Here’s a clip from an interview I did with GOP US Senate designee Bruce Blakeman following the convention last week in which he appears to sideswipe his primary opponent, David Malpass, suggesting he’s out of touch with regular voters (the “pizza and beer wing of the party,” as Blakeman would say).

“People are angry,” Blakeman said (the full interview will eventually show up here). “They’re frustrated they’re worried. They want someone to listen to them, and they want somebody to fight for them in Washington.”

“They don’t want somebody sitting in an ivory tower and telling them what to do from the 20,000-foot altitude. They want somebody who came up through the grassroots level like I came up who understands and relates to them.”

Blakeman then notes that both Malpass and former Rep. Joe DioGuardi, who has vowed to petition his way into the GOP primary after failing to get onto the ballot at the convention, have each ponied up $1 million of their own cash on their respective campaigns.

The former Long Island lawmaker claims to have raised more than the two of them combined, adding: “I wasn’t even trying to raise money,” adding:

“Money is not going to win this election. I don’t care how much money Kirsten Gillibrand has, or David Malpass, or Joe DioGuardi or anyone else…You can’t buy the Republican Party because it’s not for sale anymore, and this country is not for sale anymore. People have had enough of the special interests.”

Malpass returned the favor earlier today, hitting Blakeman for presiding over what he said was the largest tax increase in Nassau County history.

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