Of All Weeks, Why Did Meet The Press Book Conspiracist Erick Erickson Today?

By Nicole Belle — October 28, 2018

It's been a horrifying week of right wing violence, the kind that many of us have warned would be the inevitable response to all the hatred and conspiracy mongering going on by those who have made a career out of peddling them.

People like Erick Erickson.

So who would be the last person that any media outlet should consider booking to discuss the lack of civility and basic human decency exhibited by right wing extremists?

Erick Frickin' Erickson. I mean, what the hell were you thinking, Chuck Todd and producers, asking Mr "Justice Souter is a goat fucking child molester" on?

And while ultimately, Erickson used his incredible privilege of a seat at the Meet The Press table to say nominally the right things, it ignores that earlier this week, he was pushing the migrant caravan conspiracies.

There’s also this : pic.twitter.com/f1gQzBuXoP

— Karla Archer (@karlaarcher) October 28, 2018

It's just the same kind of "both sides" cowardice that the media uses to normalize this kind of right wing extremism while wringing their hands over the loss of civility.

Meet the Press owes their viewership more and better than this.

That Erick Erickson is, in 2018, considered an acceptable TV guest anywhere outside of Fox News confounds the mind. Erickson has lost the ability to disappoint or shock; it’s what he does and has always done. The real news is @MeetThePress still put him on air after that tweet. https://t.co/5cIDFbu8qn

— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner) October 28, 2018

Erick Erickson spread lies and conspiracy theories about Kavanaugh accuser Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. pic.twitter.com/GnOpa41c1n

— Robert Hirschfeld (@rfhirschfeld) October 28, 2018

Erick Erickson spent days claiming, with no evidence, that Tom Price was taking charter flights because Democrats wanted to kill him. https://t.co/fqL8B7e7gE

— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) October 28, 2018

Pro-tip: if Erick Erickson says something that sounds reasonable to you, you're being played. This guy is a hateful far right religious fanatic and should have no place in anyone's discussions.

— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 28, 2018

@chucktodd talking to this person about conspiracies shows yet again he is 100% incapable of handling this moment in our history. There are many many qualified women who are up to the challenge while Chuck & the media bros, are not. pic.twitter.com/6ywiApPQwq

— #VoteThemOut (@octoberskeye) October 28, 2018

.@EWErickson wrote last year: "The political left is becoming the American ISIS." and advocated for secession from the Union.
https://t.co/Yj1bA2ANGq https://t.co/x5ufNtzVZM

— Zach Wahls (@ZachWahls) October 28, 2018

Hey @MeetThePress here is Erick Erickson spreading lies and conspiracy theories about Planned Parenthood and not being alarmed at all about the resulting violence. Think you might want a different expert. https://t.co/ziJ0HwX7aJ pic.twitter.com/EpRl1yC9sL

— Jennifer Gunter (@DrJenGunter) October 28, 2018

The idea that @MeetThePress would have @EWErickson on to discuss the bombing suspects. Or Rush Lumbaugh, when in fact Erick spreads his own conspiracy theories is really appallingly bad. And the follow ups are lame. https://t.co/F1OPFLF0p7

— Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) October 28, 2018

1. A man yelling “all Jews must die” murders eleven people at a Pittsburgh synagogue

2. @chucktodd and @MeetThePress decide now’s the time to invite on @EWErickson, who literally shot a copy of the New York Times and then proudly posted the picture on twitter pic.twitter.com/4kLJcNKIy6

— Jon Schwarz (@schwarz) October 27, 2018

Conspiracy theories Erick Erickson has promoted:
-the "caravan" of asylum-seekers are organized to affect midterms
-Dr. Ford's childhood home was foreclosed on by Kavanaugh's mom
-Ed Whelan's Kavanaugh doppelganger theory
-Parkland survivor David Hogg wasn't at school that day https://t.co/6sLqtY5WhO

— GHOULian BOOckell (@gbrockell) October 28, 2018

What we learned from today's talk shows: bothsidesism is a fanatical cult, impervious to contrary evidence. Trump could shoot somebody on Fifth Avenue and the usual suspects would blame incivility while Meet the Press would feature someone who urged him to pull the trigger

— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) October 28, 2018

Do better, NBC News and Chuck Todd.