The NYT Magazine has several features on politics this issue, I recommend reading them. I don't frequently see diaries on the NYT magazine, since it's not a front page item on the website.
The feature on Hillary Clinton is called Mrs. Triangulation a perceptive and somewhat acid profile of her, while also somewhat cynically sketching out what the modern democratic party is becoming.
I found this paragraph an extremely damning view of the net roots
The activist class believes, essentially, that Democrats in Washington have damaged the party by trying to negotiate and compromise with Republicans - in short, by trying to govern. The "Net roots" believe that an effective minority party should disengage from the governing process and eschew new proposals or big ideas. Instead, the party should dedicate itself to winning local elections and killing each new Republican proposal that comes down the track. To the activist class, trying to cut deals with Republicans is tantamount to appeasement.
At first I was angry about it because I don't think that's the core of what we stand for. But effectively it's probably where we are right now. I think we view the current administration and congress as an emergency that we have to oppose strongly.
But I know we are about policy at some level, though it seems there's not a lot of discussion of it. We want the big ideas, we want our party to consult us. But we also want them to really participate in policy leadership, not just react to this emergency. We have to do both.
We are being characterized in the MSM as shrill screamers against compromise. And on some level we are that, and on some level we should be because this administration is so extreme. But why do you think that's all we are considered to be? How can we change that? Kos is quoted more than once in the article. Even saying something that's in contrast to this characterizing paragraph-- "I think people are looking for leadership from Hillary Clinton, and she's not showing any leadership on anything,"
Yet we're perceived as not wanting leadership, the article really talks about the blog community as a sort of minefield for Clinton and the Democratic party as well. I don't agree with that but how do we change that?