Savage

[Benhogan]

Hi all!
This is the first time I've ever posted anything anywhere on the internet, but I feel so strongly about this that I had to put it out there. I'm curious to see if anyone shares the same opinion.
During the debates (on CNN) last Monday I heard talkshow host Michael Savage refer to Dr. Paul as "the crackpot Ron Paul" on the radio.
This really got under my skin!
I know Savage is way out on the fringe (although I must confess that I do find his show entertaining...sorry), however I have a good sense of where he stands on most issues. The fact is, both he and Dr. Paul would agree on most issues except for the war!
At first I wanted to call up his show and lambaste him for his extremely distasteful and ignorant comment. However, I then began to think that maybe Savage could be educated on Dr. Pauls views and maybe, just maybe he could be swayed to support our cause. Millions of people listen to his show daily and he would make a powerful ally publicity-wise.
Am I way off on this?
Regardless, I feel people should flood his show with calls, and I would suggest trying to emulate our hero Dr. Paul in debating Savage. With tact, grace, eloquence, and above all honesty.
Thanks for letting me be a part of your forum.
RON PAUL FOR PRESIDENT IN 2008!!!!!!!

 

[beermotor]

Probably the best way to get on the air is to be a stealther . . . tell the screener you're going to ask about something and appear to be from the normal viewpoint, and then switch it up when you get on the air.

Neal Boortz explained to me in 2004 that it was a good idea, according to him, to go to war in Iraq because it was like an insurance policy (he analogized it to car insurance). Saddam was bad and had weapons or was going to get them and therefore he had to go. I'd love to call Neal now and ask him if he thought the return on that insurance policy was paying off (3k troops + untold wounded, 100s of thousands of civilians dead and RISING) . . . . .

 

[kylejack]

Keep Paul away from Savage. I think a lot of what he says is just to get ratings, but when you talk about nuking Iraqi cities if one more American soldier dies, you're pretty way out there. I listen to Savage sometimes, but overall, I'm opposed to him.

 

[Kaleb]

Yeah, Savage lets slip ideas that are totally reasonable from time to time and I suspect he may secretly have sympathies towards RP's ideas, but his on-air personality is founded on bombastic Know-Nothingism. He advocates imprisonment and slaughter of "our enemies", and he keeps the definition of "enemy" loose enough to include anybody he doesn't like.

In short: Savage backing RP = Savage losing his show.

 

[SeanEdwards]

Savage is a loud-mouthed jerk. Getting him on Paul's side would be a negative. If the guy wasn't such a megalomaniacal asshat he'd realize that the best way for him to hurt Paul would be to endorse him.

 

[SeanEdwards]

Probably the best way to get on the air is to be a stealther . . . tell the screener you're going to ask about something and appear to be from the normal viewpoint, and then switch it up when you get on the air.

I don't think it's a good idea to encourage RP supporters to lie. Let's seize the high ground and hit them with truth bombs.

 

[austinphish]

i say do it

if you can be nice and sound educated while doing it, then go for it. any way to get the name Ron Paul out there in the national discussion is good IMO.

Savage has a fanbase, whether they are fanatics or not, they can and do VOTE.

 

[PineGroveDave]

Michael Savage doesn't like anybody.

 

[Bob Cochran]

Just steer clear of people like Michael Savage (real name "Michael Alan Weiner", probably got picked on a lot as a kid). Let the world pass them by as they maintain their fury at pretty much everyone and everything. We don't need guys like this on our side.

 

[Tin_Foil_Hat]

I know Savage is way out on the fringe

Wow....I think he is kinda normal. I prefer him over the top 3 any day.

I'm betting Michael isn't totally informed about RP. I think it would be good to have knowledgable callers for RP call in his show and school him a bit.

Anyone who coined the term "liberalism is a mental disorder" can't be all bad.

 

[LizF]

I agree with those who say not to bother with Savage. He's a rabid neo-con who insults everyone.

