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Banned In Britain: The Strange Case of Michael Savage

Published on 12/23/09 at 12:49:21 PST by Editor

When Savage gets really apocalyptic, it can be hard to separate his political observations from his medical complaints. Listen to him long enough and you may be persuaded to think that liberalism is code for all the stupid things we just can’t conquer: weakness and decadence and human frailty and death itself.

Kelefa Sanneh, The New Yorker, August 3, 2009

Banned In Britain, a new book by Dr. Michael Savage, is Dr. Savage's own account of the talk-star's placement on an undesirable list by Jacqui Smith, Britain's former Home Secretary, claiming the Dr. was a hate promoter who was "seeking to provoke others to serious criminal acts and fostering hatred which might lead to inter-community violence", and is currently banned from entering the county. No documents are sited by Smith or by the Brown Administration which allege that Dr. Savage is guilty of these allegations, other than some excerpts from clips taken from Dr. Savage's own broadcasts, and taken largely out of context at that, Dr. Savage alleges.

If you have not listened to Dr. Savage's broadcast, it is a unique experience. His style is unmatched on the radio. That style, it turns out, is the Dr.'s niche, which has propelled Dr. Savage to the third largest talk-star audience in radio, trailing only Rush Limbaugh and Shawn Hannity.

Savage claims to be a "true" conservative--accusing his counterparts of being sellouts--and describes himself as the present-day foremost patriarch of conservatism; it is not uncommon for him to rip both the Republican and Democratic political parties. For eight years he was an outspoken critic of the Bush Administration, and frequently leveled charges against Bush's former Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, as well as the former President's handling of the Iraq War, and of social policy. During the election, he belittled Sarah Palin, and attacked John McCain with impunity. Since January, 2009, the daily focus of Savage's drumbeat has moved from the Bush Administration to Obama, labeling Obama as a communist. Dr. Savage has interviewed guests on his program which have included left-winger Ralph Nader and religious right wingers including the late Jerry Falwell. Dr. Savage himself is Jewish, but rarely takes a religious stance.

What is strange about the Savage Case is that the conservative media has been silent in its response to the Jacqui Smith Hate list. In his book, Dr. Savage alleges that the banned persons list is only the first step on a slippery slope in which government will censor political speech and commentary. He warns that those who have failed to rally behind him in his own support will be the next victims, if present circumstance is allowed to stand.

The ban on Savage is so far from being a comprehensible act, so staggeringly capricious and stupid, as to defy evaluation.

Catherine Bennett, The Guardian.

There is some substance behind the silence of conservatives. Michael Savage (his real name is Michael Weiner--he apparently adopted the pseudonym "Savage" in honor of the 19th-century sailor Charles Savage) addresses his audience in a continuous state of sarcasm and condescension. He is probably the only national broadcaster who openly and frequently mentions his conservative talk show competitors by name, often accusing them of being proxy's for the liberal media establishment. During the Bush years, he often referred to Rush Limbaugh as "Hush", accusing Limbaugh of being a water boy for the Bush administration and for the Republican Party. He often and frequently attacks television hosts Bill O'Reilly and conservative host Shawn Hannity in the most vitriolic method. With Savage, there appears to be no gentleman's rules or forum decor with respect to politeness. One might consider such tactics to be cheap and desperate. But Michael Savage is not desperate. His brand is highly recognized and sought after, and there is no question that he commands the late afternoon drive time AM slot with the highest national rating.

To his 3 million daily listeners, Dr. Savage has begged the question, "where is the rest of the so-called conservative media? I tell you, they will be the next one's on the list" referring to the ban. Perhaps the answer lay in Dr. Savage's treatment--or mistreatment--of his counterparts. For example, one nationally syndicated talk-star, who formerly guest-hosted The Savage Nation program, calls Michael Savage "a jerk", and says because Dr. Savage is such a jerk, no one will come to his political aid.

Indeed, many times when loyal, well-intentioned Savage Nation listeners would call into the Savage program, eager to speak to their Hero, would experience shock at becoming the target of direct vitriolic remarks by Dr. Savage, accompanied by the sound of the line disconnecting. As listeners to the show know well, Dr. Savage has given himself license to make crude, belittling remarks about anyone, including his own loyal listeners. In a paradoxical twist, perhaps there is an entertainment value that some listeners appreciate--like pro-wrestling fans--with an appeal that cements the audience. I, for one, find myself switching to another station. It's a shame, too, because there are times when Dr. Savage makes honest-to-God sense, displaying his uncanny brilliance and observation of the topic at hand.

Barring this shock-jock from Britain risks turning a rabid blabbermouth into a beacon for free speech.

Sam Lieth

Still, Dr. Savage makes a point: if Britain is allowed to humiliate Michael Savage and to ban his speech without protest, then politicians on this side, having tasted the lack of resistance, will soon get the same idea. Indeed, Savage assures us in the book that the Obama Administration is complicit in the ban, if not by action, at least in by inaction. Dr. Savage has formally requested Secretary of State Clinton to apply pressure to have his name removed from the list.

It could just be that Dr. Savage is an eccentric, a private person with, shall we say, not the best social skills. He rarely mentions his wife (he was married twice), but frequently talks about his little dog Teddy (Dr. Savage is an environmentalist and an animal lover, often carrying on about whales as though he were the official spokesperson for Green Peace). While very generous about his feelings on almost any topic, and speaking often of his parents, his conversation is economical when it comes to his own family, causing one to speculate that he and his second wife are estranged, if not divorced. Dr. Savage's son has called into the program in times past, but rarely these days. The father rarely mentions his son these days, and the relationship seems to be distant. Dr. Savage's son, Russell Weiner, is the president of the Rock Star energy drink company, and Savage's wife is the CFO. He never mentions his daughter.

In more recent times, Dr. Savage indicated he was interested in having a movie produced about himself. He hinted that he had communicated at one point with Hollywood producers Mel Gibson and Clint Eastwood about just such a movie. But in short time, talk of the movie stopped, and instead listeners began to hear verbal attacks from Dr. Savage against Mel Gibson, and against Clint Eastwood. Perhaps the deals never panned out, and suddenly Gibson and Eastwood found themselves on Savage's Enemies List. It's a similar pattern that the Savage audience has seen before, with references to potential TV deals with CNN, and later with Fox News Channel, but the deals didn't pan out, and now Fox News and Ruppert Murdock are on Savage's Enemies List, being the most criticized media outlet by Dr. Savage--not exactly the way to win friends and influence people.

Dr. Savage is an intellectual, but has adopted well to the common man's spoken language. His PhD. is in nutrition, and he holds masters degrees in biology and anthropology. He has written more than two dozen books. Most of his books are authored as Dr. Michael Weiner, although his most recent political volumes, including Banned In Britain, are authored as Dr. Michael Savage. Dr. Savage is also quite philosophical, and seems to have a preoccupation with death, often the topic of his commentary. Is this preoccupation really a metaphor to himself about how he views his own place in broadcasting--a fear that his triumphant reign is fleeting? At the end of the day, Michael Savage is an enigma, and I believe that he is very comfortable with that label.

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