WHY HIM?

Liberal Radio Is Planned by Rich Group of Democrats (JIM RUTENBERG, February 17, 2003, NY Times)

A group of wealthy Democratic donors is planning to start a liberal radio network to counterbalance the conservative tenor of radio programs like "The Rush Limbaugh Show."

The group, led by Sheldon and Anita Drobny, venture capitalists from Chicago who have been major campaign donors for Bill Clinton and Al Gore, is in talks with Al Franken, the comedian and author of "Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot." It hopes to enlist other well-known entertainers with a liberal point of view for a 14-hour, daily slate of commercial programs that would heavily rely on comedy and political satire.

The plan faces several business and content challenges, from finding a network of radio stations to buy the program to overcoming the poor track record of liberal radio shows. But it is the most ambitious undertaking yet to come from liberal Democrats who believe they are overshadowed in the political propaganda wars by conservative radio and television personalities.

Here's another handy example of why all humor is conservative: compare the Rush Limbaugh parody that Charles McCord writes for the Imus in the Morning show with Al Franken's sublimely unfunny book. Mr. Limbaugh is nearly a parody of himself, so Mr. Franken's inability to work him for laughs is particularly instructive. Liberal talk radio fails because you can't be well informed about reality and remain a liberal and you because the liberal worldview leads to seeing the news of the day as unending tragedy. It's radio for mopes. Posted by Orrin Judd at February 17, 2003 8:42 PM