Air America...Quickly Deflating!
By Dave Gibson (06/30/04)
The launch of the all-liberal radio network, seems to be falling upon deaf ears. The latest ratings report showed Air America as having their lowest share of listeners since the network first hit the airwaves in April.
The network is in serious financial trouble and has lost both their Los Angeles and Chicago stations. Air America actually began by lying to investors. According to the Wall Street Journal (June 21, 2004), many of Air America's investors and senior officers believed that the network had raised over $30 million, after assurances from owners Evan Cohen and Rex Sorensen. Actually, they had only raised $6 million. In light of a true accounting, acting chief operating officer David Goodfriend was quoted as saying: "we realized we had all been duped."
In addition to the company's financial troubles, it would seem that people are not interested in hearing the insightful political and social commentary posed by such thinkers as comedienne Janeane Garofolo and rapper Chuck D. The network's biggest gun Al Franken, hosts a show entitled The O'Franken Factor. Franken's show is basically devoted to deriding Fox Network's Bill O'Reilly. Given these circumstances, it is little wonder as to why the network is now faltering.
It would seem that the liberal intelligentsia has received yet another wake-up call. Contrary to the liberal news networks, I believe they are in for an even bigger one in November. Most Americans are conservative and it looks as though that "Silent Majority" to whom President Nixon referred has finally had enough of the liberal left. I know Mr. Franken...The truth hurts.
Two years ago, Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD) pitched a tantrum over what he deemed to be a threat coming from talk radio. The left simply cannot stomach the fact that so many American citizens are voicing their conservative beliefs. The liberals have for many years, have reigned supreme with ownership of the major networks, newspapers, and magazines. They on the left, honestly believe that if they can control how the news is delivered, they can change the way we think. However, they did not count on AM Radio to deliver the gauntlet before their ever shifting feet.
For most people, the only way they will ever be heard is over the airwaves of a radio talk show. This country, I believe is finally seeing "political correctness" for what it really is...Censorship! The free-wheeling, free-loving, anything-goes left, supposedly hates censorship--that is unless it helps in their 'blame America campaign'.
The liberal left also frequently attacks the Internet and asks that the "hate speech" taking place (mostly against them) via that medium be banned, and the net regulated. I guess Al Gore didn't count on Americans being allowed to express their views so adamantly (after all...He did invent it, right?).
The question is... Do people such as Rush Limbaugh and G. Gordon Liddy help to influence public opinion? Absolutely, however, so do people such as Tom Brokaw and Brian Williams and while the latter are supposed to be impartial journalists, the former have never made any such claims.
Once again, we see that freedom of speech is only acceptable to the left, if they are the only ones allowed to speak. Such hypocrites! It is time for the "Democratic" Party to change its name. When the left talks about banning certain kinds of speech, when they dismiss the Christian values upon which this country was founded, as they try to steal our guns, and turn the U.S. Constitution in a "living document"--they sound more like dictators than democrats. Woodrow Wilson and John F. Kennedy have probably changed parties in that Great Democratic Party Headquarters in the Sky!
Since their dismal performance in the mid-term elections two years ago, the Democrats have blamed their traditional supporters (blacks, Hispanics, unions) for not helping them out, as they have always come through for them. Nonsense! The liberals have never truly helped those groups. Giving endless handouts to people does nothing but reward their laziness, thus continuing the welfare cycle. As far as the unions go -- yes, the Democrats helped them achieve higher wages, so high in fact, that many union workers priced themselves right out of a job as companies began to look overseas for affordable labor.
More than likely, the liberal Air America will fold after the presidential election. If it does last that long, it will be propped up by the deep pockets of those on the left, certainly not by listeners.
Hopefully, the liberal left is beginning their lonely march out of the American political landscape. Perhaps, we won't have to secede again after all!
(Printer friendly version) Email: Dave Gibson
