Re: Air America, any listeners?
I think, Rolmops, there are several reasons that liberal radio hasn't taken off.<br /><br />First off, none of the national AA personalities are radio people by skill and training. Say what you want about Rush, but he is a master at the talk radio genre, and the radio profession generally.<br /><br />Despite the protestations to the contrary, there are a few local jocks that might get better results, Bernie Ward being one, and I've heard a few others<br /><br />Right wing issues tend to sound desirable in the extreme, where left wing issues don't.<br /><br />For example, it simply "sounds good" to bounce everyone off welfare and end welfare as we know it--even if it is a practical impossibility, but the opposite extreme--have everyone on welfare, doesn't sound good (and isn't good) to even the most radical liberal. Liberal positions tend to take more than a simple declarative sentence to explain.<br /><br />That of course does not mean in reality that conservatives actually try to govern this way--they of course don't, and the current budget deficit reflects that--but the small, unobtrusive government mantra (except what happens in your bedroom, of course) "sounds good" even if they don't ultimately really believe in it themselves.<br /><br />We don't get AA up here, but I doubt I would listen to it anyway. There is a pragmatic ideal middleground where most liberals, including me, are comfortable---and the extremes are not desirable in any form. It can be hard to recognize that spot, but it's there---it's kind of like pornography--- it's hard to define, but you know it when you see (or hear) it.
