Dem. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez Apologizes For Yelling At Constituent (VIDEO)

Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-TX) apologized this afternoon for getting testy at a recent town hall, decrying the unflattering viral video that caught him yelling at a constituent as "cynical tactics by political operatives."

In an edited, less-than-45-second clip posted by BreitbartTV, Rodriguez is seen sparring with someone in what appears to be a restaurant. "Don't say that I'm not saying the truth," Rodriguez says in the video, smacking a sheet of papers for emphasis.

Rodriguez said in a statement that he's held 181 public events during this session of Congress.

"With that comes a healthy debate about issues people care passionately about," Rodriguez said. "Unfortunately political operatives associated with my opponent's campaign tried to turn it into something else -- attempting to hijack a 'Congress on your corner' event merely to engage in uncivil, cynical videotape baiting tactics. The people of Southwest Texas deserve better than that."

"That said, I apologize for losing my temper at an event that should always be a civil and respectful exchange of ideas," he said.

He's running against Francisco Canseco (R) this fall.

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Republicans are attempting to tie the incident to Rep. Bob Etheridge, who was caught on video yelling at young men with a camera, self-proclaimed student journalists.