The Argument: Billionaires, Bloggers, and the Battle to Remake Democratic Politics

Drawing on remarkable access to myriad factions of the Democratic Party, the New York Times Magazine writer Matt Bai distills the party's future prospects and current dilemmas in this raucous and devastating account of the party's search for The Argument that fits the twenty-first century

Great political movements need more than a bunch of shared principles; they need an argument. The New Dealers had one. So did the Goldwater conservatives. So what's the progressive argument? What new path are Democrats urging us to choose in the era of Wal-Mart, Al Qaeda, and YouTube? Matt Bai seeks answers in The Argument, a book that brings you deep inside the turbulent, confusing new world of Democratic politics, where billionaires and bloggers are battling politicians and consultants over the future of a once-great party.

Beginning with the devastating election of 2004 and ending with an unexpected triumph in the 2006 congressional elections and the run-up to the 2008 campaign, Bai's book follows such memorable power brokers as Howard Dean, the billionaire George Soros, the union leader Andy Stern, the blogger Markos Moulitsas, and the leaders of moveon.org as they vie for control of the new Democratic landscape. In the pages of The Argument, we are introduced to these activists not just as political figures but as fascinating and flawed characters-ordinary people motivated by ideology or ambition or even personal tragedy.

At stake is the future of the Democratic Party and, quite possibly, of American politics itself. At a time when assorted pundits offer their own prescriptions for Democratic success in the 2008 presidential election, Bai uses rich narrative and vivid portraits to illuminate the party's challenges. In scene after scene from around the country — with union bosses in Chicago, with Dean in Alaska, with movie stars in Hollywood and financiers in New York — Bai reveals a movement that is learning how to win again, even as it struggles to articulate a compelling argument for progressive government in a confusing new century.

Readers of The Argument will recognize the unsparing insight and gift for storytelling that have made Matt Bai one of the country's most widely read observers of the American political scene-and its most trusted authority on the Democratic Party.

"Scandals, the immigration debate, questions of competency and an approval-deficient President all point to a Democratic sweep in the 2008 elections; despite that, New York Times Magazine writer Bai contends, the Dems' perennial stumbling blocks-a lack of strong leaders, fractured beliefs, general disorganization and inferior skills of mass communication-are only getting worse. In this look behind the scenes at Democratic decision makers, Bai points to a new generation of troubles: has Howard Dean squandered money, good will and opportunities as the head of the party? Have blogs such as DailyKos.com steered the debate away from unifying issues in favor of divisive strategies? Can lefty billionaires like George Soros, or his pet activist Rob Stein, spearhead an effective organization? And how many of these people even know what they're talking about? To analyze these questions, Bai enjoys generous access to many key figures-including Tom Matzzie of MoveOn and Hollywood stalwart Rob Reiner-but few come across as interesting characters. In addition, the focus on 2004 and 2006 races gives much of the book a been-there, done-that feel. It doesn't provide much hope for the Dems-sympathizers are sure to come away from this title depressed, even if the 2008 elections do go their way." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"Any doubt about the growing influence of the liberal blogosphere, aka the netroots, on the Democratic Party was laid to rest in August. At the Yearly Kos blogapalooza, the bloggers were flanked by a who's-who of the party's New Order (who have rallied behind the new kids on the block) and Old Order (who are now jumping on the bandwagon). Most tellingly, all the major presidential candidates showed... Washington Post Book Review (read the entire Washington Post review) up for a debate — including Sen. Hillary Clinton, whose vote authorizing the war on Iraq has rendered her almost persona non grata to the netroots community. And moderating the debate was Matt Bai, a reporter for the New York Times magazine whose unsparing, incisive and altogether engaging book is a must-read for anyone unaware of the seismic shift that's afoot among the Democrats.

In 'The Argument,' Bai makes the case — not entirely convincingly — that the Democrats lack an argument, a big idea, about why they should govern. He poses questions to the Democrats that he doesn't get around to answering himself: 'How do we, as a nation, move beyond the tired doctrines of a receding era? Who will explain the difficult truths of our new reality? What will the next version of American government look like?'

All fair queries that elicit an immediate, twofold response: What, exactly, does the Republican Party stand for? And with the GOP coming undone (the indictment of superlobbyist Jack Abramoff, the Hastert and Rove exits, the immigration bill debacle, the Iraq quagmire), has the stock narrative of 'the Democrats don't stand for anything' — touted even by Democratic insiders, to the delight of Republicans — run its course? Is Bai looking for a bumper sticker slogan that cohesively articulates the Democratic agenda? Readers never find out.

