Michael Savage is treated like a mainstream talk show host, yet he is representative of the nastiest and most racist and intolerant side of the Republican Party. Media Matters reminds us of some of his choicest, most idiotic, most intolerant comments:

Here are just a few of the other outrageous statements Savage has made that Media Matters has documented:

* On autism: "A fraud, a racket. ... I'll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. That's what autism is. What do you mean they scream and they're silent? They don't have a father around to tell them, 'Don't act like a moron. You'll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz. Straighten up. Act like a man. Don't sit there crying and screaming, idiot.' "

* On asthma: "[W]hy was there an asthma epidemic amongst minority children? Because I'll tell you why: The children got extra welfare if they were disabled, and they got extra help in school. It was a money racket. Everyone went in and was told [fake cough], 'When the nurse looks at you, you go [fake cough], "I don't know, the dust got me."' See, everyone had asthma from the minority community."

* On immigrants from Africa: "There's the new America for you. Bring them in by the millions. Bring in 10 million more from Africa. Bring them in with AIDS. Show how multicultural you are. They can't reason, but bring them in with a machete in their head. Go ahead. Bring them in with machetes in their mind."

* On the Democratic Party: "The Democrat [sic] Party is the minority party. ... [Sen. Barack] Obama is a minority, a half minority at least. The membership is made up largely of minority blocs, the Hispanic caucus and the gay caucus -- caucuses that are all against the white person."

* On Guantánamo Bay: "I'd hang every lawyer who went down to Guantánamo to defend those murderers."

Even racism aside, I consider it irresponsible and dangerous to advise parents to ignore genuine medical conditions like autism and asthma. Savage is offering very wrong diagnostic and treatment advice that puts children at risk. I wrote about Savage's ignorance and intolerance regarding children with asthma and autism before. Anyone airing his show sahres responsibility for this dissemination of irresponsible and inacurate information. Then again, right wingers never take responsibility for their actions and words, do they?

Here's more:

THIS is the Republican Party unmasked in all its ugliness. Hatred, ignorance, intolerance, racism. This is what the right wing stands for in the 21st century. They ceded fiscal responsibility to the Democrats Remember, Bill Clinton balanced the budget and created a surplus, something that no Republican President has ever done. In fact the largest deficits in American history have occurred under the two Bushes and Reagan, on either side of Clinton's surplus. So the right wing no longer stands for fiscal responsibility.

The right wing no longer stands for small government as Bush expands government intrusion into every aspect of our lives. The right wing now stands for surveillance and erosion of personal liberties. Which is why true conservatives like Bob Barr have left the republican party.

So the right wing has abandoned its true values. What do they have left? Hatred, ignorance, intolerance, racism. That's all they got and Michael Savage is a perfect illustration of their dearth of positive values.

Media Matters suggests writing your local affiliate that carries this right wing extremist and complaining. Go here to take action and fight right wing extremism.