Netroots Rising

Vince Leibowitz at BurntOrangeReport posted a review of Netroots Rising last Monday:

For Democrats and progressives (and regular students of politics) who want to understand how the online movement has begun to eclipse television as a the “key” force in American politics, this book is a must-read. From using the internet to organize opposition to mid-decade Congressional redistricting in Texas to the Howard Dean campaign, the Draft Clark movement, and 2006 campaigns like that of Jim Webb, the authors explore the history and growing pains of the Netroots movement in a way that keeps you turning the pages.

Although it was not intended to be such [see our interview with co-author Nate Wilcox next Monday], the book easily serves as a blueprint for how to (and how not to) run an effective Netroots campaign. (A byproduct of the authors’ desire to tell not just the stories of winning campaigns but also of campaigns that lost but from which much can be learned, this book is a must for every political professional, candidate, and citizen blogger who wants to understand the Netroots movement and its place in American politics.It will be of particular interest to Texas readers that Wilcox (himself a Texan, though he now lives in Virginia) tells the stories of several Texas campaigns and movements. From walking into a “good cop/bad cop” meeting with two Texas State Representatives in the middle of Tom DeLay’s attempts to force a mid-decade redistricting plan down the throat of the Texas Legislature to exploring the ins and outs of Richard Morrison’s campaign against Tom DeLay in 2004 (the first campaign in Texas to effectively utilize the blogosphere), Texas political buffs will not be disappointed with this book. The likes of Glen Maxey, Kelly Fero, Charles Kuffner, Burnt Orange Report founder Byron LaMasters, Vince Leibowitz, Greg Wythe, and many, many more familiar faces are all mentioned or were interviewed for the portions of the book related to Texas.