I like Armstrong and Zuniga and am thankful for their blogs. But I have to agree that their take on what the Democrats need to do does not get past the standard wall: how do you rally people around a PR machine?

The Democrats must have a plan for America - voters and activists must believe that they can expect concrete actions from Democrats, once in power. It is a sign of weakness to even discuss how to get better slogans, either before or after party reorganization, without a plan of action guided by coherent, transparent moral standards.

In fact, I'm hard pressed to think of what the Democrats would do if in power, other than "not do" what Republicans have done. For example, Dems wouldn't cut taxes on the rich - but would they raise taxes on the rich? They wouldn't outlaw abortion, but would they finance needed clinics in places where choice is already dead? Dems wouldn't have gone to war in Iraq, but will they quit the war? Dems wouldn't have tortured, but will the pay reparations and demand trials for those who authorized torture? Dems wouldn't roll back constitutional checks and balances, but will they actively restore what's already lost?

None of these questions are even remotely answered by the Democratic Party. None. In fact, from what I've seen, read and heard, it's a safe bet that the answers are all "no."

I say to the Democrats: give America policies, not PR. I'm not on the "blue team" just because I know Bush is crook. You'll have to do better than that.

The blogs remain the only place one can be informed. At DKOS bloggers take notes on the MSM and compare the wire services and other sources with what is being reported. One aspect of the blogs is that it is a collection of cub reporters. Where are your facts? Can you provide a link? Editorial comments are second string. Intellectual debates on policy gather dust, and scroll away.

On the other hand vitriol sells, and soundbite commentaries that support the writer, with the energy you see at a Baptist prayer meeting. A lot of bloggers don't care where the party is going, they just want an end to Bush.

The Democratic leadership seems to have gotten wind of the blog, and a number of prominent pols post regularly. Want to contact your representative, directly? Rather than mass emailing something that will never get past a low level aide, here's your chance. You gain an audience, make suggestions, talk policy. DKOS has been slow to move from a bunch of cranky complainers, to serious policy discussions with the elected officials who make policy. Most DKOS bloggers prefer to ignore the rifts in the Democratic party. When the DNC sent out its 2006 Grass Roots survey, a few complained. The survery didn't fit into the bloggers current universe, it wasn't news, it wasn't policy, and it wasn't controversial. It was important. If you don't ask the right questions you won't get the right answers.

Bloggers are a self-important lot. While it is true that daily newspaper subscriptions are down, and that fewer people (in spite of all of Fox's lies to the contrary) are watching television news, the country has not turned to blogs for their news and commentary. Most Americans don't even know what a blog is. The cumulative weight of them on the politics in this country is nil. They are, primarily, preaching to the choir in an echo chamber.

"Anonymous" criticizes me for lack of "full disclosure"? OK.

Although I think my comments stand on their own merits, here's my relationship to "Crashing the Gate" and Armstrong and Zuniga.

I did design the cover of "Crashing the Gate". And I do occasional design work for Armstrong and Zuniga. Also, I'm quoted in that book as an grassroots activist.

I don't think that the fact that I have done graphic design work for Markos and Jerome is particularly relevant. I'm an independent freelance designer and web developer.

I have no financial interest in the book. Certainly no one has ever asked me to shill for the book. I'm not a paid publicist for the publisher nor an employee of an ad agency or any other entity that will profit or suffer from the its sales.

My defense of the book was made on my own time, of my own impetus, and reflect my views.

Ultimately, I don't support the premise of the book because I designed the cover.

I designed the cover because I support the premise of the book.

I find it sadly amusing that "Armstrong and Moulitsas rail at Democrats for their infighting, their policy wonkishness..." when that's EXACTLY the sort of behavior I witnessed first-hand on the Daily Kos.

It's nothing but an orgy of mutual masturbation and in-group politicking, utterly unconnected to any sort of real-world political action. If it didn't already exist, the Republicans would have had to create it.

Just sad.

Malacandra -- for balance, I think you should fully disclose your relationship with the authors of Crashing The Gates with other Salon readers. Didn't you design the cover? What about your work for BlogPac? I would have taken your glowing review more seriously had you simply made a brief mention of your financial relationship with the authors.

The reviewer seems to want a different book than the one Armstrong & Zuniga wrote, but when evaluated on it's terms, Crashing the Gate is notably successful at accomplishing what it sets out to do. And that is to diagnose the systemic problems with the Democratic party as it now exists.

As Molly Ivins is known to say, the first rule of holes is to stop digging... and it's not only useful, but crucial for the Democratic party to take stock of itself, and why it is out of power. There's no point in putting a full tank of gas in a car with a broken transmission: similarly, the discussion of strategy and tactics for crafting a new Democratic party message isn't going anywhere until some root problems are acknowledged and addressed.

Armstrong & Zuniga have identified a number of ways that the Democratic party has institutionalized practices that render it ineffective and unsuited to supporting and advancing a political agenda, regardless of what that might be.

And that's why Crashing the Gate is an important book. It may be the case that the problems with the Democratic Party are structural rather than ideological, and that by tending to its long neglected local organization, i.e. the grassroots, and by rebuilding a networked party infrastructure abandoned in the flush of a fascination with mass media, the Democrats may find that their core values still resonate with the American people... once they actually are able to effectively reach them.