Hurowitz to sign copies of 'Fear and Courage' in Portsmouth Thursday

Glenn Hurowitz, author of the new book, "Fear and Courage in the Democratic Party," will be speaking at Portsmouth's RiverRun Bookstore on Thursday, Jan. 3, at 7 p.m. The store is located at 20 Congress St. I'm not familiar with the book, but I received this press release via email. It sounds interesting:

Democrats need to start showing far more political courage, or they will risk defeat in 2008 and beyond, writes journalist and political veteran Glenn Hurowitz in his controversial new book, "Fear and Courage in the Democratic Party."
"If Democrats can’t stand up to Rudy Giuliani, Rush Limbaugh, and the Republicans, voters will ask how they are going to stand up to Osama bin Laden," Hurowitz said.
The book reveals the little-known history of how the same foundations and corporations that engineered the right-wing takeover of the Republican Party used junk political science to move Democrats to the right as well. Drawing on ground-breaking political science research, Hurowitz tackles the “little tin gods” of the Democratic Party to argue that when it comes to winning votes, “issues don’t matter,” “politicians should only pander to people who care” and tackles what he calls the “wimp love myth.”
Coming just in time for election season, /Fear and Courage in the Democratic Party /chronicles the extraordinary stories of five politicians and activists: three "progressive heroes" who exhibited rare political courage - and through it found unexpected political success, and two "spineless weasels" who embraced The Politics of Fear and rode it to ultimate failure.
In a chapter titled “Gutless Wonder,” Hurowitz argues that the legacy of Bill Clinton, widely proclaimed his generation's greatest political talent, will actually burden the Democratic Party and the progressive movement for decades to come. And he tells the inspiring tale of how Minnesota senator Paul Wellstone’s courage helped him overcome an occasionally hysterical style and an ideology considerably to the left of his constituents to find electoral and legislative success during an era of right wing ascendancy.
Written in a rollicking, conversational style, "Fear and Courage" makes recent political history come alive as an epic battle for the soul of the Democratic party between amoral political operatives and a populace hungry for courageous leadership – with Democratic politicians all too often paralyzed in the middle. A book for political junkies and readers looking for spellbinding narrative alike, this astonishing work is sure to have a major impact on political thought in the United States.
Glenn Hurowitz is the president of the Democratic Courage political action committee (www.democraticcourage.com). As a journalist, he has contributed to The New York Times, The American Prospect, Politico, The Huffington Post, and Grist Magazine. He also appears as a political commentator on CBS, Air America, MSNBC, and Fox.