September 21, 2011 07:45 PM UTC

Is Brownie right that progressives are glad to have righties like him to kick around?

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• by: Jason Salzman

In a post last week, I asked why Denver talk-show host Michael Brown airs, during the intro to his KOA radio show, the audio clip of Bush saying, “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a Job.”

I asked if Brownie was actually proud of the disastrous federal response to Hurricane Katrina. And I quoted a recent radio show during which Brownie essentially said that anyone who did not evacuate from New Orleans got what they deserved.

Ugly stuff, and I tried repeatedly to get Brownie’s answers to my questions, but he ignored me.

But, to his credit, Brownie addressed some of the issues I raised for the Huffington Post, in a piece published Monday. He wrote:

Salzman asks in his essay, “is [he] proud of his claim to fame?” Jason, it doesn’t make any difference whether I am proud of the President’s phrase or not. It will stick with me for the rest of my life, giving people like you ample opportunity to continue to “blame Bush” for the ills of the world, regardless of the occupant of the White House. I am proud of my time at Homeland Security and FEMA.

So, yes, he’s proud, I guess, but he did say he made mistakes.

Bownie also wrote:

Salzman wrote in typical hatred fashion: “sadly enough…[Michael Brown] is easily the most famous media figure in Colorado.”

Really? Says who? What does it matter? And if it is true, why is it sad? To progressives like Salzman it really isn’t “sad” that I might be the most famous media figure in Colorado – it gives them great pleasure for now they have a target on the conservative side of the aisle they can attack. It gives Jason Salzman something to write about that makes him feel superior, better than others, while pointing out how “sad” it is that I might be, at least in his mind, the most famous media figure in Colorado.

I have to admit that Brownie is partially right. I liked writing about the fact that Brownie plays the heck-of-a-job clip every night and verbally assaults Katrina victims on his show. I wish he didn’t do this, and it’s ugly, but I like airing it out.

But if Brownie’s larger point were correct , and I enjoyed having famous (and evil) right wingers around Colorado to beat up on, then he’d say I’d love to have Dick Cheney move here, to sell his book that attacks everyone he knows. God no.

To paraphrase Fiddler on the Roof, god bless Cheney and keep him, far away from us.

No, sorry Brownie. I wish you weren’t the most famous media figure in Colorado. I wish you’d stop playing the “heck of a job” audio on your radio show every night.

I wish Colorado’s most famous media figure was known for doing something great, not for being the enduring symbol for an avoidable human catastrophe within our own borders.