CNN Reporter Lectures Anchor Over Use of 'Tea Party Radicals'

After slamming the "Tea Party radicals" who he said initiated the shutdown, CNN's Michael Holmes was admonished by his colleague Jim Acosta on Thursday.

"I mean, first of all, let's be careful about using the term 'radical,' because a lot of those folks feel like they're standing on principle today, even though they didn't come out on top in this," Acosta lectured Holmes. [Video below the break. Audio here.]

Holmes had noted that many conservative Republicans who wanted to tie a spending bill to ObamaCare wouldn't face big trouble from their left flank in the next election.

"The sort of Tea Party radicals, if you like, who kicked all of this off, they electorally are safe. They're not going to lose their seats because of redistricting and the like. They're more about ideology than pragmatism or bipartisanship," Holmes noted.

Below is a transcript of the exchange, that aired on Around the World on October 17 at 12:05 p.m. EDT:

MICHAEL HOLMES: The sort of Tea Party radicals, if you like, who kicked all of this off, they electorally are safe. They're not going to lose their seats because of redistricting and the like. They're more about ideology than pragmatism or bipartisanship. What chance they're going to change their minds at all when we get to January and it's talk time again?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN senior White House correspondent: Well, Michael, I mean, first of all, let's be careful about using the term "radical," because a lot of those folks feel like they're standing on principle today, even though they didn't come out on top in this.