NYT Reveals Cozy Ties Between Governor, Air America President

GREEN'S GREEN

Air America President Pockets Gov's $upport







Given its battered public image, wouldn't Air America Radio endevor to boost its credibility, rather than cozy up to unpopular partisan politicians?

Instead, the liberal talk network finds itself under a new cloud, thanks to "AAR 2.0" President Mark Green's ties to wildly disliked New York Governor Eliot Spitzer. So far, how the story has played out is as fascinating as the ethical questions that have been raised.

At a time when onetime Air America investor George Soros is also under fire for bankrolling a report that claimed massive civilian casualties in Iraq, one might recognize a pattern of behavior here.

Though not nearly as serious as Air America's previous Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club scandal, where taxpayer funds intended for an inner- city charity were instead diverted to the network, Green's relationship with Spitzer has somehow managed to catch the attention of the über- partisan New York Times:

(Danny Hakim) ALBANY — Gov. Eliot Spitzer and his parents recently spent nearly $50,000 to help pay off the campaign debts of Mark Green, who ran unsuccessfully for attorney general in 2006 and is today one of the governor’s vocal supporters.

The donations, about $16,000 each from the governor, his mother and father in September, according to new campaign finance filings, exceed the $10,000 limit that Mr. Spitzer voluntarily placed on donations to his own campaign. But they are well within legal contribution limits in New York.

“The governor and his family helped Mark because he is a close personal friend, but they also have tremendous respect for his record of leadership and his work as a vocal advocate for social justice and increased public participation in government,” said Errol Cockfield, the governor’s press secretary.

Mr. Cockfield said the governor’s voluntary contribution limit was not relevant because Mr. Green was not running for office, just clearing a debt.

Mr. Green said that he and the governor “have been friends for years, and this is what friends do for each other.” He said there was nothing untoward about accepting donations from Mr. Spitzer on the one hand and speaking out in support of him on the other.

“We’re friends and admirers, therefore we help each other out politically,” he added. “Now that he’s the governor and I’m not, it’s very thoughtful and I appreciate that he would help me retire a debt.”

The contributions were the latest exchange of political largess between the Green and Spitzer families. Mr. Green’s older brother and pre-eminent political backer, the Manhattan real estate developer Stephen L. Green, donated $135,000 to the governor’s election campaign in 2006.

Why didn’t Stephen Green bail out his brother?

“He can’t help retire the debt because he was so generous before,” Mark Green said. Indeed, the elder Green and his wife donated $270,000 to his brother’s campaign, either directly or through businesses they control. Mark Green received an additional $200,000 from other family members.

“It’s a family matter, but trust me on this, Steve was so generous, as a matter of law, he cannot help retire the final debt.” Asked whether his brother had reached the legal contribution limits for his businesses, Mr. Green would not elaborate further.

During the 2006 campaign, the business donations were criticized by government watchdog groups, which said the contributions were a symptom of the loopholes in state campaign finance laws that allow wealthy businesspeople to exceed spending limits by donating through limited liability companies they control — a tactic used particularly by real estate developers.

Last year, the elder Green bought a controlling stake in Air America Radio, a liberal radio network, and installed his brother as president. Mark Green also has a weekly radio show on the network and interviewed the governor last summer, and he makes regular appearances on NY1’s “Inside City Hall.”

Isn't this funny? For years, conservative talkers have been accused of merely parroting the GOP's talking points and along comes a liberal network to show them how it's done properly! Take money from Spitzer and prop up his regime at a time when others have deserted him:

(NYT, 16 December 2007) Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s polls are looking like a downhill skier’s delight and a politician’s nightmare. Each new survey puts his popularity at a lower point than the one before, with his foes rejoicing as the man once thought most likely to reform Albany skids publicly into failure.

The latest poll from Siena Research Institute shows that even Mr. Spitzer’s fellow Democrats are deserting him, with only one in three saying they want him re-elected in 2010.

Equally fascinating is how this story managed to emerge from the New York Times, which previously looked the other way while Air America mowed over inner- city children to serve "progressive" talk radio's interests. Why the change in newsroom sentiment?

Another sign they're no longer getting the kid glove treatment from the mainstream media is in the Grey Lady's seeming admission that Air America is now a mere toy for billionaire developer Stephan L Green's kid brother to play with until he gets bored and moves on to something else.

So the next time Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity or Bill O'Reilly is accused of adopting the GOP's talking points, remind your liberal friends of the way their own talk network is run.


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