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The segment features comments from Rep. Joseph Pitts, R-PA., to the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection. Stewart and co., in typical Daily Show manner, ridiculed Pitts for the following astute observation: “It’s safe to say that a wealthy kid from the suburbs can play ‘Grand Theft Auto’ without turning to a life of crime, but a poor kid who lives in a neighborhood where people really do shoot cops and steal cars and deal drugs might not be so fortunate. There’s almost certainly a child somewhere in the America who is going to be hurt by this game. Maybe his dad is in jail or his big brother is already down on the corner dealing drugs.” 

Even those who didn’t see that episode of The Daily Show saw it via YouTube, or heard about it from multiple sources in the days that followed as it flew around the Internet.

According to Gamepolitics, in a statement issued last week Pitts claims the show misrepresented his words and belabors his stance against video game violence.

“I regret that Comedy Central’s ‘Daily Show’ portrayed my words the way they did. I believe that gratuitously violent video games are inappropriate for all children. However hard it may be to prove their effect in any given instance, tragedies like the killings at Columbine High School and more recent events closer to home clearly show that children from every neighborhood and income level can and do get into trouble — sometimes quite seriously,” he said.

Democrat Lois Herr, who is challenging Pitts in November, agreed with his concerns about video game violence, but called his comments an “embarrassment” and believes that Pitt has “lost touch with his constituency.”