The NOSAVAGE campaign is excersizing free speech, not stifling it

From Huffington Post courtesy of Alternet.org:

Michael Savage's Hate Speech Catches up with Him

At least four major firms have pulled advertising from Michael Savage's nationally syndicated radio show following a campaign highlighting his inflammatory rhetoric.
One other company, Geico insurance, is expected to follow suit. The campaign, launched recently by Brave New Films, generated thousands of calls urging advertisers on the Savage Nation show to sever financial ties to the widely popular (and frequently offensive) talk host.

In less than a week, four agreed to pull their ads from the show, including Union Bank of California (whose representative says they were advertisers on the Savage show by mistake and were glad to be taken off), Intuit, Chattem, ITT Technical Institute.

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I emphasize "pulled advertising" and "highlighting" because I think they're the backbone of the NOSAVAGE campaign, whether they know it or not. NOSAVAGE is calling up the sponsors of Michael Savages show and telling them what he actually says on his show and asks them if they really want to support this guy's program. A handful have already said, "You know what, we don't want to be associated with such a racist motherfucker," and pulled their ads.

THAT'S NOT STIFLING FREE SPEECH, that's expressing it. Savage can be a racist, Brave New Films and their NOSAVAGE campaign can be liberal ask his sponsors if they really want to support him. They're not trying to make it illegal to spout racist and uninformed garbage, they're trying to make it unprofitable. There's nothing hypocritical about it, and I say this because I'm sure there are plenty of people saying just the opposite (or will as soon as they hear about it).

It's not like they're trying to get the government to ban fascist rhetoric from the media. THAT would be stifling free speech. If sponsors don't want to fund a show, no matter what the content, they don't have to. That's business, quite literally. If there's a "major firm" that doesn't mind being associated with Savage, they can sponsor him and he can stay on the air. All the NOSAVAGE campaign is doing is just making sure that the sponsors know it's contents.

So Savage fans, or "supporters of free speech," don't bash Brave New Films for calling attention to what Savage actually says on his show, take it up with the sponsors, they're the ones who pulled the ads. (and it ain't like he's off the air yet)