The feud between Alaska Congressman Don Young and prominent historian Douglas Brinkley that started at a House committee hearing last Friday has continued, with Brinkley calling Young a bully and a "low-grade Joseph McCarthy."
Young, for his part, maintains that Brinkley is just a publicity hound who is trying to boost sales for his books.
Video of the nasty exchange between Brinkley and Young during last Friday's committee hearing over drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge went viral on the Internet. It was featured Tuesday on NBC's "Nightly News" broadcast, with anchor Brian Williams dubbing it "moment of the week on Capitol Hill. ... It goes very haywire very quickly."
The exchange was stunning, with a furious Young saying Brinkley's testimony was "garbage" and that the Rice University professor needed to "just be quiet." Brinkley told Young "I pay your salary!" and mocked the congressman's education.
A staffer sitting behind Young fiddling with her phone bolted up straight in wide-eyed astonishment at the verbal smack-down.
Brinkley did not respond to an interview request from the Daily News this week. But he's continued to poke Young in Lower 48 media. He told a television station in Houston, where Rice is located, that his students applauded when he walked into class.
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