Right Wing Furious Over Snub of Radio Host Who Called African-Americans 'Savages'

On Wednesday, radio industry magazine Radio & Records Inc. withdrew its 2008 Lifetime Industry Achievement Award to controversial right-wing radio host Bob Grant. In a statement, R&R said that it did not want the award "to imply our endorsement of past comments by him that contradict our values and the respect we have for all members of our community."

Grant is one of the godfathers of incendiary right-wing talk radio and has been an inspiration for figures such as Sean Hannity and Mark Levin. Glenn Beck often uses one of Grant's catchphrases -- "Get off my phone!" -- as a tribute.

The right wing is furious at R&R's revocation. Levin has written a protest letter to the publication, and Hannity is trying to organize a boycott against R&R's upcoming convention.

In 1996, Grant was fired for his on-air comments wishing the death of Commerce Secretary Ron Brown. But that remark was only the tip of his offensive, racist speech during his 60 years in broadcasting. A sampling:

Stating that he had been praying for the death of basketball star Magic Johnson, Grant implored, "Why is it taking so long for the HIV to go into full-blown AIDS?" [10/1/92]

"Minorities are the Big Apple's majority, you don't need the papers to tell you that, walk around and you know it. To me, that's a bad thing. I'm a white person." [Newsday, 6/2/92]