Matthews asked if Pelosi is "going to castrate Steny Hoyer" if he becomes majority leader

On the November 13 edition of MSNBC's Hardball, host Chris Matthews asked political and social commentator Mike Barnicle if Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the presumptive speaker-elect of the House of Representatives, was "going to castrate [Rep.] Steny Hoyer [D-MD]" if Hoyer is elected House majority leader in the 110th Congress.

Media Matters for America has documented numerous instances in which Matthews has made comments denigrating women, such as his claim that criticizing the Bush administration's homeland security spending priorities a day after a terrorist attack in London made Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) look "more witchy," and his suggestion that the reason Clinton "doesn't admit" that she regrets her Iraq war vote is that her critics would say, "It's a woman's prerogative to change her mind." Most recently, during live coverage of the November 7 midterm elections, Matthews told Republican pollster Frank Luntz that Clinton gave a "barn-burner speech, which is harder to give for a woman; it can grate on some men when they listen to it -- fingernails on a blackboard."

Later in the show, Matthews again heaped praise on outgoing Republican congressmen, including Rep. Jim Ryun (R-KS), described by Matthews as "the great athlete and statesman," and Rep. Jim Leach (R-IA), "the college professor of the House." Matthews also lamented the departure of Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-CT), Rep. Curt Weldon (R-PA), Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Rep. Anne Northup (R-KY). As Media Matters noted, Matthews recently declared that he was "going to miss" Northup and Leach. Prior to the election, Media Matters documented Matthews heaping praise on embattled Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), whose concession speech Matthews predicted would be "Churchillian," and Sen. Jim Talent (R-MO), who Matthews described as "pretty impressive." Media Matters has documented other instances of Matthews gratuitously praising Republicans, such as President Bush (here, here, here, here, and here) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) (here and here).

From the November 13 edition of MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews:

MATTHEWS: It's amazing to see somebody like the great athlete and statesman, I guess you'd have to say, Jim Ryun, getting blown away. And Jim Leach, sort of the college professor of the House. And Nancy Johnson going. And Curt Weldon going and Fitzpatrick going. You know, when you're in -- Anne Northup going.

ARMEY: Yeah, I watched that.

[...]

BARNICLE: I'll tell you one thing. She is tough. I mean, all of the stuff that's been written about and talked about, you know, the first woman as speaker. She is tough. I mean, she's more from Baltimore than she is San Francisco.

The Murtha thing, I don't know. Reading it, reading her statement, it would seem to me, just reading it, is that she's saying, you know, I'm for Jack Murtha, he's my guy, I'm loyal to him.

MATTHEWS: Is she going to castrate Steny Hoyer if he gets in there? Is she going say, you may be there in form, but you're not there in fact?

BARNICLE: Well, what has she done to him already? I mean, the two of them --

MATTHEWS: Well, she's made it clear she's with Jack.

—R.C.