At one time, Mika Brzezinski was supposed to be a sort of liberal counterweight to Joe Scarborough.  At least I think that was the idea.  In practice, it was hard to tell what Brzezinski’s viewpoint was, as she didn’t make many substantive comments.  More recently, Brzezinski has taken to backing Joe up when it comes to criticizing President Obama or defending torture.   She has also made clear she’s uncomfortable that coverage of lies about death panels and euthanasia focuses on the right wing.

Today, she took it to a new level as she actively, and outrageously, spouted right wing talking points.  Morning Joe had a guest on (I think it was David Harris of the National Jewish Democratic Committee) to talk about the way Republicans and right-wingers have relentlessly compared President Obama and other Democrats to Adolph Hitler and the Nazis.  The guest started by mentioning how right wingers Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck are doing this, which is true.  Mika got right to her point, asking “why are you so focused on the right?” and pressing her guest to give examples of left wingers making Nazi comparisons.  The guest couldn’t really come up with anything (not surprisingly).  Joe insisted that anyone who is talking about this issue isn’t serious unless they note Rep. Jerrold Nadler, since Nadler compared town hall protesters to fascists.  Mika dismissed Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck as “just entertainers”.

Someone in the Media Balance Hall of Fame needs to give Mika and Joe an award.  Talk about false equivalency.

Rep. Nadler makes one fascist comparison and that’s supposed to “balance” the absolute onslaught of such comparisons being made by Republicans and the right-wing (not just by Limbaugh and Beck, though they can hardly be dismissed as mere “entertainers”): Reps. Paul Broun and John Linder, the National Republican Congressional Committee, Focus on the Family,  religious right leader Richard Land, the Washington Times, right wing commentators, tea partiers, and local Republican groups.  The National Jewish Democratic Committee says it has compiled 40 instances of conservative politicians, groups, and commentators comparing Democratic politicians and policies to Nazis.

Against this avalanche of evidence that the right wing is constantly comparing Obama and Democrats to Hitler and the Nazis, Mika and Joe offered Rep. Jerry Nadler’s one remark about town hall protesters.  To them, that is “balance”–this isn’t just a right wing thing, and we all ought to solemnly denounce such tactics “no matter who makes them.”  That’s sort of like saying that we ought to denounce lies about health care and euthanasia without making clear that the right wing is responsible for spreading these lies.

Today’s Morning Joe was another victory for “balance”.  Mika and Joe were able to reduce the serious issue of pervasive right wing and Republican rhetoric about Nazis and Hitler to just another left-right thing–something the left is just as guilty of.–and they avoided talking about the real problem, that right wingers, including elected officials, are obsessively and relentlessly comparing Obama and Democrats to Hitler and Nazis  What’s next–an expose showing how Democrats are equally responsible for spreading lies about where President Obama was born?