The Republicans are having trouble gaining ground today because they’re acting like the Democrats of the 1990’s. They’re only catering to their extreme base, and worse, they’re betraying each other and stabbing one another in the back whenever they think their political fortunes are at stake (Sarah Palin anyone?) Nowhere is this new theory on display more prominently than with the cold shoulder the hard right press has been giving one of their most powerful members, radio talk show host Michael Savage.
If you haven’t heard of him, Michael Savage is roughly the third most popular talk radio host in America. He’s a PhD from UC Berkeley who has written over 25 books, accumulated millions of loyal fans, and earned a place on the list of 16 publicly named people who have been barred from getting travel visas to the United Kingdom. British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said Savage is on the list because England feels that he “...foments hatred… division… and violence” through his radio show. The rest of the 16 includes a Jewish extremist, a member of Hamas, a Holocaust denier, suspected terrorists, skin-heads and American homophobe Fred Phelps. The Home secretary insists that visiting England is a privilege and a free country reserves the right to keep out criminals, haters and extremists.
Far be it for me to lecture the British on whom they let into their country, but the nation’s record of who is and isn’t allowed to get a travel visa, is hard to fathom. In recent years, Martha Stewart, Snoop Dog and President Obama’s brother, Samson, have been denied travel visas. However, pedophiles like Roman Polanski and convicted rapists like Mike Tyson travel in and out of the country with impunity.
Of course, the larger issue isn’t what the British are doing but what the conservative press in America have failed to do. The right-wing press typically has rallied around prominent members who get into trouble or face real or imagined censorship, so why aren’t they supporting one of their best and brightest in his hour of need? When Rush Limbaugh was in trouble for using illegal drugs, and talked himself out of buying the St. Louis Rams, the right-wing talk shows championed his cause. When Bill O’Reilly was caught on tape sexually harassing a subordinate, the right wingers took to the air to defend him.
Rest assured I’m not championing Michael Savage. I find him to be paranoid, bitter and bigoted. He’s almost a caricature of an old school bigot, more likely to show up at the pizza parlor in “Do the Right Thing” than on the air. On his show he constantly claims that Mexicans are diseased, refers to blacks as savages, calls for the killing of Muslims ( before they kill us) and generally spends every show decrying the downfall of a nation that he once considered great. But at least he’s honest. He doesn’t use code words or dance around his bigotry like Bill O’Reilly or Sean Hannity to placate advertisers and ameliorate the guilt of suburbanites. The one time he sold out was in 2003 after he was fired from MSNBC for yelling at a homosexual guest and telling the man to get AIDS and die. I was disappointed that he apologized for his statement in a cowardly attempt to stay on the air. Everyone knows that’s how he really feels and he should’ve been man enough to stick by his words.
It will be enjoyable to sit back over the next several months and watch the drama play out. I prefer Michael Savage, who will tell me that he hates me, to a whole slew of charlatans out there who feign inclusiveness over ideological commitment. The right- wing press might fear Savage represents an extreme negative wing of the party, but if you look at the polls lately, he might be the only wing they’ve got left.
(Dr. Jason Johnson is an associate professor of political science and communications at Hiram College in Ohio, where he teaches courses in campaigns and elections, pop culture, and the politics of sports. He can be reached at johnsonja@hiram.edu.)
