Air America Complaint Department [Air America founder blasts Dem "elites" and Hollywood "phonies"]

Liberal site | Aug 25, 2006 | Sheldon Drobny

[summer]

Sheldon's new book, blasting "elites" and "phonies" in Dem Party who were too cheap to help start Air America

Believe it or not, I am not trying to offend anyone with my posts.

... many criticisms have been directed at me for the “problems” that Air America has had during its “birth pangs.” Almost 5 years ago I started the Air America project and invested over $3 Million on the start of a liberal radio network. In fact, Arianna invited me to her house in November, 2002 to present some of my ideas with a group of Hollywood elites trying to save Salon.com. At the time, I was a big donor to the Democratic Party and had personal contacts with Bill and Hillary Clinton as well as Al and Tipper Gore. They opened the door for me to meet with everyone on both coasts to try to raise some follow-on money for our project.

We had hundreds of meetings with the kind of people and organizations that collectively were worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Not a single one made an investment with us although many promises were made. The reason that happened is something I wrote about in my book, Road To Air America. I also had introductions to public and union pension funds with promises made to me that never came to pass. The reason was simple. I was not a part of any inner circle in the political or entertainment world. The cronyism is so horrible in the Democratic elite that they have no time for new faces or new ideas. So they continually talk to the same people over and over again with the same result. Nothing ever happens.

My new book is scheduled to be published in the fall and is pictured in this article. My last book was tame in comparison to my new book. The details will be much more informative to the people who look up to these power elites. You will all be shocked at the cronyism and incompetence in that world. Because of the lack of financial support we were obligated to turn over the project to another group that was totally responsible for the early problems of AAR. When we came back to help save AAR, I was the first to give almost $800,000 to save what I thought was a worthwhile project. While there have been substantial investments in AAR since that time, without my business skills and financial contribution in the summer of 2004, AAR would have been out of business.

The money that I put up for AAR was all that I could afford. I am not a mega millionaire nor do I need any handouts from the phonies in the elite to survive. I am doing fine in my business. I was misguided in the belief that these people really cared enough to support a noble project. AAR is going to be successful despite its shortcomings. I am no longer a part of management nor do I have anything to do with programming. I agree with many of the criticisms of AAR, but I am only a minority owner. As a result, my wife and I started a company to acquire radio stations to support the liberal talk format. We have stations in Phoenix and Little Rock and we saved Air America in Phoenix after a Christian radio company bought the AAR affiliate in Phoenix. With the help of the community and our resources, we paid $500,000 to get AAR back on the air in Phoenix. We handle our own programming in Phoenix and Little Rock and some of it is the best that Air America offers.

I do know how to run a business well and syndicated talk radio is not difficult. The program managers on most broadcast media are followers rather than leaders. They are not visionaries and generally look in the rear view mirror for programming ideas. If I were to have had control of AAR with the help of a little backing, things would be much different for AAR’s performance. I do think they are now going in the right direction and our radio company will do a lot to help the cause. The lack of financial support was a major disappointment for me and another example of the fact that “there is no good deed that goes unpunished.” I did not need to do AAR to make a livelihood. I did it because I was frightened about what was happening to our country.

As to Bill Maher and the other Hollywood phonies, please don’t count on them to help. They only care about themselves. It is interesting that shortly after I wrote my book about AAR, my publisher hired the finest PR firm to get some guest appearances for me. One of the firm’s contacts was to the Maher show. At that time, AAR was one of the biggest media stories in the country. And it was mostly positive and well supported. I watched with great interest that season the Ann Coulter premiere interview on the Maher show promoting her new book about how all liberals are insane perverts. That took precedence over a book about AAR, which could have helped publicize the network for the greater good. I did not write the book to make money and in fact I have spent close to $100,000 to get the AAR story publicized for the sake of some balance.

If anyone has any complaints about AAR, please direct them to the phonies in Hollywood and in broadcast journalism who grease each other’s palm instead of doing the right thing. Yes, I am angry with these people for their selfishness and disregard of the struggling constituency that they pretend to support. I actually was a true believer before this all happened. And for those of you who criticize me for my lack of tolerance of these crazy hateful people and their enablers, keep on watching these shows and make them all rich while your life goes down the drain.

Economics is a zero sum game. That is a fact and whatever share of the economic pot the wealthy elites have comes right out of your pocket. It is time for everyone to open up their windows and scream out, “I’m as mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore.”

[CWOJackson]

On the flip side, pat buchanan's new book dropped to half price in just two days on Amazon. There are several places selling it even cheaper.

[Luke Skyfreeper]

many criticisms have been directed at me for the “problems” that Air America has had during its “birth pangs.”

Is that kind of like "death throes?"

"We had hundreds of meetings with the kind of people and organizations that collectively were worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Not a single one made an investment with us although many promises were made. The reason that happened is something I wrote about in my book, Road To Air America. I also had introductions to public and union pension funds with promises made to me that never came to pass. The reason was simple. Even while it was on paper, the very idea of Air America sucked."

There. Fixed it.

"We handle our own programming in Phoenix and Little Rock and some of it is the best that Air America offers. Which is to say, utter bears***."

Likewise.

[Luke Skyfreeper]

On the flip side, pat buchanan's new book dropped to half price in just two days on Amazon. There are several places selling it even cheaper.

Is Pat bragging about having set a record?

