On the December 3 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, Michael Savage called retired Brig. Gen. Keith Kerr (CSMR) a “gay, phony general.” Kerr, who is a member of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) Military Advisory Council, a member of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Americans for Hillary Clinton steering committee, and a co-chairman of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-NY) Veterans and Military Retirees for Hillary Committee, had a video question about the military's “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy selected for airing during the November 28 CNN/YouTube Republican presidential debate and was in the audience for an opportunity to ask a follow-up question.

According to his biography on the SLDN website, Kerr “retired from the U. S. Army Reserve in 1986 with the rank of Colonel and was commissioned in the California State Military Reserve (California National Guard) on 15 March 1986, where his assignments were Inspector General and later, Chief of Staff. He was appointed Commanding General, Northern Area Command, CSMR, with headquarters at Alameda Naval Supply Depot, Alameda, CA and promoted to Brigadier General on 21 February 1991. He held this position until reassigned to State Headquarters on 31 July 1995. General Kerr retired on 1 June 1996 after 43 years of service to the United States and the State of California.”

Previously, on the November 29 edition of his radio show, Savage called Kerr an “old queen.” After playing an audio clip from the debate featuring Kerr's comments after the Republican candidates addressed his question, Savage responded by saying, “I don't care about this old queen, frankly. He disgusts me to make -- my flesh crawls from the old queen.” Savage then asked, “That was a general?” and went on to say: “Now you wonder why we're still in Iraq five years later. General Keith Kerr. He wasn't just racking up cue balls at the pool table.”

Earlier in the November 29 segment, while discussing the debate, which was moderated by CNN host Anderson Cooper, Savage asserted, “Hillary Clinton planted a deep throat into last night's debates,” and went on to claim that “this was planned by Hillary Clinton. This man works for her. It was planned in my opinion by CNN and Anderson Blooper. This was a complete setup.” In fact, as Media Matters for America has noted, both Kerr and the Clinton campaign have stated that Kerr is not a campaign employee and was not acting on behalf of the campaign in asking the question at the debate.

The Savage Nation reaches more than 8 million listeners each week, according to Talkers Magazine, making it one of the most listened-to talk radio shows in the nation, behind only The Rush Limbaugh Show and The Sean Hannity Show.

From the December 3 edition of Talk Radio Network's The Savage Nation:

SAVAGE: Mike, welcome to The Savage Nation.

CALLER: Yes, Dr. Savage, I like your show for so many reasons. It's unique and provocative. A quick question though. I'm wondering why you didn't go to the CNN [GOP] debate. It seems like you're always howling for, you know, mass media exposure. I mean, what happened there?

SAVAGE: Well, its one thing to go to a debate where the deck is not loaded, and top loaded. Uh, but it's another thing to go to a show on CNN. Larry King was off tonight, and there's somebody with the name of Joyce [sic: Joy Behar] filling in for him. I don't know who she is. So first they invited me on. Then they told me that the other guests would be a panel. Then they disclosed the panel would be Al Sharpton, Whoopi Goldberg, and somebody else. They were setting me up for a fall, Mike.

CALLER: Is seems like when you fight the good fight though, you have to take it where it goes. I mean why isn't, you know why not take --

SAVAGE: Because you don't understand that you only fight a battle that you have a reasonable chance of winning. Only a fool would put himself in a position that he can't win in. How could I win with a stacked panel like that, where the moderator could cut me off? If I were to say to Al Sharpton, “Before you raise your big mouth about me, why don't you tell the people about the Freddie's Fashion Mart fire, and the people who died because you went there with a bullhorn.” You think they'd let that get out on the air?

CALLER: I'm a babe in the woods, Mr. Savage. I don't --

SAVAGE: Oh, well. Or if I said to Whoopi Goldberg, that failed talk show host. Everything they've given her she's failed at recently in radio. OK, and if I said to her, “You disgust me,” because when Nancy Pelosi was on The View, with her husband Paul, you said, '“I'd like to do her,” and “I'd like to do him.” You nauseate me. Why would I want to be on the same, on the same screen with those people, Mike?

CALLER: You know, I don't know.

SAVAGE: Well now you know. You think I'm making it up? So I wouldn't go to CNN tonight. It's coming up. On Larry King, who's away down there. I don't know what he's doing, but somebody, Joy is on. No, I'll go on. If Larry wants to interview me one-on-one on this issue, I'd be glad to do so. Maybe. I might be glad to do so. I may not do it anyway.

