Why don't Republicans enjoy the good will and votes of the nation's burgeoning Latino population? A clue was provided yesterday when Boston right-wing blabbermouth Jay Severin blamed the swine flu on Mexican immigrants whom he called "criminaliens," “primitives,” “leeches,” and “women with mustaches and VD.”
The local PM drive guy was suspended by WTKK-FM, who was no doubt very happy with their talent for breaking into the media for a barrel or two of free ink & pixels. (we love it for sure: it's what makes BlatherWatch go 'round).
Radio hosts, who serve as Republican surrogates these days, imitate Rush Limbaugh and make bombastic remarks grazing the outer edges of taste and political correctness to goad the respectable media into raising a ruckus, and thence: getting them into the papers.
Brian Maloney, the Radio Equalizer told the Boston Herald: “... these are the kind of remarks” that Severin has made on his show for years without incident. “So why the issue now?”
An explanation might be: latest ratings for the first three months 2009 show that Severin’s show dropped to 14th place among the coveted 25-to 54-year-old listeners with a 3.4 share. Severin, who makes more than $1 million a year as a WTKK host is seen to be one of the most overpaid in the business... even he might have seen the handwriting on the wall after that book.
Not to worry, the prick will get his job back once this dies down.
The remarks brought floods of complaints from Latinos and other normal people down the Eastern Seaboard.
Severin whose real name is Jimmy Severino is well-known in Boston for his flaming and also as a pathological liar: he once told listeners he'd received the Pulitzer Prize, a "fact" which was almost instantaneously debunked.
“When we are the magnet for primitives around the world -- and it’s not the primitives’ fault by the way, I’m not blaming them for being primitives -- I’m merely observing they’re primitive,” he said.
(photo: Jay Severin "oddly bird-like" with ratings like droppings)
Blaming epidemics on immigrants is a common historical occurrence. Severin told listeners, "It's millions of leeches from a primitive country come here to leech off you and, with it, they are ruining the schools, the hospitals, and a lot of life in America,” Mexicans, he said, are destroying US schools and hospitals. Emergency rooms have become “condos for Mexicans,” he said, and the virus is a “swine-aka-Janet Napolitano flu,” according to WTKK’s online recording.
He also criticized their hygiene.
"It's millions of leeches from a primitive country come here to leech off you and, with it, they are ruining the schools, the hospitals, and a lot of life in America,” he said.
Talk hosts just get more and more rapacious, one pushing the other, ever more and more crapadacious. It works real good for getting the message out for the soap-selling, slime-baiters mining the old white male niche -- but as a political piece for Republicans and the conservative movement trying to regain respectability and broaden their tent, it's more isolating and divisive.
And Michael Weiner is suggesting this pandemic could be a terrorist attack from Mexico.
Fixed News doesn't have the time to report this; in the last half hour, they've had articles of Obama's evil plan to choose your doctor, and how Obama is trying to buy the union vote through the UAW, and that an employee of a dating website is suing for sexual harassment.
This is just another reason that the GOP is drying up.
Posted by: Drew | May 01, 2009 at 07:31 AM
Certain kalk show hosts should watch their mouths, just like certain Vice Presidents. Remember, you OWN him. LMAO
Posted by: HoChiMinh | May 01, 2009 at 08:05 AM
HoChi: Are you really equating Biden's mildly overblown remarks with Severin's racist ranting?
Really?
Posted by: jvwalt | May 01, 2009 at 08:22 AM
Damn right I am. These recent remarks by Biden were far from the first, and not the worst. I'm sure your capable of digging for previous examples. So, live with it dude (or dudedette, as the case may be)!
Posted by: HoChiMinh | May 01, 2009 at 08:40 AM
By doing so Uncle Ho is trying to diminish what Severin said. Biden's comments were misconstrued and easily rephrased for clarity; something that's impossible to do with this right-wingnut's words. Severin's rant is clearly racist and instills hate and fear in the midst of a crisis.
Posted by: Drew | May 01, 2009 at 09:01 AM
Just as I suspected, your an idiot.
Posted by: HoChiMinh | May 01, 2009 at 09:06 AM
It's "You're". Dumbass
Posted by: Don Ho | May 01, 2009 at 09:20 AM
Republicans are stuck with these mean assholes, and as Michael and so many other have written: they have no other message. My high schooler asked me last week, Dad, how did they EVER get in our government. I said, they stole it, son.
Posted by: Charles de Midway | May 01, 2009 at 09:58 AM
What a brilliant answer to a teen-age son. It's no wonder we have so many mis-guided teens who grow up to be arrogant and vile talk show hosts (of both political spectrums). So your son asks how these Mexican Americans got into our country, what do you say. They stole into it? You are as bad as the subject matter of this post.
I feel sorry for your son.
Posted by: Mandy | May 01, 2009 at 11:52 AM
It's ironic that both China and Cuba have closed their borders to Mexico as long as H1N1 is pandemic, where the US has refused to do so. They demonstrate more sensibility than we do. The lack of common sense in the White House is staggering !
Posted by: KS | May 01, 2009 at 07:20 PM
Mandy - why do you believe in rewarding illegal behavior ? Hopefully, you are not aparent.
Posted by: KS | May 01, 2009 at 07:23 PM
How do you stop the encroachment on a shared border? If you figure this out let me know, there some cats I would like to keep off of my property. I would also insist you contact the Seahawks for their offensive line need your expertise.
Posted by: M.Steele | May 01, 2009 at 08:59 PM
Well hey, it's beginning to look like the Swine Flu isn't a civilization-threatening pandemic after all. At this rate, the Swine Flu will turn out to be much less of a threat than the annual flu season we've all learned to live with.
In which case, can we expect the right-wing screamers to admit that Obama's measured reaction was absolutely appropriate, and their own xenophobic rantings were wrong?
