Boy, this is a suckish week to be a liberal. First, a Republican gets elected to what used to be Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat on a promise of killing universal health care. Next, Speaker Pelosi announces she doesn’t have the votes to pass said health care. Then, the Supreme Court rules that First Amendment rights can’t be violated in the name of fairness. Finally, this.

Air America, the liberal radio talk network, has ceased operations. As of this afternoon all live programming has been ended. The company will soon file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy — total liquidation. No reorganization, no fixing the financial problem, just disappearance. Gone. Poof. Adios.

Why? Well for starters, you might well be part of the overwhelming majority of America that’s never heard of the network. And while conservative talk radio stars like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck are soaring in popularity, liberal talk radio continues to suffer mostly in obscurity.

Air America was the embodiment of liberal talk radio’s failure. And now, as of this afternoon, it’s gone. Forever. Its assets will be liquidated and its Wikipedia profile will go from “is an American radio network” to “was an American radio network”. In fact, as of this writing, the profile has already been updated.