The Foundation of Today's Democratic Party
Al Franken's Air America is the Foundation Today's Dem Party is Built On
If I were to ask you, “Who is responsible for today’s Democratic Party” who would you point to?
Barack Obama?
Hillary Clinton?
Nancy Pelosi?
MSNBC?
The fact is, Al Franken has done more to elevate the Democratic Party in its current form than any of them, and in the case of Obama, his appeal and election owes a great deal to Franken. To many Gen Z and maybe a lot of Millenials you may disagree, but believe me, without him the Democratic Party would be nowhere near the power it is today and look considerably different.
For those who remember, Air America was the FIRST real progressive oriented media to break through in the modern media ecosystem. To it’s detriment, because of the financial issues always hanging over it’s head like the sword of Damocles, Air America was always viewed as a failure. This is simply not true. It’s legacy is still felt across all liberal media, politics and issue positions to this day.
The Media Environment in the Early 90s
By 1990, Democrats had no real national media base or organization. They were disjointed, regional, and dysfunctional. They had lost three straight Presidential elections and there seemed no end in sight to the losing. As luck would have it, Clinton would eke a win in 1992 with a plurality of voters and a positive contrast with a young charismatic, telegenetic candidate beating an old and out of touch incumbent. Clinton’s most noteworthy media event was when he appeared on MTV in a town hall format, where he was praised by liberal voters but savaged by traditional news and media for the questions he answered.1
In the early 1990s, Fox News and Right Wing Radio were ascendant. One of the things that had brought about the Republican wave year of 1994 and the constant fire and brimstone drumbeat of the Clinton Impeachment was far right ultraconservative AM radio listeners of shows like Rush Limbaugh’s program. The way the conservative audience coalesced around the host was impressive, and their verbal cues and soundbites all were distributed through these right wing channels.
This messaging greatly influenced how mainstream and traditional media covered news. Fox News was growing, but not nearly as toxic (yet) as it is today; for all practical purposes, at the time it was a new growing cable news network, with a modestly conservative bent, completely focused on Whitewater and Monica Lewinsky scandals. It may surprise many that the network was not the only one, and that the next most fixated on those topics at the time was the fledgling MSNBC network.2 In an era without social media, podcasts and limited television options, this was the only really messaging that was getting through to the public.
The immediate reaction from the left was that 1) these scandals were not legitimate and when people see what the Clintons are really doing for the American public the problems will go away, and 2) AM radio is old media for truckers and people out in Radio Nowhere. The problem was that the scandals didn’t go away, and that Radio Nowhere area is large (and now solidly Republican as a result of this liberal neglect). That impeachment drumbeat kept pounding all the way through the end of Clinton’s term and played an important role in getting George W. Bush elected, since the left really didn’t have anything to counterprogram against it.
Then, 9/11 happened and the war in Afghanistan. The American news media all congealed around a pro-nationalist, pro-conservative message. However, when the Bush Administration started pointing towards war in Iraq, many on the left screamed and needed a place to voice their grievances, but had no outlets to vent their frustration. There was no home for left wing programming yet; only mainstream news media sources like NBC, ABC, CBS and CNN who tried to be balanced in their coverage, but were still very pro-military, giving the benefit of the doubt to the Bush Admin.
Air America Takes Off
In the fall of 2002, financiers including Arianna Huffington started looking at a national platform for liberal radio personality Mike Malloy, soon realizing there wasn’t one. They brought up the concept of a group of bundled liberal radio hosts as a platform, and started approaching possible hosts and radio stations. Franken immediately signed on and his show would be the flagship, but Franken was also adept at identifying other potential hosts, raising funds and getting local stations on board. Franken became the face and biggest advocate of what would become Air America. By the spring of 2003, coinciding with the invasion of Iraq, things started falling into place. There was a growing anti-war movement providing the audience (although it was still in its infancy, the first year of the War in Iraq was generally popular as the US military was largely successful that first year), there was financial backing and hosts in place and they had a network of stations that would broadcast. In March 2004, one year after the War in Iraq started, Air America launched.
