This morning, this happened.
The voting machine conspiracies belong in same category as the Trump birther garbage.
— Chuck Todd (@chucktodd) October 21, 2012
I cannot think of anything less equivalent than the controversies over voting machines and the birther theories, and it did not go unnoticed, mostly because it may be one of the dumbest things Chuck Todd has ever uttered from the keyboard of his BlackBerry.
Brad Friedman picked up on it, offering to explain it to Chuck, and from there it snowballed among the Twitterati. Here's a very small sample:
I've heard a lot of false equivalencies from the Villagers, but this one might just take the cake. There are very real concerns about technology proven to be easily hacked without any trail, reports in every election about machines recording votes which are proportionately different from votes cast, and more. In 2008, Tennessee officials went to jail for jacking around with voting and election integrity.
In other words, concerns about voting machine technology are real. They're not some whacko, out there conspiracy theory, and they should be addressed, as Joy Reid pointed out. Joy, by the way, is a veteran of Florida in 2000. It's not like she doesn't have experience with this.
On the other hand, the birther conspiracy theories have been widely investigated, debunked over and over again, and now are the province of people living their lives in a constant state of denial in order to soothe their racist feathers over the fact that a black guy is in the White House.
Simply put, Chuck, there is NO equivalence. None. Zero. For you to try and flip it around to a larger conversation about voter access laws and what you didn't say is just smoke for what you did say, which was stupid and unworthy of someone reporting on this election.
Here's my question: When Obama wins this election, and the right wing claims it was "stolen", will Chuck suddenly give voting machines a hard look?
Update: Brad Friedman has written a powerful answer to Chuck. Will attention be paid?