[CWOJackson]

Not yet but I'm sure he will. This book is tanking faster then his last presidential campaign. I did a quick check and L. Ron Hubbard is out selling pat...and he's been dead how long now?

[Luke Skyfreeper]

Almost as long as Pat.

[samtheman]

Remind me not to buy the book.

[Luke Skyfreeper]

Let me summarize some of the actual salient, serious points of this article:

Not a single one made an investment with us although many promises were made... I also had introductions to public and union pension funds with promises made to me that never came to pass.

In other words, the testimony of someone who's dealt with them is that none of the liberal elites can be trusted to keep a promise. You can't believe a word they say, they'll say anything they like, and if it's a lie, well, that's no big deal.

The cronyism is so horrible in the Democratic elite that they have no time for new faces or new ideas.

Summary: The Democratic elites run on power and mutual back-scratching rather than actually adopting good ideas and sincerely trying to make a positive difference. This comes from a former "true believer" who's dealt with them.

My last book was tame in comparison to my new book. The details will be much more informative to the people who look up to these power elites. You will all be shocked at the cronyism and incompetence in that world.

Translation: not only are they a bunch of lying, power-grabbing, back-scratchers, they're also a bunch of incompetent boobs.

I was misguided in the belief that these people really cared enough to support a noble project.

More of the same.

If anyone has any complaints about AAR, please direct them to the phonies in Hollywood and in broadcast journalism who grease each other’s palm instead of doing the right thing. Yes, I am angry with these people for their selfishness and disregard of the struggling constituency that they pretend to support. I actually was a true believer before this all happened. And for those of you who criticize me for my lack of tolerance of these crazy hateful people and their enablers, keep on watching these shows and make them all rich while your life goes down the drain.

And while we're at it, you can add hateful to the list as well...

So, to summarize, an insider (or, at least, an almost-insider) finds the Democratic elite to be pretty much universally a bunch of self-seeking, power-hungry, hateful, insincere, idealess, incompetent, untrustworthy liars.

[Brian Allen]

America's richest, almost every one of whom is a froth and foam flecked screaming sufferer of the Liberal Psychosis, didn't make their dough flogging dead horses.

Let alone dead vice-of-America horses arses.

[stands2reason]

It's usually Republicans who get hit with this particular liberal excuse-making:

"It would have worked if you guys hadn't underfunded it!!!!"

[stands2reason]

Coulter and Maher are buddies.

[BamaAndy]

Liberals fail to see the connection of the democratic (socialist) party and their persistent work to restrict freedom.
This clown must honestly think he's investing for "freedom," when in fact, he's promoting ever more restrictions... on speech, economics, religion.

[muir_redwoods]

"The cronyism is so horrible in the Democratic elite that they have no time for new faces or new ideas. So they continually talk to the same people over and over again with the same result. Nothing ever happens.

You will all be shocked at the cronyism and incompetence in that world."

Don't ever change, baby, You're beautiful

"Economics is a zero sum game. That is a fact and whatever share of the economic pot the wealthy elites have comes right out of your pocket."

This is the belief that shows the lack of reality in the minds of the Left. To believe that economics is a zero sum game is to believe that people are powerless to create something economically, that the human mind has no value in economics.

It is to believe we can do nothing but steal or be stolen from.

[muir_redwoods]

"As far as I know, business administration is as far from economics as anything could possibly be"

Gee, that's odd, almost a quarter of the credits I needed for my MBA were in Economics.

[happygrl]

Grin.

And Gloat.....

[albee]

I just wasted 3 minutes of my precious time to read this WHINING CRYBABY's tripe!

Conclusion?

The guy is a LOSER!

[ClaireSolt]

I would just like to get her off my radio, as I consider her show air pollution. It should reminds us, though, that dems appeal to a very low audience on MSM who don't have cable and like potty jokes.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

Economics is a zero sum game.

This is exactly wrong. The first lesson in Economics is that it isn't a zero sum game. Just because someone wins that doesn't mean there is necessarily a loser. Everyone can win at the same time.

You are correct, in a free enterprise system. Under their ideal, Socialism/Communism (no matter what they call it), economics is a zero sum game. For someone to have something it must be taken from someone else. That is why there is never enough tax money for all their schemes. That is why the Democrats in Congress use static, linear progression in their economic policies rather than dynamic projections as verified by tax cuts.

In free enterprise, to get more one must give more, not take more. That is the big difference in the two and it is a concept liberals refuse to grasp because it gives control to each individual rather than to the self-appointed elite.

[arthurus]

He says he understands business but then he says he spent big bucks getting his book out. If that is so then it is because there is no actual market for his book. The whole idea for the launch of airamerica shows a lack of understand of market and economics and leads to conclusions that free speech requires that people be forced by government to listen.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Their idea is still to buy stations under they idea that if their product isn't selling, then they'll buy their own stores and sell it. I don't have any business training but even I can see this is a moronic idea.

They're trying to use the model that originated with religious broadcasters. Buy under performing stations cheap, then expand. Only thing is, radio stations aren't cheap anymore, even the small ones. The religious stations also had the patience to wait years to at least break even and low overhead, neither qualities possessed by Air America Radio.

If there was any real profit to this idea, Soros would have already been there, up front with his own money.

So far AA hasn't bought one station. The triumph in Phoenix they're crowing about is an illusion. They went off the air there and did a fund raising drive for a new station. They got just enough money to open the doors of another existing station and run it for a couple of months. That money should be running out soon.

[Hoodat]

Exactly. The pie grows.