Brief Awakening
There was a brief awakening during this period, an under-funded effort to launch a liberal talk-radio network called Air America. The network took off in 2004, but was so short of cash that it almost crashed on take-off.
Despite its financial woes, Air America did show the value of investing in media. The network's first star, Al Franken, used his show to transform his image from a comedian to a more serious political figure, setting the stage for his successful run for the U.S. Senate from Minnesota.
In summer 2005, a fill-in host named Rachel Maddow distinguished herself with smart reporting and commentary on the Katrina disaster and a range of other issues. Maddow has since been hired as a host of an evening TV news show on MSNBC, following Keith Olbermann.
Air America's 24-hour format also created opening for some independent liberal hosts, such as Ed Schultz who also landed a show on MSNBC, as the General Electric affiliate experimented with more liberal content after failing with right-wing hosts who sought to out-fox Fox.
These fragile toeholds of progressive hosts in the corporate world have proved helpful in challenging some of the disinformation that the Republicans have hurled against President Obama's health-care reform.
But the Right has demonstrated that its interlocking media machine can disseminate propaganda themes far more effectively than the scattered outlets on the Left can counter them. So, the disinformation is accepted as true by roughly half the U.S. population.
Ironically, too, the Right's media advantage has proved crucial in "organizing" its opposition to Obama's presidency. In August, at town hall meetings around the United States, the Right turned out shock troops well-versed in the Republican talking points, gaining an upper hand in the battle for the streets.
So, as much as the Left criticizes Obama and the Democrats for bungling health-care reform and showing a lack of courage on a range of other issues -- all valid points -- the larger problem can be traced back to the Left's historic miscalculation on media.
The Left -- and especially liberals with the money to make a difference -- might recall the old Pogo slogan: "We have met the enemy and he is us."
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