WASHINGTON, D.C. — It is with a mixture of caution
and fascination that one reviews a book by Michael Savage. Some toxic
controversies in which he has been embroiled transcend his worldview
(about which some have questioned).
Consider, however, that the British government outrageously has denied
him entry into its kingdom and that some 10 million Americans are drawn
to his radio talkshow. Like him or not, he is not to be ignored.
In Trickle Down Tyranny: Crushing Obama's Dream
of the Socialist States of America, the author makes the case that — unlike Obama's 43
predecessors (good and bad) who merely made mistakes — this president
is suspect of deliberately attempting to bring down the United States.
Back to basics
"The next president must love America" is Savage's premise.
He believes — literally and beyond campaign rhetoric — that
our country cannot survive another four years of Obama. Though this
tome fulfills the take-no-prisoners expectations of "Savage Nation" fans,
the author's point is about far more than verbal rock-throwing.
Trickle-Down Tyranny is crammed with fact after fact and, more to
the point, many instances of "connecting the dots," some
with frightening scenarios. Mr. Savage cites multiple small steps that,
when taken together, lend some credence to his comparison of the current
administration to Hitler's step-by-step takeover of Nazi Germany. "The
parallels," he writes, "are so disturbing."
Media's power to ignore
Though the talkshow host expresses a personal dislike for media mogul
Rupert Murdoch (the feeling is mutual), he defends the latter against
his rival, left-wing financier George Soros (though he fears Soros
is winning).
Murdoch's (now-shuttered) News of the World in London had indeed "violated
the privacy rights" of convicted pedophiles. Largely ignored by
the media's anti-Murdoch echo chamber, notes Savage, is that "dozens
and dozens of the pedophiles were out of prison and living in neighborhoods
with young families with small children."
Savage reports that "most Britons" do not believe government's
responsibility to protect the privacy rights of pedophiles should supersede
the safety of kids. The "child-molesting felons" were forced
to move away as a result of the investigative reports.
And the ultimate motive was?
Moreover, Mr. Savage cites Murdoch rivals in Britain who were guilty
of far more egregious privacy violations. Singling out Murdoch, the
author contends, was part of an attempt to neuter the Murdoch-owned
Fox News on this side of the pond in time to save Obama in the upcoming
election.
Hanging over Murdoch's head are threats (implied or explicit) of legal
action by Attorney General Eric Holder (named by Savage as one of the
most corrupt officials in the Obama administration).
Without explicitly using the term, the author leaves the reader to
speculate that Murdoch is being blackmailed to "toe the line," even
though no American was involved with wrongdoing in Britain's eavesdropping
scandal. Nor were any of Murdoch's U.S. outlets.
Coincidence?
Throughout the book, there are numerous citations of separately publicized
facts that, when considered together, add up to a story potentially
even more explosive than any one of the component facts standing alone.
Such is the case in the plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador on
U.S. soil.
Attorney General Holder himself announced that the Iranian secret
service was said to be trying to hire the Zeta Mexican drug cartel
to perform the assassination. "Apparently, they [the cartelists]
would be using weapons that Holder's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms
and Explosives (ATF) sold them as part of the 'Fast and Furious guns
to Mexico' operation in order to assassinate the Saudi ambassador," concludes
the author of Trickle Down Tyranny.
Alinsky again
The chapter "Tyranny of Obama's Radical Accomplices" deals
with the (self-described) "radical" Marxist-minded community
organizer Saul Alinsky, whose Project Vote gave the then-future president "the
best education I ever had" (his own words).
It has been widely reported that Mr. Obama's own community organizing
ventures were influenced by Alinsky's "Rules for Radicals," an
agenda (described many times in this space) encouraging a series of
mean tactics to best the opposition. In his latest writing, Savage
fires back with a "Rules to Beat Radicals," which is equally
merciless.
The book is a de facto detailed indictment of the creeping takeover
of America. Some examples: Putting a foreign company (from Spain) in
charge of processing election returns from over 500 U.S. jurisdictions,
with no way for local officials to verify the integrity of the count;
bullying the privately self-sustaining Ford Motor Company to pull a
TV commercial deriding rivals who had accepted Obama stimulus money;
intimidating reporters who pry too insistently into multiple White
House scandals; "radical Islamists" paying attention to the
Obama-influenced Alinsky playbook.
All of this (harsh but necessary) wake-up call having been acknowledged,
we get down to the question: Should we separate the message from the
messenger?
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Michael Savage has attracted disproportionately
negative attention from conservatives. Some of them cite his
past employment with Timothy Leary, though supposedly he was
hired for that job precisely because he did not share his employer's
drug-saturated lifestyle. (One surmises that at least one person
in that enterprise had to have a clear head just to keep the
books or whatever.)
Moreover, Savage has said he "fits no [political] stereotype." He
offered Newt Gingrich a million dollars to quit the GOP presidential
race, arguing that only Mitt Romney could defeat Obama.
Some critics believe Savage's over-the-top acerbic commentary
is a put-on and that he is a "poseur." |
But this is a book review. A critique of the "Savage Nation" radio
program (rarely heard by this reviewer) is best left to others. I make
no claim to resolving questions about what makes Michael Savage tick.
The verdict on Trickle Down Tyranny, the book is that — notwithstanding
the signature hyperbole — it makes a cogent and complete case
for the urgency of limiting Barack Obama to one term in the White House
lest 2012 turns out to be our last chance to decide who occupies that
highest office in the land. And that comment is not hyperbole. It qualifies
as a "clear and present danger."
The Big Picture
Elucidator archives
Wes Vernon is a Washington-based writer whose broadcast career included
25 years with CBS Radio.
Copyright © 2012 by Wes Vernon and
the Fitzgerald Griffin Foundation. All rights reserved. A version of
this article appeared at renewamerica.com on
April 26, 2012.
See his biographical sketch and additional columns here.
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