Frank Madla Doesn't Like Bloggers

From the Express-News:

State Sen. Frank Madla says he's the victim of dirty politics after a six-second video clip shot at a recent fundraiser made its way onto several political blogs last week.

The video shows the three-term senator standing with family, wagging a finger and earnestly telling a group behind the camera: "When I get to the state Capitol, I lock the Democratic Party in my trunk."

Madla said he was addressing supporters at a Jan. 10 fundraiser where Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, a Republican, was a featured guest.

The campaign of state Rep. Carlos Uresti, who's challenging Madla for his seat in the March Democratic primary, disseminated the video last week in an e-mailed news release headlined: "What Frank Madla thinks of Democrats ... " It goes on to identify Uresti as "a real Democrat."

"I think it demonstrates the kind of campaign my opponent is waging," Madla said.

"We didn't send anybody to the fundraiser," he said. "Somebody brought it to us."

Uresti has hammered Madla with the charge that he implicitly supported deep cuts to the Children's Health Insurance Program by voting to allow debate of the bill, an action Madla defends as purely procedural. And Uresti is trying to call Madla's Democratic credentials into question.

He's gotten help from state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, who endorsed Uresti and said Madla doesn't routinely vote in the interest of his heavily Democratic district.

Uresti said the video goes a long way in proving the point.

You can find more background to this story at BOR and the original video.