The Argument: Inside the Battle to Remake Democratic Politics

You can tell when an author is a journalist. Their books are smooth, easy to read pieces that make sense and somehow make complicated topics easy to digest. Matt Bai, author of "The Argument: Inside the Battle to Remake Democratic Politics" and a journalist covering American politics for the New York Times Sunday Magazine accomplishes the task of showing how grassroots organizations are becoming major political movements and are reshaping a major political party in this country through mechanisms such as the Internet. He portrays a brilliant inside look at the inner workings of the Democratic party.

His behind-the-scenes look at the relationship between grassroots movements like MoveOn.org and blogs such as The Huffington Post and The Daily Kos (both of which I read weekly, if not daily), and huge political players like Howard Dean, Bill Clinton, the Democracy Alliance clearly shows the internal power struggles, obsession with the Republican party, and the clash of egos that have prevented the Democratic party from expanding, succeeding, and become a coherent party with a coherent "argument". While politics are clearly more complex than simple partisanship, Bai points out that the agonizing blows dealt by a cohesive and strong Republican party and the disaster left behind by the Bush administration gave the progressive party the right motivation it needed to regroup and reorganize. The election of Obama was only the first taste of sweet victory for the Democratic party; how he will actually implement his coherent message of "change" has yet to be seen. But the opportunity is there.

This type of comparison kind of reminds me of the organization of the Israeli lobby and the progress they have made through their strategic organization and leadership, as compared to other groups who could benefit from such structure and organization and a clear communications message, such as the Palestinians. Has anyone ever read The Israel Lobby? If not, you definitely should. It's an amazing look into the organization and structure and power of AIPAC (The America Israel Public Affairs Committee). It proves that having a coherent message (or an "argument") will help you succeed. It proves that new ideas backed by effective strategies also help you succeed. It's precisely what the Democratic party needs, according to Bai.

Perhaps most interesting is Bai's account of a MoveOn.org party/bbq he attended that was organized by someone energized by his disdain for FOX news and his Republican neighbor. What Bai noticed at this party was a critical notion to understanding political movements online: the participants were not young, tech savvy kids who are stereotypically known to be the ones controlling the Internet Age; but they were middle-class suburban adults who, for some time now, have felt disenfranchised by American politics, as Bai points out. MoveOn.org helps organize these people and provides a forum to connect with one another and allow their voices to be heard.

After reading the book, I decided to do some research about Matt Bai and his book and discovered that the book was quite controversial, and was actually the only political book in 2007 to be named a New York Times Notable book. I was really impressed by this book - I think Bai has an interesting take on progressive politics and I think he highlights the challenges facing American politics accurately.