Thanks to Chris Hayes, filling in for Rachel Maddow tonight, for pushing back against false equivalencies.
Hayes was interviewing Randa Fahmy Hudome, Associate Deputy Secretary of Energy during the George W. Bush administration, about the escalation of anti-Islamic rhetoric by Republicans in the past few months. The conversation was, for the most part, good, but there was a portion where she tried the old "but Democrats do it too" trick. Luckily, Hayes called her out on it.
HUDOME: Well, Chris, you had an interesting introduction there, but I would urge you to do a little bit more digging on those politicians who were speaking out against muslims, or anti-Islamic rhetoric. You forgot, in your Florida piece, to mention Jeff Greene, the Democratic Senate candidate, who's running for the United States Senate in Florida, and who himself called the Koran, you know, having very, you know, "crazy language" in the Koran. Said some things about Islam that are not very enlightening [sic]. So, Chris, this rhetoric is on both the Democrat and Republican side.
HAYES: Oh, come on.
HUDOME: It's not just a Republican issue.
HAYES: That is...
HUDOME: All I can tell you is, if you give me 24 hours, I will dig up every negative statement of every Democratic Senator and Congressman against Islam and Muslims in America. It won't be that hard.
HAYES: I would invite you to do that. I guarantee you we will post it on the blog. I really don't think you'll be able to come up with it.
I just wish more hosts would be willing to point this crap out when it happens.