Michael Savage declares victory as Jacqui Smith resigns

[Saddle Bronc 124]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate...;entry_id=41009

Savage declares victory with British home secretary out

Conservative shock jock Michael Savage is "stunned" that the British Home Secretary who banned him from the U.K. will now step down -- but insists he'll now appeal to Prime Minister Gordon Brown to remove his name from the U.K.'s exclusive "name and shame" list.

"This is very unusual that a mere shock jock would bring down a government official,'' Savage told The Chronicle Tuesday in a phone interview, after news reports that Home Secretary Jacqui Smith will resign this week. "The political pressure on her became so great that she was forced to step down.''

Though conservatives are suggesting that Savage singlehandedly brought down the British official, news reports in the U.K. have for months indicated Smith was dogged by serious political trouble. She has been under investigation, in headlines and the focus of scandal on a number of fronts -- on issues regarding a second home and some eyebrow-raising stories about her husband charging porn DVDs at taxpayer expense.

Probably American conservatives only--Savage was not exactly well-known in UK prior to Smith's decision to ban him from entering.

But her decision to put Savage -- a popular right wing broadcaster whose radio show reaches 8-10 million Americans daily -- on a list of 16 unwanted individuals banned from entering the U.K. put her in the headlines in the U.S., where even some liberal groups who regularly knock heads with Savage came to his defense as a matter of free speech.

Bingo--how many non-Americans does the show reach?

Since 2005, the United Kingdom has excluded 101 people for "unacceptable behavior, including animal rights extremists, right-to-life, homophobe and far-right extremists, as well as those who advocate hatred and violence in support of their religious beliefs," Robin Newmann, spokesman for the British consulate in San Francisco, told the Chronicle. In 2008, he said, Smith "introduced new measures that favored excluding people who have spread hatred."

Savage sued Smith last week, charging defamation -- and saying that her decision to declare that he didn't have the "values" to be allowed into the country has endangered his life and his livelihood.

Savage was the sole broadcaster named on list which included a neo-Nazi leader, Russian skinhead convicted murderers and militant Muslim clerics.

"My goal is to clear my name,'' said Savage, who has since appealed for help on the matter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. "Let's not forget what I'm after: I want my name off the lists of murderes and terrorists.''

Since Smith's decision, he's had to hire "a full time private security patrol car outside my business and residence,'' he said. "Think Salman Rushdie.''

Savage said he's not dropping the suit against Smith -- especially if the next British Home Secretary contines to stand by Smith's list of unwanted visitors.

And now, he said, he has his sites on possible legal action against Media Matters, the non-profit progressive advocacy group which monitors, analyses -- and regularly challenges --conservative media reports from broadcasters like Savage. He said he believes the group had a role in how he ended up on the British "anme and shame" list.

"I'm going to make an allegation that I can't support: these out of context soundbites came from Media Matters, funded by George Soros, whose goal is to wipe out conservative voices in America,'' he told the Chronicle. "If it turns out they're continuing to do this, they're next on my list. I'm not going to tolerate them trying to get me killed.''

Erikka Knuti, spokeswoman for Media Matters, told the Chronicle today that Savage has called the group a "gestapo" aimed at destroying him, but "Savage's comments about his critics only show how truly self-absorbed he is.''

"If Savage has a problem with Media Matters posting audio and transcripts from his show on our website, then maybe he should more thoughtful about what he chooses to say,'' she said.

His "victory" is coincidental--entirely due to Smith's corruption and arrogance.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Of course it is. But Savage, narcissist that he is, likes to grossly overestimate his influence and authority.

Its no bad thing that Smith is out. People have been sharpening the knives for her in a long time.

Caught part of Prime Minister's question time earlier - and the Tories are trying to force Gordon Brown to call an election.

Edited June 3, 2009 by Private Pike

[Saddle Bronc 124]

An analogy to it was the supposed 1980 "prediction" by Jeane Dixon that Carter was headed for defeat.

Problem: "prediction" was made in October, and Carter had sealed his fate by April (six months earlier) with the poorly-planned Iran Hostages rescue attempt--it would have been a shocker if he had actually managed even a narrow victory.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Good for Michael.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Good for Michael.

Hardly. His name is still on the "no enter" list.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Good for Michael.

Hardly. His name is still on the "no enter" list.

rub it in, why doncha

[Peikko 1,575]

I see we have the 1 + 1 = I win crowd in this morning

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

It isn't punishment to refuse to let someone into your country. Savage is nuts. I still think they are idiots to ban him, but that's a blocking move not a punishment.

[Ban Hammer 14,567]

why does england hate free speech?

[Saddle Bronc 124]

It isn't punishment to refuse to let someone into your country. Savage is nuts. I still think they are idiots to ban him, but that's a blocking move not a punishment.

Generally true, but one exception--if the person in question is a current citizen of that country (such as happened to Abdus Salam--he was refused entry into Pakistan after he had gone to Oslo to pick up the Physics Nobel he had won, and was never allowed to re-enter Pakistan until his death in 1996 after which his body was allowed return for a low-key burial).

(edit: this exception does not apply to Savage vis-a-vis UK)

Edited June 3, 2009 by CherryXS

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

It isn't punishment to refuse to let someone into your country. Savage is nuts. I still think they are idiots to ban him, but that's a blocking move not a punishment.

Generally true, but one exception--if the person in question is a current citizen of that country (such as happened to Abdus Salam--he was refused entry into Pakistan after he had gone to Oslo to pick up the Physics Nobel he had won, and was never allowed to re-enter Pakistan until his death in 1996 after which his body was allowed return for a low-key burial).

(edit: this exception does not apply to Savage vis-a-vis UK)

Right. But I was talking about Savage. So....

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o snap

[Cherry&Ed 4]

Too bad he's still on the banned list who cannot enter U.K. He still needs to raise a lot of money to fight for his right.

Free speech doesn't mean terrorism and I feel bad for what happened to Savage. I hope that after this resignation of Smith, he and his legal team will manage to fix things up.

Edited June 3, 2009 by Cherry♥Edward

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Michael Savage is a terrorist.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

He doesn't have a "right" though. As we've been told oftentimes before - immigration is a privilege.

The powers that be have decided (for reasons of their own) that he doesn't deserve that privilege.

It is kind of a stupid thing to do, and doubly so to court controversy on his part when he had no intention of travelling to the UK. This sort of thing is merely bread and butter for his brand of radio journalism (though Savage isn't really a journalist in the strictest sense).