should have punched the guy''; I'm glad I didn't do that. Although in my opinion, that's what they deserve.

"I hope they get a big punch in the nose at the ballot box from the electorate," he added.

The National Senatorial Republican Committee posts the videos on its website, calling them its "tracking videos."

"Is this the way to spend their campaign money?" Titelman asked, adding that he's never heard of a Democrat filming Republicans this way. "Shouldn't they be spending campaign money telling people what they're going to do?"

Lunsford faces U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the Senate minority leader, this fall. The race is ranked the 12th most competitive in the country by The Pindell Report.

Titelman used the incident as a launching point for the Republican Party nationwide.

"It frustrates me to no end," he said. "Republicans have no ideas of their own ... all they have is these kinds of tactics."