Even the most seasoned politicos in Washington can learn from this first book by Matt Bai. The Argument: Billionaires, Bloggers, and the Battle to Remake Democratic Politics, is a journey into the dysfunctional world of the Democratic Party, in which infighting, incompetence, mismanagement, and misguided idealism all snowball into one giant snafu. It’s not pretty.

Bai, a noted political correspondent for the New York Times Magazine, concludes that the American map turned blue in 2006 because voters grew weary of Republican rule, not because Democrats produced a credible (or even discernible) agenda. The party, he argues, is still stagnant, still living in the past, and still seriously in need of fresh “intellectual capital.”

It is a bold claim from a bold author. But the meticulous research and careful reporting pay off. Filled with first-hand accounts and colorful characters, The Argument is both enjoyable and persuasive. Democrats will find within its chapters a fascinating tale—and a cautionary one.

The Billionaires’ Clubs
Bai takes us inside the war room with the best and brightest—and richest—members of the Left. It is an impressive-looking crowd, consisting of billionaire financiers, statistical geniuses, dedicated tacticians, and linguistic experts. (And very feisty politicians—Rahm Emanuel’s around-the-clock tenacity is, in a word, frightening). But are the glory days of Fox News and the Heritage Foundation really numbered?

It does not appear so. The Democrats’ powerful new nerve centers—complete with imposing names like the “Democracy Alliance” and the “Phoenix Group”—appear as feckless bureaucracies, in which bickering and backstabbing thrive. But at least the players on this stage are knowledgeable and experienced and, sometimes, demonstrate a capacity for reflection and deliberation.

Taking To The Web
The same cannot be said for the liberal bloggers, Internet cowboys who are quick to shoot and slow to think. Bai, wryly noting that he represents the “timid media establishment,” gives us a candid look at the fiery partisanship on display. Burn Republicans at the stake and hang pro-business centrists, the so-called “Vichy Democrats,” by their toes! Not even Bill Clinton, the last Democratic President, is spared. In fact, bloggers seem especially eager to label his legacy of moderation as cowardice, and his presidency as a symbol of wasted opportunity.

Bai is a master of his trade and the story flows smoothly, with wonderful snippets of detail. He quietly paints the scene, letting readers confront the vacuous rabble-rousers and their unadulterated anger for themselves. If the bloggers, led by blogfather Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, ever gain control of the Democratic Party, they will not be the policy wonks who made the Clinton administration a success.

The Battle for Control
Readers looking for bloodshed will not be disappointed. Bai traces the party’s fault lines with clear—and devastating—results. At the height of the intra-party battle, an insecure Howard Dean, the party chairman with a leadership style that James Carville calls “Rumsfeldian,” clashed with fellow party leaders on the eve of the 2006 elections: They wanted more resources for tight Congressional races, while he wished to invest in his heralded “50-State Plan.” This incident highlights one of The Argument’s more prominent themes: Democrats today are more preoccupied with the “machinery of politics” than with the difficult work of articulating a message.

As liberal icon Mario Cuomo tells a stricken audience, Carter pushed for “cleanliness in government.” Reagan wanted “supply side economics.” Clinton focused on “upheaval in the economy.” Bush had the “war on terror.” But, he tells party leaders, “You have no big idea.” Bai never quite explains what this big idea might be. Readers, like the politicians themselves, will have to do their own thinking.

A Grim Future?
The liberals who are working to develop new plans are, as Bai demonstrates through his reporting, utterly ignored. The Democratic Party, SEIU president Andy Stern reflects, is “too obsessed with tactics to embrace new ideas.” But his plan to make a pact with the devil—Wal-Mart—to form the “first-ever union for self-employed workers” is shunned by party leaders.

Bai’s unflattering portrayal of the Left offers a cutting message for the new Democratic majority in Congress: Shape up, or be prepared to ship out. With their poll numbers flagging, Democratic leaders will find that if they do not engage in the deep and difficult thinking needed to craft a new agenda, they will, for all of their recent electoral success, find themselves once more on the outside looking in.¨ ]]>http://hprsite.squarespace.com/going-nowhere-fast-112007/rss-comments-entry-1373704.xml