Air America was singularly the biggest incubator for progressive radio and television talent that is still paying dividends. Al Franken’s show was the centerpiece and the highest rated nationally, but it served as a playground for many up and coming liberal personalities. Franken layed the groundwork for what would become the main source of liberal news infotainment that still powers the liberal media today. Between the show’s hosts, the weekly contributors to the shows and the way they fed off one another, it organized the grassroots and built the local activist networks that form the basis of today’s Democratic Party. In addition, with now a liberal broadcast network in place, other previously regional liberal radio hosts could now get a national platform, such as Ed Schultz and Stephanie Miller, who found homes on Air America networks.
The list of talent is a who’s who of liberal media and progressive activists today:
Rachel Maddow got her start as an Air America host. She would improve and grow in the role and turn her talents into one of the most effective progressive shows on cable.
Sam Seder, Chuck D and Janene Garafalo hosted programs.
Marc Maron eventually turned his show into a very successful podcast.
The Young Turks with Cenk Uygur was a very popular show and now have a very popular podcast and online presence.
Liberal and Progressive mainstays Thom Hartmann, Montell Williams, and Jerry Springer all hosted shows covered on the network.
Lawrence O’Donnell was a weekly contributor to Al Franken’s show and often a guest host. He’s currently one of the longest tenured hosts on MSNBC nightly.
Michael Smerconish was often a fill-in host as well. He’s a more center-right personality today, but many remember him from when he was a regular fill-in host on Air America stations.
Bernie Sanders was a common contributor to many of Air America’s programs, helping increase his national profile among liberal activists and providing a launchpad and national voting base for when he would run for President.
Ronald Reagan Jr., progressive activist and son of President Ronald Reagan had a show, as did long time liberal radio personality Randi Rhodes.
Al Franken would use his program to eventually launch a successful Senate bid, representing Minnesota.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr had a show called “Ring of Fire.” He’s currently running for President.
Stephanie Miller and Ed Schultz had shows often played on Air America stations. Schultz parlayed his radio show into an MSNBC program with a strong union message in the early 2010s, which received a lot of attention in Wisconsin when Act 10 stripped teachers and public unions of wages and organization. Miller still has a successful radio program.
What really proved effective was the reiteration of messaging among all the shows. With the War in Iraq taking a turn for the worse in 2004, along with the Presidential election, it brought in listeners and the message became resonant. Coincidental to Air America’s launch was the start of a show called “Countdown,” which was hosted by a former ESPN Studio host who moved to MSNBC and became a nighttime political host. Keith Olbermann became the first cable news host with an explicitly anti-FOX news, anti-Republican bent to it, and the show took off. Air America, often replayed many of his tirades and commentary amplifying the message and turned Olbermann into a left wing media darling. It would change the trajectory of MSNBC to what it has become today. The pas de deux Olbermann’s show and Air America fed off one another, and helped change how America felt about the war in Iraq and the Bush Administration. Air America became the fastest growing network in radio history, going from 120k to 400k in only 3 months and then reaching a peak audience of 2.137 million per week in 2005. As Air America rose, George W. Bush’s numbers tanked.3
After Obama gave his keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention, not only was it a great one-off speech, Air America kept him in the minds, hearts and voices of the liberal left. Leading up to 2007, Obama was adored by the Air America crowd, largely for his message, but most importantly because unlike all other candidates eyeing a run for the White House in 2008, he had not voted for the War in Iraq (he was not a Senator at the time), something many grassroots Democrats held over other candidates such as Biden and Hillary with disdain. Air America helped fuel a base for his campaign. Everywhere he went in 2007, Obama-mania was taking root. It led to what was essentially a political neophyte raising more money and creating a national organization that won the Democratic nomination and the White House. It’s unlikely he would have received nearly as much attention had there not been Air America.
Most importantly, there was now a media bulwark to get their message out and counterprogram messaging against right wing smears. There was finally an even playing field working against the FOX News and right wing radio messaging.
The Fall of Air America
Unfortunately, Air America had always had financial and management problems. As many of the hosts’ contracts came up and they went to other things and better opportunities than AM radio, Air America was left in a big hole. Financing was always an issue and in 2006 they filed Bankruptcy to re-organize with new management. In 2007 it was sold to Mark Green. Around the same time Al Franken decided he was going to run for U.S. Senate, leaving a major scheduled show without a host. In September 2008, Rachel Maddow became a host on MSNBC, right after Keith Olbermann’s program. Thom Hartmann and others started moving their programs to other syndicated networks and Air America began to collapse.