According to Wikipedia (and yes I know this isn't a rock solid source) this is how he feels about other candidates:


Criticism of Republican Nominees

* John McCain — "McCain . . . what does McCain stand for? He ran in the mantle of Barry Goldwater and then he completely humiliated that legacy by being a senator in the mold of a Rockefeller Republican rather than showing any tinges of Goldwater conservatism."

* Rudy Giuliani — "He has not got a ghost of a chance to be president. He's for Giuliani and no one else. He's too liberal; favoring gay marriage, for example, and he made New York City an asylum city for illegal aliens. He has no conservative credentials."

* Mitt Romney — "I don't know the man, but his policies seem to be all over the map."

On May 17, 2007, Savage, on his broadcast, said, "Romney will be the next President of the United States. It will come down to him and Hillary, and he will win in a landslide."[citation needed]

* Newt Gingrich — "He is intellectually brilliant, but I think . . . he's unelectable because he has too much history."
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Things Savage has to say about other famous people (also in Wikipedia):

Savage, who is Jewish, is extremely critical of atheism and secularism. For instance, Savage frequently criticizes left-leaning Jewish activists, such as George Soros. On June 12, 2006, Savage said that Soros should "shut [his] mouth and understand the damage [he's] doing to this world and to the Jewish people," calling Soros among other things a "punk lying coward satanist backstabbing freak" and saying that people like Soros "brought about the Holocaust."[27]

Savage has also accused certain Gentiles, such as Mel Gibson and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, of anti-Semitism. On May 15, 2006, Savage accused Carter of being a "Jew-hater through and through," called him a "war criminal," and compared him to Hitler.[28]

Savage has also criticized former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for withdrawing from certain lands that Israel had been occupying. Savage is supportive of an interventionist foreign policy favoring Israel.[citation needed]

On August 7, 2006, he said during his radio program: "That's why the department store dummy named Wolf Blitzer, a Jew who was born in Israel, will do the astonishing act of being the type that would stick Jewish children into a gas chamber to stay alive another day. He's probably the most despicable man in the media next to Larry King, who takes a close runner-up by the hair of a nose. The two of them together look like the type that would have pushed Jewish children into the oven to stay alive one more day to entertain the Nazis."[29]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Savage_(commentator)


So basically, I'd take this nutjob's criticism to be a testament to Ron Paul's fitness to be President. Anyone who'd let themselves be swayed by Savage's rants is probably to unfit to vote anyway.

 

[romelll]

I would agree with most to stay away from Savage. His stickt is the angry guy. He pushed hard for Bush in 2000. Now he is mad at Bush. As a recent local radio show host mentioned (he is a RP supporter) "If most of the people that listen to these guys could talk to them off the air, they would see what they really believe." In otherwords, its all about ratings.

I think the guys like Boortz will change their point to cover themselves. THis morning a very intelligent caller challenged Boortz on his stance that the Libertarians were weak on defense. Namely, this gentleman stated RP's record of supporting us going in to Afganistan and putting forth the declaration of war (which no one voted for) And that the Republicans may be great for offensive war, but not defending the homeland.

The caller had Boortz on the ropes until the infamous " We are out of time for this segment, call back..." The caller had Boortz trapped in the argument of sound reasoning.

My posting here does not do justice to the call, just a slight snippet.

 

[TruePatriot44]

Savage is the kind of guy who promotes further wars by hosting beheading videos on his home page.

I wouldn't even try to entangle Ron Paul and that fool.

 

[Minuteman2008]

Savage has had Pat Buchanan on his show numerous times, and he agrees with him on almost everything (except for the war obviously). Savage agrees with RP on probably everything except the war. And with the obvious failure of the Iraq war you'd think he would start to come around to the viewpoint of a true conservative like RP (especially since he holds Buchanan in such high regard).

A lot of people who have carried water for Bush for the last few years have recently turned against him, so anything is possible. Savage does have a large audience, so it sure can't hurt for someone to try to get on the air. I would at first just talk about RP's conservative stance on taxes, freedom, immigration, etc. before I even mentioned the war. Soften them up first...

