Hardball host Chris Matthews and Sen. David Vitter (R-LA)* got into a shouting match today over the former’s alleged repetition of “Democratic talking points”: Let’s go to the tape:

MATTHEWS: Why are you afraid of having a vote on whether to oppose the president’s escalation – a simple up or down vote – because that’s the question at hand right now? … If you had to vote on that right now, senator, would you vote for that escalation?
VITTER: … You’re very good at reading the Democratic talking points and using the word “escalation.”
MATTHEWS: No, no, well, that was probably a clever line 20 years ago.

Stick around for the end of the clip when Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) essentially proves Vitter’s point by applauding Matthews’s characterization of the debate over the Iraq vote. (“I think you made it pretty clear. This is a vote of whether you support or don’t support the president’s proposed increase in forces in Iraq.”)

Video here.

* CORRECTION: I originally identified Vitter as a Democrat. Clearly, that’s not the case.