Ed Schultz: Republicans are 'Bastards Who Want to Destroy the American Dream'

MSNBC's Ed Schultz on Wednesday called Republicans bastards that want to destroy the American dream.

Apparently recognizing that he might have gone too far, the "Ed Show" host apologized moments later (video follows with transcript and commentary):

ED SCHULTZ: It’s all about taking down President Obama. They don’t want to create jobs. They’re not about that at all. And I’ll guarantee you, if you do see the numbers change, which I believe they will, you won’t hear Boehner or any of these new righties give one ounce of credit to the last Congress for fighting like hell for a jobs bill. This is an ideological war. I say it on camera tonight here on MSNBC. I will fight these bastards every night at 6 o’clock because I know what they’re up against. I know what they want to do. They want to take down American workers. They want to outsource jobs. They want to destroy the American dream. Concentrate the wealth to the top, and control minorities. That’s what they’re about.

About four minutes later, after interviewing Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wa.), Schultz apologized:

SCHULTZ: It is going to be a very passionate fight, and I just, no I haven’t had anybody in my earpiece since I started tonight, and management’s not saying I’m over the top. I just referred to the Republicans as a term I probably shouldn’t have used, but, I know what, they just infuriate me. I don’t think they’re honest brokers. I think they’re out to destroy unions. I think they’re out to destroy the working folk of America. I think they have nothing on the table for middle-class, the middle-class Americans out there who haven’t had the breaks that the top two percent has had. So, if I offended some of you by that term I used a few moments ago, I apologize. Maybe I’ve had too much TV.

Schultz was obviously referring to a December 20 piece by the Daily Beast's Howard Kurtz:

“There are times I tell him he goes over the top and that TV is different than radio,” [MSNBC President Phil] Griffin acknowledges. “A couple of times he’s crossed the line. I said, ‘Ed, you ran down the field 100 yards and you spiked the ball. Don’t spike the ball!’”

Makes you wonder if someone did indeed mention something in Schultz's earpiece instructing him that he was over the top and needed to apologize.

After all, saying on national television that Republicans are bastards wanting to destroy the American dream seems a bit inflammatory even for the consistently inflammatory Schultz.