 

[ButchHowdy]

Yesterday, Savage was ready to dump Romney because Romney is sympathetic to gay unions, Savage implying he had a 'pink hand'

Savage is a rabid Israel-firster and like Boortz and Hannity are presently deceived as most of us were probably not too long ago - RP is the only one with a clear head around here.

Ron Paul - America's designated driver!

 

[james1906]

i think savage has sexual-orientation issues. his hatred of gays is extremely unhealthy, yet he lives alone in san francisco and talks with a lisp. i'm waiting for the day he's busted by an undercover cop in a park bathroom.

 

[LizF]

i think savage has sexual-orientation issues. his hatred of gays is extremely unhealthy, yet he lives alone in san francisco and talks with a lisp. i'm waiting for the day he's busted by an undercover cop in a park bathroom.

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LOL...he does seem like a piece of work. The wikipedia article also mentions his changing views regarding homosexuality:


In the early 1970s, Savage had more liberal views. Savage, then Michael Weiner, introduced himself to certain writers in the North Beach area of San Francisco.[10] He befriended and traveled with Beat poets Allen Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Neoconservative scholar Stephen Schwartz, also an acquaintance of Savage from this time, reported that Savage once posed naked in a photograph with Ginsberg while swimming in Hawaii and used the photograph as sort of a "calling card."[8][10] One such letter describes an encounter with a black man, interpreted by some as sexual in nature.[11] Savage has denied that the letter had homosexual overtones, claiming that it is part of a "smear campaign" by "gay fascists."[11] Another acquaintance of Savage from this time was poet and author Neeli Cherkovski, who says that Weiner dreamed of becoming a stand-up comic in the mold of Lenny Bruce.[8][10] During this time, Savage also worked for famous psychedelic drug advocate Timothy Leary.[8]

Around 1980, Savage's political philosophies became more conservative. An acquaintance, Dr. Robert Cathcart, says that in his private conversations with Savage during this time, he knew Savage to have conservative political views.[10] Schwartz stated that Savage became alienated from the North Beach scene in the early 1980s. His beliefs and lifestyle shifted so far from his liberal friends that intense arguments would erupt when he encountered them.[10] When Savage was asked about his shift in politics and other views, he replied, "I was once a child; I am now a man."[7]

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Me thinks the man doth protest too much.

 

[Richandler]

Michael Savage talks a lot that is all he does. No substance to anything he says and I think most people see him as a pro-war kinda guys seriously.

 

[amonasro]

i think savage has sexual-orientation issues. his hatred of gays is extremely unhealthy, yet he lives alone in san francisco and talks with a lisp. i'm waiting for the day he's busted by an undercover cop in a park bathroom.

Seriously, I was waiting for someone to say this! He's totally homophobic, lives alone, and brings his little dog to Nordstrom to buy shoes. He's often very dismissive and rude to female callers and more friendly to males. Since I have many gay friends who exude all of this behavior (except for the homophobia) it makes me wonder....

I enjoy his show because he is just SO angry and pretty funny from time to time. His hatred of Islamo-fascism is too much to support Ron Paul though.

 

[Benhogan]

Talk about a crackpot! And thin skinned!! He can't take even the slightest criticism. His favorite retort to a caller who disagrees with him is always: "oh yeah, well have you ever written any bestselling books? Well I have!!?", as if that's the standard to measure a person's intelligence by.

Funny stuff, the way he gets so worked up about it, though. His raw emotion about issues, whatever they may be, makes for good entertainment. And I have to admit, I do agree with him sometimes. For instance his view that borders, language, and culture define a nation and should be protected, I agree with.

After hearing the "crackpot" comment he made I'm starting to see him in a completely different light. Anyone that would make such an off-the-cuff ignorant remark like that with millions of people listening can only be just that, ignorant. (He wonders, to his rage, why none of the candidates will go on his show!) And I should just dismiss his comment as that of an angry, frustrated old hack who's never been accepted in any circle he's ever been in. And the more I think about it, anything to do with Savage would only give the mainstream media ammo to go after RP.