In January 2010, Air America announced it was declaring Chapter 7 Bankrupcy and would cease operations.
In it’s day Air America was a shining star and an example that progressive left wing counterprogramming had an audience. It’s been a war that has played out on the air now for over 15 years between Fox and MSNBC, and many of the partisan communications drive much of the on air cable news discussion. But even in its short time in existence, Air America’s legacy still persists to this day and has had a profound impact on the national dialogue of American political culture. Currently, the #1 podcast is Pod Save America, a show that largely follows the format of the Air America dynamic. Many of Air America’s featured people are now hosts of podcasts or cable shows. Most importantly, it gave a voice to the progressive movment in this country, when before there was none.
It is often said that Barry Goldwater’s campaign4 was the foundation of the modern conservative movement. Goldwater lost 49 states, so you may be asking why(?). The reason is that he changed the trajectory of the Republican Party from the moderate Eisenhower Party toward the hard conservative Reagan-ites, an alignment that has lasted for over 40 years. Yes, Al Franken’s Air America was not a long term success and was largely a 2000’s flash in the pan. But I have no doubt that one day people will look back at Air America and note that he changed the trajectory of the Democratic Party from the moderate Clintonites5, to the more Progressive one you see today. If a political realignment actually does occur, we need to give Al Franken and Air America their respective due.
PurpleAmerica’s Cultural Corner
Talking about Air America and AM radio always makes me think of the Oliver Stone classic “Talk Radio” starring Eric Begosian, based on his play. If you’ve never seen it, its a powerhouse of a performance and one of Stone’s best directed films.
On another note, ever since I typed “Radio Nowhere” I have this classic Bruce Springsteen song stuck in my head. Coincidentally, it came out while Air America was on the radio.
Lastly, the name “Air America” was somewhat unfortunate because it was also the name of a very mediocre 90s film starring a very young“Iron Man” Robert Downey Jr. and Mel Gibson.
PurpleAmerica’s Obscure Fact of the Day
In 2021, The top 20 NPR affiliated radio stations in the country had a weekly audience of about 8 million listeners, down 10% in a year. Radio news is still declining year over year.
What’s taking it’s place? Podcasting. People are getting more and more of their news from daily or weekly podcasts than from NPR. 2023 is shaping up to the first year that listeners get more of their news from podcasts than they do from terrestrial radio.
PurpleAmerica’s Final Word on the Subject
We’re going to give it Sam Ridgway and Wall of Voodoo, for their 80s classic “Mexican Radio.” Just try getting this song out of your head after listening to it.
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Footnotes and Fun Stuff
Boxers or briefs? Is this a question we really care about when thinking of the person about to run the free world?
MSNBC was one of those that helped break the Monica Lewinsky story and leaned heavily into it. They gave right wing raconteur Matt Drudge his own show based on it. Early MSNBC was pretty amorphous, not really knowing what it was about at the time.
This also had a lot to go with Iraq, which was growing worse by the day, Hurricane Katrina, which was a debacle, and the growing Housing Crisis. Nonetheless, Air America’s constant repeated criticisms and cynicism towards the Bush Admin amplified the negative messaging and helped speed up the rapid decline that completely killed the Republican brand in 2008.
An interesting side note to Goldwater’s campaign. For a running mate, Goldwater chose Bill Miller for VP. Bill Miller’s daughter is Stephanie Miller, longtime liberal radio broadcaster who was often played on Air America stations. She would often have Goldwater’s daughter Cece Goldwater on and the two would lament at how crazy the Republican Party had become and how their parents would disown the version of it today.
It should be noted too that Bill Clinton failed to win a majority in either of his elections, due to the Reform Party candidate Ross Perot taking votes away from the right. Due to that, and a hostile Congress, Clinton had to govern moderately, but he was extremely effective at it, and left office very popular. Many saw that as the way to stronger majorities in the future.
fwiw: Fpptnote 4 - Goldwater's running mate was William "Bill" Miller.