PHOENIX SORT OF RISING, OR NOT. Certainly Ari Berman's big piece in The Nation on the Democracy Alliance -- the would-be white knight group of liberal super-donors who set out to fund the vast left-wing conspiracy -- is a must-read (and, frankly, a somewhat courageous feat on Ari's part). There's a lot going on in his account, and certain strands of argument he makes about what's gone wrong with the Alliance I find more convincing than others. But the whole piece is very informative and conveys an apt sense of frustration about the whole thing.
--Sam Rosenfeld
