Tony Rubolotta

On Savage Savaging Sarah
November 11, 2008

I write this article at the risk of alienating fans of the Michael Savage talk radio program, but I have reached the point where this self-serving, self-promoting egotist has gone off the deep end and wants to drag conservatives with him.

Savage has an entertaining program that often embodies an uplifting message. Unfortunately, Savage is also a demagogue higher on himself than on solid conservative principles. I still listen to his first 30 minutes of ranting about the most current issues of the day, but after that his message becomes repetitive and soon degenerates to how brilliant and influential he is in the political arena, or how only he has the clarity of thought and independence to render a clear interpretation of events.

His message on borders, language and culture is solidly conservative, but he didn’t invent those issues, though he seems to think he has the monopoly. When Savage strays from those issues to others, it is hit or miss and seldom consistent. That is the hazard of making judgments based on emotions rather than research and reason. When those emotions are fueled by arrogance, they turn me off and I have no recourse but to tune him out. Belittling his conservative competitors is a standard part of his program and an outward manifestation of his arrogance.

After hemming and hawing for some time, Savage gave an endorsement to John McCain. I don’t dispute that endorsement had some value, but I would guess most listeners to his program weren’t waiting with baited breath for his wisdom and direction, as he suggests they were. It appears from his post-election blabbering that Savage wants to take credit for McCain not being beaten worse than he was. He blames the loss on Sara Palin, and does so with name calling more typical of the left than right.

Savage recently announced his plans to form a third party, asking for volunteers from his audience. This is the same Savage that toyed with the idea of running for president himself. I don’t know what became of either effort because I simply don’t pay attention to him anymore, but I think his message of self-aggrandizement couldn’t have been expressed more clearly as he waited for callers to applaud his announcements. I have to guess the sycophants he expected didn’t materialize in sufficient numbers.

The last straw for me was his recent savaging of Sarah Palin as stupid for her remarks regarding the Russian incursion into Georgia. The real stupidity here was on the part of Savage when he suggested an analogy of Mexico lobbing artillery shells into Texas. In his analogy, Mexico was Georgia by attacking Texas and Russia was the United States reacting to an attack on its territory. He criticized Palin for taking the side of Georgia, which he claims was the aggressor. There is only one problem and that is his analogy is totally wrong, as is the conclusion he draws from that flawed analogy.

South Ossetia, the area in dispute between Georgia and Russia, is a province of Georgia, not Russia. It was and has always been within the borders of Georgia, even at the time Georgia was a Soviet Republic. It has been called a "break away” or "separatist” province only because of the large number of ethnic Russians living there. Georgia is attempting to reassert dominion over its own territory, and Russia is trying to thwart that and occupy the province as its own. A more proper analogy would be Mexico attempting to incite rebellion in Texas and the United States resisting.

Soviet Russia pursued a program of Russification in many of its former republics and that has led to considerable tensions after the break-up of the Soviet Union. This has been a major problem for Estonia, Latvia, Ukraine, Belarus and all republics that bordered on Russia proper.

Savage’s analogy to Mexico and Texas is complete nonsense. The stupid one is Savage, not Palin. So why the name calling? Why is Savage blaming McCain’s loss on Palin as if it had undermined his "all important and significant” endorsement? Basically, I don’t think Savage can stand the competition and not being the center of attraction and attention for stalwart conservatives. Palin, free of the McCain muzzle, stands on far more solid conservative ground than Savage, and is more articulate and passionate in her expression of those principles. Savage gives far more importance to his ill-informed feelings, which is why he cannot convey a consistent message.

I still listen to the opening of the Michael Savage Self-Admiration program, but it isn’t nearly the compelling 30 minutes it used to be.