Anthony Weiner Calls Critic a ‘Jackass’ as Democratic Primary Nears - East Idaho News
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Anthony Weiner Calls Critic a ‘Jackass’ as Democratic Primary Nears

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Getty 090413 AnthonyWeiner?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1378331013307Michael Loccisano/Getty Images(NEW YORK) –Anthony Weiner, who quit Congress and is now running for mayor of New York City, called a voter a “jackass” Wednesday as his campaign limped toward primary day.

The not-politically-correct campaign moment came as Weiner was exiting a restaurant in Brooklyn’s heavily Jewish neighborhood of Borough Park. It also came on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, a holy day that marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year,

“It takes one to know one, jackass,” Weiner said, responding to an apparent provocation from the voter inside the restaurant.  The two men then launched into a two-minute shouting match.

“You wait until I walk out to say anything, that’s courage,” Weiner added and went back inside for a restaurant face-off.

“You have the nerve to even walk around in public? You’re disgusting,” the man told Weiner.

“Who are you to judge? What rabbi taught you that you’re my judge?” Weiner, who is Jewish, shouted at the man in the video.  The voter in turn called Weiner’s behavior “deviant,” and urged the embattled candidate to stay out of the public eye.

Weiner later tweeted,  “In defense of me, the guy waited til I took a bite of honey cake to take a run at me.”

Weiner resigned from Congress in 2011 for posting lewd photos of himself online, but tried to make a comeback by campaigning for mayor this year. His effort was initially rewarded with strong showings in public opinion polls, but the campaign for city hall took a hit when he admitted on July 23 to sending explicit photos and texts to a woman he met online well after he had resigned from Congress.

With the Democratic primary a week away, the latest  poll of the New York City mayoral race shows Weiner supported by only 7 percent of likely voters.

It’s not the first time Weiner’s campaign has been rocked by raw verbal outbursts. His communications  director Barbara Morgan trashed a former campaign intern in a vulgar tirade for writing about her experience with the campaign.  Morgan later apologized for the rant.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

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