Media Matters Takes Action on Radical Right Media

Piggybacking on last week’s Bill Moyers segment on radical right media and hate speech, Media Matters for America issued the following action advisory last night:

Michael Savage is at it again.

Dear Friend,

On the September 16 broadcast of his syndicated radio show, discussing a caller’s comment that “Muslim fundamentalists” are “walk[ing] around Northern Virginia as if they own the place,” Savage asked, “Why would a nation that is as evolved as America, and as liberal as America is socially, want to bring in throwbacks who are living in the 15th century? Now you have to ask yourself, what’s the benefit? What is the societal benefit of bringing in throwbacks, some of whom are no doubt terrorists, and some of whom are gonna produce children who will become terrorists?”

It’s time to pick up the phone again and let those who carry his show in your area know what you think about his hate speech and racist comments.

We all know this isn’t the first time Savage has used his #3 nationwide syndicated radio show to denigrate people and incite hate. Here are just a few of the other outrageous statements Savage has made that Media Matters has documented:

* On autism: “A fraud, a racket. … I’ll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it’s a brat who hasn’t been told to cut the act out. That’s what autism is. What do you mean they scream and they’re silent? They don’t have a father around to tell them, ‘Don’t act like a moron. You’ll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz. Straighten up. Act like a man. Don’t sit there crying and screaming, idiot.’ “
* On asthma: “[W]hy was there an asthma epidemic amongst minority children? Because I’ll tell you why: The children got extra welfare if they were disabled, and they got extra help in school. It was a money racket. Everyone went in and was told [fake cough], ‘When the nurse looks at you, you go [fake cough], “I don’t know, the dust got me.”‘ See, everyone had asthma from the minority community.”
* On immigrants from Africa: “There’s the new America for you. Bring them in by the millions. Bring in 10 million more from Africa. Bring them in with AIDS. Show how multicultural you are. They can’t reason, but bring them in with a machete in their head. Go ahead. Bring them in with machetes in their mind.”
* On the Democratic Party: “The Democrat [sic] Party is the minority party. … [Sen. Barack] Obama is a minority, a half minority at least. The membership is made up largely of minority blocs, the Hispanic caucus and the gay caucus — caucuses that are all against the white person.”
* On Guantánamo Bay: “I’d hang every lawyer who went down to Guantánamo to defend those murderers.”

Please look up your local Savage affiliate and take action here: http://mediamatters.org/action_center/savage_action/

Thanks for your action on this important call —

Erin Hofteig
New Media Director
Media Matters for America