Britain’s war on Michael Savage by Jeffrey Kuhner

The British government’s recent blacklisting of conservative talk-radio host, Michael Savage, is an ominous sign—and should be of deep concern to all Americans, regardless of their political leanings. It reflects British society’s surrender not only to the forces of political correctness, but Islamist intimidation.
Britain is targeting one of America’s most popular hosts. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith released a blacklist with the names of 16 foreigners—including Mr. Savage—who are banned from entering Britain.
The average American might ask: So what? British society has been in decline for decades, plagued by soccer hooliganism, pervasive alcoholism, soaring crime, sexual permissiveness, growing ethnic and racial balkanization and overall social debauchery. If you combine this with the country’s notoriously bad cuisine, weather and manners, then being banned may not seem like a punishment but a blessing. I for one always avoid visiting England whenever possible. Hence, what’s the big deal? Mr. Savage is not missing much.
But the ban has profound societal repercussions. It is an assault on freedom of speech. Mr. Savage’s name appeared alongside mass murderers, Islamic butchers and white supremacists: Russian skinheads serving prison sentences for killing 20 migrant workers, a leader of Hamas, a known Hezbollah terrorist, a prominent neo-Nazi and a former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard.
“I think it's important that people understand the sorts of values and sorts of standards that we have here, the fact that it’s a privilege to come and the sort of things that mean you won’t be welcome in this country,” Ms. Smith said. “Coming to this country is a privilege. If you can’t live by the rules that we live by, the standards and the values that we live by, we should exclude you from this country and, what’s more, now we will make public those people that we have excluded.”
Ms. Smith is wrong. Mr. Savage is a peaceful, law-abiding citizen, who has never committed a violent act or crime. He has never called for violence or rationalized the use of force against innocent civilians. On the contrary, he believes in democracy and respects the rule of law and constitutional government. Mr. Savage embodies the very “standards” and “values” Ms. Smith claims she is so determined to enforce. To lump him with known gangsters, terrorist killers and neo-fascist thugs is grotesque. It also demonstrates a dangerous disconnect from reality. Islamic radicals and Russian skinheads champion death and destruction; violent extremism is their way of life—in fact, for them, it is the purpose and meaning of life. Mr. Savage, however, practices the very opposite: He makes his living by engaging in democratic debate, marshaling ideas and opinions through the public (and often raucous) medium of talk radio. Mr. Savage is being punished for no other reason than exercising his fundamental right to free speech.
In a pathetic attempt to justify her ban, Ms. Smith claimed that Mr. Savage is a far right-winger, who peddles bigotry and intolerance. Therefore, he presents a danger to public order. “This is someone who has fallen into the category of fomenting hatred, of such extreme views and expressing them in such a way that it is actually likely to cause inter-community tension or even violence if that person were allowed into the country,” she told the British Broadcasting Corporation.
By this standard there are millions of Britons who would not qualify to enter other countries. East London has become a haven for Islamist clerics preaching the virtues of jihad and Sharia law. Moreover, prominent radio hosts, such as the fiery anti-war parliamentarian, George Galloway, not only regularly praise Hezbollah and Hamas, but spout vile anti-Semitic, anti-Zionist propaganda. Mr. Galloway was on Saddam Hussein’s payroll, and openly rationalizes suicide bombing attacks on Israelis. He defends Iran’s drive to acquire a nuclear bomb. He publicly supports Syria’s fascist dictator, Bashir Assad. Yet, our government has refused to nix his frequent speaking tours to the U.S., despite the harmful impact his inflammatory, hate-filled rhetoric may have on the Jewish community. If Ms. Smith wants to crack down on those “fomenting hatred,” then all she has to do is look across the aisle in the House of Commons. Instead, Mr. Galloway is hailed as a hero by large segments of the British liberal elite.
