On the June 12 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio program, Michael Savage compared the “progressive movement” to the Nazi storm troopers who aided Adolf Hitler's rise to power, saying, "[T]hey are the brownshirts of today." Savage added: "[M]ake no mistake about it, it's the same rabble that brought Hitler to power, and we have them today -- and they're all on the left."

Savage made his comments during his criticism of C-SPAN for its coverage of the 2007 New Media Seminar held June 8-9 in New York. Savage, who received the Talkers Magazine Freedom of Speech Award at the convention, alleged that C-SPAN was trying to “censor” him, because it ended its coverage of the event before he delivered his acceptance speech. Savage offered his listeners the chance to defend C-SPAN by calling his show: “Did they do the right thing? And if so, support it with your call to this show. I'd like to see how you could support censorship, but I wouldn't be surprised by anything today.” Savage later stated: “I know that the fascists of today call themselves progressives. I understand that. And I'm a student of the brownshirt movement in Hitler's Germany, and, to me, the progressive movement are the brownshirts.”

As Media Matters for America has noted, Savage has frequently compared progressives to Nazis. On the April 23 broadcast of his show, Savage called a speech by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) “Hitler dialogue.” Additionally, Savage has repeatedly smeared Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), referring to him as the “chief National Socialist,” because of Hinchey's support for reinstating the “Fairness Doctrine,” which, until 1987, required “that discussion of public issues be presented on broadcast stations and that each side of those issues must be given fair coverage,” as the Supreme Court wrote when it upheld the doctrine in 1969.

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

From the June 12 broadcast of Talk Radio Network's The Savage Nation:

SAVAGE: Do you think that C-SPAN had an obligation to censor Michael Savage for what I just said? After all, they were at the Talkers convention, and they covered certain things, but they wouldn't cover my Freedom of Speech Award, the paramount award of the convention. Why? Did they do the right thing? And if so, support it with your call to this show.

I'd like to see how you could support censorship, but I wouldn't be surprised by anything today. I've heard so-called progressives support [Venezuelan President Hugo] Chavez's closing down a TV station.

So, I know that the fascists of today call themselves progressives. I understand that. And I'm a student of the brownshirt movement in Hitler's Germany, and, to me, the progressive movement are the brownshirts. The greens are the brownshirts -- only today, they wear green shirts and they don't beat anyone up -- comma -- yet. Although I do recall that the environmental extremists did beat up police horses, threw bricks at police horses -- again covered up by C-SPAN and the big -- and big media.

So, in fact, they are the brownshirts of today -- only today, they wear green shirts and they cloak themselves in environmentalism and peace. But make no mistake about it, it's the same rabble that brought Hitler to power, and we have them today -- and they're all on the left.

UPDATE: On the June 15 edition of C-SPAN's Washington Journal, host Brian Lamb noted that Savage “is upset with us because we didn't cover his ... speech he was to give in person before the Talkers Magazine convention.” Lamb further stated, “The decision to not carry the speech was made by our programming department -- our vice president of programming, Terry Murphy -- and the reason was that Mr. Savage did not appear in person. He sent a DVD of an 11-minute speech, and we have offered him, in lieu of that, an opportunity to cover a speech that he might make -- the same speech if he wants to -- if he gives it before an audience out there in the [San Francisco] Bay area where his program operates.” Later in the program, Lamb added, "[W]e don't show DVDs of somebody's speech. We'll cover them in person, and we've offered on occasion -- and he's turned us down -- to cover his talk show on television."

From the June 15 edition of C-SPAN's Washington Journal:

LAMB: The decision not to carry the speech was made by our programming department -- our vice president of programming, Terry Murphy -- and the reason was that Mr. Savage did not appear in person. He sent out a DVD of an 11-minute speech, and we have offered him, in lieu of that, an opportunity to cover a speech that he might make -- the same speech if he wants to -- if he gives it before an audience out there in the Bay area where his program operates.

[...]

LAMB: He's upset with us because we didn't cover his Freedom of Speech Award speech that he was to give in person before the Talkers Magazine convention in -- the talk show hosts in New York. We covered some of that, but not all of it, and chose not to cover -- rerun his speech. He didn't go to the event. He sent a DVD in, and we don't use -- we don't show DVDs of somebody's speech. We'll cover them in person, and we've offered on occasion -- and he's turned us down -- to cover his talk show on television.