Rep. Tim Ryan busted by MSNBC host for using 'dago red wine' slur while talking about Pelosi challenge

In a clip caught by Crooks & Liars, Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan was called out by an MSNBC host when he name-dropped 'dago red wine' when discussing his loss to Rep. Nancy Pelosi for the House Minority Leader spot.

Describing the differences between his Midwestern background and Pelosi's coastal San Francisco lifestyle, Ryan described to Hardball host Chris Matthews how big donors told him to challenge Pelosi for the leadership spot.

"You can maintain level of pragmatism if, you may drink, you know, not dago red wine in Youngstown but, you know, some kind of fancy Napa Valley red wine," Ryan told host Matthews. "You can still understand what's going on in people's lives."

A smiling Mathews replied, "Yeah, I wouldn't use the phrase 'dago red wine' too often," as it appeared that Ryan suddenly realized he had used a slur aimed at Italian-Americans.

"That's what we call it in Youngstown, Chris," Ryan said as he attempted to recover.

For the uninitiated, "dago red" is a generic name for cheap homemade wine popular with Italian peasants.

Watch the video below via Crooks & Liars.