The double-standard is obvious—and odious: in their view, Mr. Galloway is a principled firebrand, while Mr. Savage is a dangerous lunatic. The very opposite is true. Mr. Galloway represents the civilizational self-loathing and nihilism at the heart of the modern Left. Anti-war liberals, like Mr. Galloway, are driven by ideological hatred—hatred of capitalism, America and Judeo-Christian morality. They argue the West is irredeemably racist, sexist and imperialist. Consumed by guilt and self-hatred, they champion the appeasement of Islamic fascism because deep down they believe the West deserves to be defeated; it is a culture that is not worth preserving or defending.
The Savage ban is not simply about free speech. It is also an intellectual power grab by the Left, a deliberate effort to muzzle dissenting voices on the Right. Mr. Savage is a conservative populist, who believes in small government, low taxes and family values. More than any other major radio host, he understands that modern conservatism is based on the defense of national sovereignty, distinct cultural identity and Burkean traditionalism; that America is not only a special and unique country, but represents a special and unique civilization—one that must be protected at all costs. His flinty opposition to social liberalism, massive illegal immigration and Islamist radicalism enrages the Left for one basic reason: It seeks to sustain the West’s historical and cultural core. It flies in the face of the postmodern, multicultural progressive worldview dominant among our elites. Mr. Savage’s real crime is not “fomenting hatred”; it’s fomenting a muscular conservatism.
Ms. Smith’s actions are a blatant attempt to criminalize and delegitimize conservative ideas. The Left has been engaged in such repressive activities for decades—the latest manifestation in America being the attempt to restore the Fairness Doctrine. Today, it is Mr. Savage. Tomorrow, it will be Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and maybe even FOX News and National Review. Liberals are seeking to define the parameters of “respectable” public discourse—and more conservatives will soon find themselves marginalized.
Leftists understand the key fact of politics: ideas matter. They determine how people behave—and how they vote. If one controls the terms of the debate, eventually one controls the argument. Since the 1960s, campus radicals have embarked on a “long march through the institutions.” Their goal has been to transform America by achieving cultural hegemony. Liberals have captured the universities, the public schools, the media, Hollywood, television and the arts. They now set the terms of debate, and are on the verge of fulfilling their revolutionary project. Our culture has become immersed in the acid of political correctness, which is slowly dissolving the West’s social foundations. For the multicultural Left, Mr. Savage’s traditionalist conservatism is an anathema. Therefore, he must be crushed.
Since the 9/11 attacks, there has emerged an unholy alliance between the secular Left and radical Islamists. Again, Mr. Galloway is a useful example. He is a trendy socialist, who supports abortion, gay rights and Cuba’s atheist Marxist dictatorship. In other words, he stands for everything Islam is supposed to be against: He is anti-God, anti-family and anti-life. Yet, that has not stopped Islamists—in Britain and around the world—from embracing him. In the matters that count, he is one of them. From closing Guantanamo Bay to withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq and Afghanistan to appeasing Iran’s genocidal mullahs—Leftists, such as Mr. Galloway, George Soros or the Huffington Post crowd have formed a common front with Islamists: They want America to surrender in the war on terror.
Mr. Savage doesn’t. He is willing to stand up to our mortal enemies—publicly, vociferously and unapologetically. For this, the Left and Islamist lobby groups, like the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), have been trying to destroy his career for years. Ms. Smith has allowed Britain’s Home Office to be influenced by Islamic pressure groups. Her ban on Mr. Savage is moral equivalency of the worst kind. She may think it will mollify Britain’s vocal Muslim militants, but it will not.
The Home Secretary has now shown that the most fundamental principles—freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of conscience—whose roots lie in the Magna Carta can be jettisoned in the name of appeasement. Her ban is a symptom of civilizational paralysis and moral decay. It signifies that Britain is no longer willing to uphold its venerable, cherished principles; Britain prefers the false comforts of political correctness to the hard obligations of freedom. Mr. Savage is the latest victim, but he won’t be the last.
Conservatives must rally to his side. His fight is our fight.
-Jeffrey T. Kuhner is president of the Edmund Burke Institute and a columnist at The Washington Times.