Always one to speak out against the GOP, "Hardball" host Chris Matthews took Republican-bashing one step too far, calling the GOP's three most vocal senators — Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) — "political terrorists."

During his MSNBC show, Matthews first targeted Cruz, discussing his unwillingness to back down from fellow Republican senators unwilling to support a government shutdown over Obamacare.



"Let's just say he's a political terrorist on this one," Matthews said of the Texas senator.

But Matthews continued, including Paul and Lee in his lambasting of the Right.

"Let me finish with the political terrorists of the Right," he continued. "I'm going to talk about them. Their names are Cruz, Paul and Lee. ...This is more than just obstructionism, this is political terrorism."

Matthews then turned to his guests, one of which was former Obama advisor, David Axelrod. Axelrod, surprisingly, fought back against Matthews' use of the term "political terrorist," saying he was uncomfortable with the word "out of respect for the victims of violent terrorists."

But Matthews wasn't deterred, countering that referring to the three Senators as "political terrorists" was acceptable and vowing to continue to use it.

Watch Matthews' harsh characterization of the senators.