In the Ether

I'm back from a hockey game tonight, and although the Canadiens lost, both they and the Blackhawks demonstrated the kind of feistiness that we need to see from Democrats in order to make some real progress in a couple of weeks. I've said this before, but they can't just assume that people will vote for them because voters are fed up with the Bush administration and the do-nothing Congress. Democrats need to give us something to vote for, not just vote against. Voters will need a reason to stay with them in 2008 and possibly bring a Democrat into the White House. Voting for Democrats as a way to vote against the Bushies is enough of a reason for me, but I don't know how many other people fall into the category, and if they do, I'm not sure how many will stay in that category for more than one election cycle. They need to build a strategy for growth in the future, not just getting by for now.

Speaking of getting by for now, here's a story that got some passing notice last week and the beginning part of this week. Air America radio filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy on Friday the 13th. Here's their press release. It looks poor management is largely to blame, and although I've been critical of Air America before, I certainly don't wish financial failure on them. You can read some pretty decent commentary on the situation at The Huffington Post: Taylor Marsh wonders if Dem insiders would be just as happy to see it end. Steve Young says, "I told you so." And Brent Budowsky offers some suggestions for the future. Meanwhile, one of the main forces behind the launching of Air America, Sheldon Drobny, hasn't given up on liberal radio. He's just launched a new network, Nova M Radio (even if it's only on two stations at this point). Stay tuned to find out what all this will lead up to.