CNN is a bear trap. CNN is a bear trap for anybody conservative. Look what they did the other night, last week rather, with the YouTube/CNN debate, when they put a planted, gay, phony general in the audience to throw out a question, and then Anderson Cooper followed up with intelligible, “Did you get the question answered adequately?” That's your idea of a fair debate? It's like a Stalinist show trial.

No, you don't have to go in to the -- Daniel in the lion's den is for mythology, not for reality. Only a fool puts himself in a place where he can't win. If it's a fair-minded debate, one-on-one, I'll do it. But they'll never give me that.

From the November 29 edition of The Savage Radio:

SAVAGE: All right I'm going to shift gears for a minute, I'll go back to the lawsuit momentarily. But last night, Hillary Clinton planted a deep throat into last night's debates -- at the YouTube debates.

She planted this deep throat. And I believe Anderson Blooper was in on the conspiracy. Because he could have cut the guy off. Instead, later on, Anderson Blooper continues by asking the retired general, Keith Kerr, about the homosexual issue.

So Anderson Blooper, who has had no credibility whatsoever for a long time now, has zero credibility. Listen to this.

KERR [audio clip]: Today, don't ask don't tell is destructive to our military policy. Every day the Department of Defense discharges two people. Not for misconduct, not for the unit cohesion, but simply --

SAVAGE: Let's pause right here. Now a real moderator would have cut this man off. Because he was not asking a question, he was making an editorial statement.

So, this was planned by Hillary Clinton. This man works for her. It was planned in my opinion by CNN and Anderson Blooper. This was a complete setup. But the shame here, really, is that the Republicrats didn't boo the guy out.

Say, you know what, I'm not answering that question, it has no place here. You're obviously working for the opposition, goodbye. They didn't do that. Instead they went along like the sheeple they are. I have no faith in this. Yeah, continue with the deep throat.

KERR [audio clip]: --simply because they happen to be gay. Ad we're talking about doctors, nurses, pilots, and the surgeon who sews somebody up.

SAVAGE: Well go on. Keep going.

REP. DUNCAN HUNTER (R-CA) [audio clip]: General, thanks for your service, but I believe in what Colin Powell said, when he said that having openly homosexual people serving in the ranks would be bad for unit cohesion.

SAVAGE: Let's pause right there, because Anderson Cooper then shows that he was in on this in my opinion. In clip 33, by instead of brushing it off Anderson Cooper goes along with his script. Listen to 33.

COOPER [audio clip]: Governor [Mitt] Romney [R-MA], you said in 1994 that you look forward to the day when gays and lesbians could serve in a quote, “openly” --

SAVAGE: All right, let's stop right here. Why don't you enlist, Anderson? I'm not saying you're gay. But you certainly could enlist if you're so interested in “do ask do tell.” Listen to clip 34, again, old Anderson Cooper shows that he was part of this conspiracy. Listen to 34.

[begin audio clip]

COOPER: General Kerr, as I said, is here. Please stand up, General. Thank you very much for being with us. Did you feel you got an answer to your question?

KERR: With all due respect, I did not get an answer --

[end audio clip]

SAVAGE: All right, let's turn -- I don't care about this old queen, frankly. He disgusts me to make -- my flesh crawls from the old queen. That was a general? Now you wonder why we're still in Iraq five years later. General -- with General Keith Kerr, you know why we're still in Iraq five years later. That's all. He wasn't just racking up cue balls at the pool table. I'm sick of it! I'm sick of the whole country, it's like Rome! It's melting down like Rome!

But, there it is. You go along with it. I don't. So now you know why people don't like me. They don't like reality. People don't like reality. They want soft talk, nice talk, fake talk.

And meanwhile our enemies are circling us. They're circling us like vultures. So, that's what happens. When you have a weakness at the top and corruption at the top.

What you wind up with is an enemy that encircles-other nations have come and gone. We're on the way out, not on the way in. That's all. So I'll continue with my lawsuit, since you know what I think about the phony Republicans who gobble debate.

They could have said 'I'm not answering the question'. If they had any brains they would have said, “You didn't ask a question, you sound like you're making an editorial statement. I don't like the smell of it.” If they're not smart enough to smell a rat in a debate, how are they going to smell a rat on a battlefield. These people are professional politicians. You want me to go on? I'll read it. I'll go to part 30 of the lawsuit.

Chris W. Seeger is an intern for Media Matters for America.