Michael Savage, a conservative talk radio host for KSFO, an ABC
station in San Francisco, Calif., is threatening to sue Republican
presidential front-runner Gov. George W. Bush of Texas for using the
phrase “compassionate conservative” — a term Savage says he invented —
without giving him proper credit.
Five years ago, Savage came on the radio calling himself the
“compassionate conservative.” In 1995, Savage wrote a book entitled
“Savage Nation: The Compassionate Conservative Speaks.” Savage has also
conducted four “compassionate conservative” conventions in the San
Francisco Bay area since 1995.
Now Savage claims that as Bush travels around the country campaigning
for the Republican nomination for president, he’s using the term
“compassionate conservative” without giving Savage proper credit.
Savage told WorldNetDaily although he doesn’t want to sue Bush, he
will if he isn’t given proper credit for the term.
“All I asked them to do was acknowledge it,” said Savage. “I don’t
want to sue them, but I will. They have to acknowledge an intellectual
property. They can’t pretend George W. Bush created this.”
David Beckwith, a spokesperson for the Gov. George W. Bush
Presidential Exploratory Committee, was surprised by Savage’s request
and said his committee respects Savage and acknowledges his work.
However, he and the committee do not consider Savage to be the inventor
of the hotly contested term.
“Jack Kemp called himself a ‘compassionate conservative’ in 1987,”
Beckwith said. “I had somebody look up the term on Lexis Nexis, and it
showed up 212 times from January ’83 to January ’95 which is when
Michael Savage went on record with it.”
“We freely acknowledge his (Savage’s) contributions,” continued
Beckwith. “But instead of having his nose out of joint about this as if
someone is ripping him off, he should be pleased the ideas are being
spread and accepted as much as they are.”
Savage, however, insists his intellectual property was stolen, even
if the term had been used before. After calling Bush’s campaign
committee last Monday and receiving no answers, he called the Democratic
National Committee telling them what had happened. On Tuesday, Savage
had the head of the DNC, Joe Andrew, on his radio show.
“I want justice,” Savage said. “If I have to go to the other party,
I will.”
When Savage talked with Andrew, he discovered that Andrew was an
intellectual property rights attorney. Having this background in law,
Andrew assured Savage that Bush had no right to use the phrase without
his permission. Even if other people had used the term before him,
Savage explained that no one had developed the term like he had.
“Even if someone has used the phrase ‘compassionate conservative’
prior to my commercialization of the phrase, that’s irrelevant because
no one illuminated what that phrase meant. I did,” Savage said.
Savage explained that, in his view, a “compassionate conservative”
has a very strict “firewall of balance.” In other words, compassionate
conservatives will not go beyond a certain line with their
conservatism. Rather, they will avoid the extreme elements of the
ultra-right. They don’t want to be drawn into the extreme right wing
any more than they would want someone to be drawn into the extreme left
wing of the political spectrum.
Regarding the DNC’s involvement in the matter, Savage said, “The
Democrats are vicious. They’re going to run with it to embarrass Bush.
I’m doing it out of self interest.”
“(This is) going to blow up in Bush’s face,” Savage continued. “This
could destroy his campaign as being an intellectual property thief.”
Beckwith, however, didn’t seem to have too much concern about the
impending situation. He indicated the publicity would only help Bush’s
campaign.
“The more talk there is about compassionate conservatism and the more
the DNC wants to oppose it or try to exploit it, the better it is for
us,” said Beckwith.
Beckwith told WorldNetDaily that soon after Savage went to the DNC,
Andrew was seen following the Bush campaign around in Iowa and New
Hampshire “yapping at our heels” like some sort of “attack puppy.”
“This guy was talking to any reporter who would talk to him,” said
Beckwith referring to Andrew. “I don’t consider it much of anything
that he (Savage) got this guy on (his) show.”
Interestingly enough, WorldNetDaily attempted to contact Andrew more
than once about the issue. However, he never found the time to call
back.
Although Savage and the Bush campaign may be using the same term, the
definition of what a “compassionate conservative” is appears to be
different between the two camps. Whereas Savage sees it as a “firewall
of balance,” Beckwith said the Bush campaign defines the term as “the
obligation that Republicans have to use our conservative principles and
apply them to problems of the disadvantaged.”
Though Bush is using this definition in his campaign, it is not his
own either. Dr. Joseph Jacobs, a chemical engineer, industrialist,
philanthropist and author, first fully defined “compassionate
conservative” in this way in his book entitled “The Compassionate
Conservative” published in 1996.
Beckwith said the three policy goals to advance Bush’s compassionate
conservatism include ushering in an era of personal responsibility,
rallying armies of compassion — people helping people, and making
certain children are educated so no one is left behind. Jacobs said
although this is a good start, Bush doesn’t go far enough.
Jacobs explained by saying Bush had to take the next step. Instead
of taking the word “conservative” and applying compassion to it, he said
Bush needs to take conservative principles and apply them to compassion.
“What George W. Bush should be saying is not that he’s a
‘compassionate conservative’ but that he is a compassionate man who will
implement compassion in a way not to destroy people’s dignity,” Jacobs
commented.
Jacobs went on to explain that, in his view, both liberals and
conservatives are compassionate. The difference between them is the
methodology they use to promote their compassion. While liberal
compassion, according to Jacobs, is destructive due to its tendency to
create more dependent people, conservative compassion helps people to
improve themselves thus resulting in fewer dependents of the government.
As an illustration of what he means by helping people to improve
themselves, Jacobs told WorldNetDaily he is taking his foundation, the
Jacobs Family Foundation, into poor areas and giving loans to others to
help them start their own businesses. This way, Jacobs believes he is
helping people to become more independent and not just giving them a
handout.
Regarding the issue Savage brought up about the term being a part of
his “intellectual property,” Jacobs said it doesn’t matter to him who
claims the phrase. Public acceptance of the term is the important
thing.
“It was pure coincidence,” said Jacobs after he had received a call
from Savage concerning the term’s usage. “I never heard of him, and he
called up after my book was published and claimed he was the
originator. I said, ‘fine.’ If Michael Savage wants to claim that he’s
the original ‘compassionate conservative,’ more power to him.”
Jacobs informed WorldNetDaily that Bush had contacted him
congratulating him on his wonderful book, clever title and great idea.
Although Bush never gave Jacobs credit for the term, Jacobs maintains
that credit for the term isn’t necessary for his ego.
Although Jacobs doesn’t seem to be concerned with who gets credit for
the phrase, he pointed out that his definition of the term is different
from the definition Savage has used. While it appeared to him that
Savage was using the word “compassionate” as a modifier for the word
“conservative,” Jacobs said he reversed things by distinguishing
“conservative compassion” as different from “liberal compassion.”
From Savage’s perspective, the whole issue surrounding the phrase is
very touchy for him. Many of his listeners, he said, are angry at him.
“A lot of my listeners are angry at me,” Savage said. “They’re
saying I’m a turn coat. These are people that don’t work with their
minds. They’re probably trades people that don’t comprehend that there
is a thing called intellectual property.”
Beckwith, commenting about all the fuss being made over the term,
said, “We never claimed to have invented the phrase, but I think we’re
doing a pretty good job of making it famous.”
