Is this any way to conduct a political debate?
The Politico news website said Vice President Joe Biden, who attended the meeting, used the term, although he and the White House denied it.
Doyle expressed regret, saying he "wasn't talking about the Tea Party," but their hardball tactics.
"Had I simply said 'hostage-taker,' there wouldn't be this reaction."
Perhaps. But bluntly tarring a US politician as a terrorist after the September 11 attacks will incur wrath.
Several other lawmakers have used alarming language in recent weeks, on both sides of the aisle.
Last month, US congresswoman Michele Bachmann, a 2012 Republican presidential candidate, accused Obama of "holding the full faith and credit of the United States hostage so he can continue his spending spree."
Even the commander in chief has engaged in the violent metaphors, accusing congressional Republicans last year of holding the extension of unemployment benefits "hostage."
But the true lord of the zings may have been Senator John McCain, who ranted o