Savage compared Zarqawi to Murtha, declared Zarqawi is “sort of a Jesus figure now to the liberals”

Written by Lee Fang

Published

On his nationally syndicated radio program, Michael Savage reacted to a San Francisco Chronicle article bearing the headline “How Aide's Betrayal Doomed al-Zarqawi” by saying the article is evidence that recently slain Al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is “sort of a Jesus figure now to the liberals.” Savage continued, saying that liberals “could turn him [Zarqawi] into a hero” even though Zarqawi “was an altogether piece of human offal, you know. He was like a [Rep. John P.] Murtha -- he was like a human Murtha.”

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On the June 9 edition of his nationally syndicated radio program, Michael Savage reacted to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle -- “the shameful newspaper of the area” -- bearing the headline “How Aide's Betrayal Doomed al-Zarqawi,” by saying the article is evidence that recently slain Al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is “sort of a Jesus figure now to the liberals.” Savage continued, saying that liberals “could turn him [Zarqawi] into a hero” like guerrilla leader Che Guevara, even though Zarqawi “was an altogether piece of human offal, you know. He was like a [Rep. John P.] Murtha [D-PA] -- he was like a human Murtha."

As Media Matters for America has noted, Savage has a history of attacking Murtha. During a June 7 edition of his radio show regarding the alleged killing of Iraqi civilians by U.S. Marines at Haditha, Savage attacked Murtha and CNN host Wolf Blitzer, stating that "[i]f I were running things," they would also be “in shackles” and that Savage would “make them prove that they're not working for the enemy.”

From the June 9 edition of Talk Radio Network's The Savage Nation:

SAVAGE: Here's the headline in the Chronicle, the shameful newspaper of the area: “How Aide's Betrayal Doomed al-Zarqawi.” In other words, not the guts of the pilots, not the guts of the special forces, not a year and a half worth of work, but the betrayal of the aide. In other words, he's sort of a Jesus figure now to the liberals, and he was turned in by an aide.

[...]

SAVAGE: I wouldn't be surprised if the left doesn't make a T-shirt out of it and use it as a fundraising tool for [Sen.] Barbara Boxer [D] in California or [Sen. John F.] Kerry [D-MA] if he should run [for president] again, or sell them around [former Vice President] Al Gore movie -- you know, the Al Gore movie theaters. Make him into a, like, Che Zarqawi. You know what I mean, that could be -- start appearing on college campuses. Che Zarqawi. They could turn him into a hero even though he killed thousands of people and was arrested for sexual molestation in Jordan. Little-known fact, but I do my homework. He was an altogether piece of human offal, you know. He was like a Murtha -- he was like a human Murtha.