Posted by: jvwalt | May 03, 2009 at 01:31 AM
Won't defend Jay although illegal immigration is a problem (one he may be painting with a broad brush). He does have some interesting situations in the past; most recently when Imus slapped him down (great pic) at WTKK's "Kiss Me I'm Imus" event.
But just remember, all liberal talk hosts are perfect, never lie, are not Democrat shills,
always are entertaining, always get great numbers... :)
(I will say libtalk is back in
Boston...though they had to PAY to put it on. In BOSTON! Good luck to it, though. Maybe the Fairness Doctrine will be enacted and that new station WWZN 1510 will be _forced_ to hire Severin to get some balance on (once he gets bounced by WTKK...) That's fair!
Posted by: raccoonradio | May 03, 2009 at 05:48 AM
How do you stop the encroachment on a shared border?
Enforce the border security.
A couple of Brigades of AH-64 Apaches loaded with nails and mini guns would be a great start. The only one even slightly concerned with border enforcement is Sheriff Joe in AZ and look at the heat he receives from the pinkos for simply doing his job. The illegals are slowly destroying this country and the libs are willing to accept it for their illegal votes.
The term illegal has no meaning with respect to our southern border. Until it does we pay for their tsunami of crime. IIRC the last three Law Enforcement Officers killed in WA were offed by illegals. Those that could give a shit about the problem ought to try explaining why to their families.
Posted by: Queens Hunter | May 03, 2009 at 06:03 AM
Hey raccoon: you're right lib talkers aren't perfect, they're not very successful either. That's because they refuse or don't have the sensibilities or lack thereof to ramp up pissed-off white male audiences by slurring whole groups of people like ethnicities, foreigners, races, and people sexually-different than them. There, of course, is no such thing as a fairness doctrine being even thought of by the D's, but keep throwing up that old strawman, to scare radio listeners into being ever more loyal to a diminishing number of talk hosts on a diminishing number of stations. The "free market" corporatists and their political enablers are far more responsible for the shit-hole talk radio is in than any would-be regulators. You have been sold a load, my friend.
Posted by: blathering michael | May 03, 2009 at 10:05 AM
Cheney/Rove/Bush ignored the word "illegal" too, at every opportunity. What a freakin' coincidence.
Posted by: Drew | May 03, 2009 at 11:46 AM
Your a fuckin leftie, Hood. Libs can't make it on talk radio because their message is dishonest. Talk radio listeners can smell a fake even over the radio. That's why nobody listens to NPR. That's why Dave Boze and Dori are #1.
Posted by: DT | May 03, 2009 at 03:30 PM
The Fairness Doctrine should NOT be even a passing thought, but I'll believe it when I see it. The left typically cannot help themselves when overreaching (the right has had this problem also). Cass Sunstein does not give me confidence that some version of the Fairness Doctrine won't rear its head through the back door. Seems like he was hired for that very reason. I know that you favor the left, but as someone with sensibilities - it would be refreshing to see some Democrats resist this kind of change. Cutting off debate in this or any other manner will only serve to weaken the character of this country. This concept has not been selling much of late. It will take a coalition of bi-partisan politicians with stones to rise up and take a stand stop the notion of trying to control talk show formats and distracting so the real issues of concern in this country can be effectively addressed. What say you, Bla'M ?
Posted by: KS | May 03, 2009 at 04:24 PM
A former WBT program director writes that Greater Media may be trying to clean house and could fire or "tone down" Severin. Reasons include high cost vs. low ratings, future government regulation, etc.
Is GM cleaning house
"Katz and Severin got caught in a powerful riptide of anxiety about ratings, revenue and regulation that might have been survivable a couple years ago. But not today."
Also btw today's moribund Boston Globe has an interview with Michael Harrison of TALKERS who says that a) libtalk actually is successful--if you count NPR and FM shock jocks as part of it, and b) Harrison doesn't think the Fairness Doc. would come back and even if it did it would be ruled unconstitutional
I'm a fan of Severin's competition actually...(Entercom) WRKO's Howie Carr
Posted by: raccoonradio | May 04, 2009 at 06:21 AM
The fact is: right-wing radio has disallowed competition and most diversity of format with the help of the monopolizing media giants like Clear Channel and CBS, and Citadel. They're all in trouble at the moment. They've invested little in their product. they've done it probably not for direct political reasons, but because they are Wall Street, don't care a damn about radio and are risk averse. They continue what's worked in the past. It is all coming home to roost now when the ad revenues are tight. They have managed to pull down a wonderful flexible network of local stations replacing the programming with a rather narrow variety of syndicated shows off the sats.
Posted by: Radioguru | May 04, 2009 at 09:56 AM
Why not break up the big conglomerates so that the little guy has an equal chance, which was done back during the first Roosevelt (Teddy) Administration - even in this upside-down environment ?
I would be for that. Then the argument about being too big to fail would not exist.
Posted by: KS | May 04, 2009 at 12:07 PM
Severin is still on suspension ; he and his agent met with Greater Media today but no resolution yet. Greater's statement acc. to Boston Radio Watch:
""WTKK and Greater Media value an open and vigorous dialogue, but we also strongly adhere to basic principles of civility, common decency and respect for all cultures. We believe Jay's suspension is the best way to uphold both of these corporate policies. WTKK Management met with Jay Severin and his agent today. He will continue to remain on suspension until further notice."
Posted by: raccoonradio | May 04, 2009 at 01:14 PM
Also: Air America's Young Turks launched a drive to have people contact Severin's advertisers and tell them that what he said was racist and that he should be fired.
Posted by: raccoonradio | May 05, 2009 at 12:12 AM
Michael Savage is apparently Banned in the 'mother' country.
Posted by: HoChiMinh | May 05, 2009 at 06:03 AM