politico.com: (Dylan Byers)
MSNBC’s Chris Matthews called Texas Sen. Ted Cruz a “political terrorist” on Wednesday after the tea-party favorite called on fellow Republicans to defund Obamacare and said that a government shutdown wouldn’t necessarily spell disaster for Republicans.
“I believe it’s terrorism: This is the first time I’ve seen a political party, or even a fraction of it, say that their number one goal is to shutdown the American government, kill a bill that’s already been passed by congress, and refuse to pay bills already run up by congress in an attempt to basically risk default,” Matthews said on MSNBC’s Hardball. “This is an attempt to destroy all we know of the republican form of government in this country.”
The term “terrorist” elicited discomfort from both Republian (sic) strategist Steve Schmidt and former Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod, both of whom said the word should be reserved for people like the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing.