What Bai does provide is a layered, colorful portrait of a party in transition. The story of the netroots is the story of everyday Americans armed with high speed Internet access — Bai doesn't bring up the glaring digital divide, especially in poor areas of the country — and a visceral disdain for Republicans in general and Bush in particular. It's a tale of fiery newcomers to politics, many of whom woke up to the aftershocks of Sept. 11 (domestic spying, Abu Ghraib), demanding to be seated at the table.

Bai introduces us to Rob Stein, an Albert Brooks look-alike with a 'PowerPoint business plan for the progressive movement,' and to Tom Matzzie, the Washington director of MoveOn.org who is a phone call away from Capitol heavy hitters. Efforts of operatives such as Stein are bankrolled by deep-pocketed progressives, the billionaire George Soros among them, who seek to match the GOP's '$300 million "message machine"' with think tanks of their own. Bai visits the homes of liberal Hollywood bigwigs Rob Reiner and Norman Lear, and he tracks the tumultuous beginnings — and early reforms — of Howard Dean's chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee. He even gets a sit-down with Bill Clinton, whose centrist third-way triangulation has been continually derided by the netroots.

And, most effectively, he uses an earlier visit to the first Yearly Kos convention in 2006 to examine the netroots culture. There are elite bloggers such as Jerome Armstrong of MyDD.com and Markos Moulitsas of DailyKos.com, the netroots' first political rock star; below them are the not-quite-elite bloggers; and below them are everyone else. Still, as Bai observes, meritocracy rules. DailyKos is where Gina Cooper, a high school teacher from Tennessee, finds her voice and sharpens it. Over a breakfast of pancakes, it's Cooper who provides, as Bai notes, the most acute summation behind the soul of the political blogosphere: 'People need something to believe in. And if they can believe in you, then they can believe in themselves. No one's going to give me permission to just suddenly speak with authority. I just have to do it.'

But in fixating on a big idea that updates the Democratic bastions of the New Deal and Great Society, Bai, despite writing an energetic and timely narrative, misses a big idea himself. Every day in the blogosphere — often in crude, crass language, many times in careful, detailed analysis — an argument is being laid out: against the war in Iraq, in support of minority groups and immigrants, for a government of the people. In other words, a government that works, not an empty, catchy slogan.

Jose Antonio Vargas covers politics and the Internet for The Washington Post.

" Reviewed by Jose Antonio Vargas, Washington Post Book World (Copyright 2006 Washington Post Book World Service/Washington Post Writers Group)
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Drawing on remarkable access to myriad factions of the Democratic Party, The New York Times Magazine writer Matt Bai distills the party's future prospects and current dilemmas in this raucous and devastating account of the party's search for The Argument that fits the twenty-first century

Great political movements need more than a bunch of shared principles; they need an argument. The New Dealers had one. So did the Goldwater conservatives. So what's the progressive argument? What new path are Democrats urging us to choose in the era of Wal-Mart, Al Qaeda, and YouTube? Matt Bai seeks answers in The Argument, a book that brings you deep inside the turbulent, confusing new world of Democratic politics, where billionaires and bloggers are battling politicians and consultants over the future of a once-great party.

Beginning with the devastating election of 2004 and ending with an unexpected triumph in the 2006 congressional elections and the run-up to the 2008 campaign, Bai's book follows such memorable power brokers as Howard Dean, the billionaire George Soros, the union leader Andy Stern, the blogger Markos Moulitsas, and the leaders of moveon.org as they vie for control of the new Democratic landscape. In the pages of The Argument, we are introduced to these activists not just as political figures but as fascinating and flawed characters-ordinary people motivated by ideology or ambition or even personal tragedy.

At stake is the future of the Democratic Party and, quite possibly, of American politics itself. At a time when assorted pundits offer their own prescriptions for Democratic success in the 2008 presidential election, Bai uses rich narrative and vivid portraits to illuminate the party's challenges. In scene after scene from around the country-with union bosses in Chicago, with Dean in Alaska, with movie stars in Hollywood and financiers in New York-Bai reveals a movement that is learning how to win again, even as it struggles to articulate a compelling argument for progressive government in a confusing new century.

Readers of The Argument will recognize the unsparing insight and gift for storytelling that have made Matt Bai one of the country's most widely read observers of the American political scene-and its most trusted authority on the Democratic Party.

Matt Bai writes on national politics for The New York Times Magazine. He lives with his family in Washington.