Anybody who has spent more than two minutes listening to Michael Savage’s talk radio program knows that he’s a hateful, horrible little man. Savage (real name: Michael Weiner) is the worst of the genre, and every time I hear him on the radio I have to wonder how it is that a network is willing to syndicate him, radio stations are willing to broadcast him, and sponsors are willing to underwrite him. The man is genuinely beyond parody. Well, Savage has finally pissed off the wrong people: he declared that “99 percent of the cases of autism” are the fault of parents for not telling children “‘don’t act like a moron…don’t sit there crying and screaming, idiot.'” (You can hear the clip courtesy of Media Matters.) Savage says he’s not going to apologize, because he figures he’s telling the truth. Aflac has already yanked their sponsorship. He’s trying to play it off, saying he was trying “to boldly awaken parents and children to the medical community’s attempt to label too many children or adults as ‘autistic.'” Sure thing.
Thing is, Savage says this sort of thing every day. If he’s going to be working under a microscope from now on, he’s screwed.
What is the sound of zero sponsors clapping?