During the September 26 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, host Michael Savage discussed the current financial crisis and said, “My value system is from another world -- I'm like Rip Van Savage. I grew up with parents who went through the Depression. And I went through a sort of depression in my own life as a result of liberal social activism. They imposed affirmative action on me and stole my very birthright simply because I was white. They stole my birthright, and I could have gone under.”

As Media Matters for America noted, Savage previously called “civil rights” a “con” and asserted: “It's a racket that is used to exploit primarily heterosexual, Christian, white males' birthright and steal from them what is their birthright and give it to people who didn't qualify for it.”

Talk Radio Network, which syndicates Savage's show, claims that Savage is heard on more than 350 radio stations. The Savage Nation reaches at least 8.25 million listeners each week, according to Talkers Magazine, making it one of the most listened-to talk radio shows in the nation.

From the September 26 broadcast of Talk Radio Network's The Savage Nation:

SAVAGE: My value system is from another world -- I'm like Rip Van Savage. I grew up with parents who went through the Depression. And I went through a sort of depression in my own life as a result of liberal social activism. They imposed affirmative action on me and stole my very birthright simply because I was white. They stole my birthright, and I could have gone under.

I'm telling you now, I'm telling you, like, from the Savage confessional something, then I'm gonna get back to executive compensation and the yuppie punks on Wall Street who went to Harvard. I'm not jealous of them -- I don't need what they have -- I'm a better man than they are, 'cause I never stole from anybody. I never sacked a pension plan. I never robbed a person's retirement fund. OK, so don't think I'm talking from the point of view of bitterness here.