The Argument Billionaires, Bloggers, and the Battle to Remake DemocraticPolitics

by Bai, Matt

• ISBN13: 9781594201332
• ISBN10: 1594201331
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-08-16
• Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The

Summary

Drawing on remarkable access to myriad factions of the Democratic Party, The New York Times Magazinewriter Matt Bai distills the party's future prospects and current dilemmas in this raucous and devastating account of the party's search for The Argumentthat 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 Argumentwill 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.

Author Biography

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

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
Election Day	p. 1
The Killer Slide Show	p. 23
The Thing	p. 49
The Power of the List	p. 67
The Road to Dysfunction	p. 93
Moments of Destiny	p. 123
The Argument	p. 153
Beyond the Message Object	p. 181
Backward Compatible	p. 191
"They're Not Right About That"	p. 217
Into the Abyss	p. 227
The Kiss	p. 257
Score!	p. 283
Acknowledgments	p. 303
Index	p. 307
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