By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, June 11, 2006; A05

LAS VEGAS, June 10 -- The newest provocateur in Democratic Party politics bounced through the corridors of the Riviera Hotel this weekend wearing jeans or baggy shorts, sneakers and a perpetually mischievous grin. His name is Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, and not many years ago, no party leader had heard of him. Today they are courting him and many like him.

Moulitsas, founder of the Daily Kos, is one of the most influential progressive bloggers in America today and a symbol of an expanding Internet-based movement that has led the attacks on President Bush while challenging the Democratic establishment.

Moulitsas's message is clear and uncompromising. "The media elite has failed us," he says. "The political elite has failed us. Both parties. Republicans failed us because they can't govern. Democrats failed us because they can't get elected."

Many Democrats see this emerging community as a source of innovation, energy and ideas that will change the way politics and journalism are practiced, and one that will provide a new army of activists for a party badly in need of help.

But the arrival of the blogosphere as a political force has produced tensions within the Democratic coalition, including battles with party centrists over the direction of the party, which have led to questions about whether the often-angry rhetoric and uncompromising positions of the bloggers will drive the party too far left and endanger its chances of winning national elections.

Moulitsas offered his appraisal of the state of politics -- and a call for the net-roots activists to take over the party -- on the opening night of the first YearlyKos convention, which bought more than a thousand bloggers and activists here for a weekend of bonding and strategy discussions. It is the first step in what organizers hope will turn a loose-knit, virtual community into a long-lasting political movement.

Testifying to the significance of the blogosphere as an emerging political force was the parade of Democratic politicians who came to pay their respects, including Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean and four prospective 2008 presidential candidates. "I pay as much attention [to the bloggers] as I can," Reid said by phone before his arrival for Saturday night's keynote address. "I think it's a voice I need to listen to. I listen."

The prospective candidates -- former Virginia governor Mark R. Warner, Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and retired Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark -- all hope they can generate support among an activist constituency that has already expressed its hostility toward Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) as a cautious and consummate insider.

Clark and Warner threw fancy receptions for the participants. And when Warner spoke at lunch on Saturday, the chairs in the hall were draped with T-shirts bearing his likeness and commemorating the conference. Although a centrist in ideology, Warner has already attracted attention within the blogging community and has been trying to build relationships around the country.

"I think it's evolving," he said of the net-roots community. "I think these guys and gals are potentially creating a new public square for democracy. And they are an unorganized, unorthodox jumble. What started as occasional voices venting is now turning into what could be a major force in American politics."

From a standing start, this community first demonstrated its power by supporting Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign, helping him raise tens of millions of dollars and propelling him into front-runner status for the Democratic nomination until his candidacy imploded.

That experience showed the promise and the limitations of the net-based political movement. As the bloggers gathered here, many of the same questions remained unanswered about what is now a larger and more assertive voice in American politics.

Participants see the future of this movement in expansive terms and believe that conventional political labels fail to capture the texture and significance of the changes underway. "I think the Internet and the blogs are helping to renew our democracy," said Simon Rosenberg of the centrist NDN, the successor organization of the New Democrat Network. "There are many more people involved in the debate about our country than a few years ago."

Jerome Armstrong, who founded one of the best-read progressive blogs, MyDD.com, co-wrote a book on net roots with Moulitsas called "Crashing the Gate" and is now on Warner's payroll. Armstrong said the rise of the blogosphere gives Democrats a way to counter Republican talk radio and other parts of the GOP communications machinery. "Blogs are a rapid-response mechanism for Democrats we didn't have before," he said.

Conference participants appeared anxious to dispel their image as doctrinaire liberals, though the most animated panels involved liberal attacks on Bush and the Republicans over the Iraq war, criticism of the administration's role in the unmasking of CIA operative Valerie Plame, and charges that the mainstream media have failed to stand up to the president.

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), a favorite of the participants for her sharp attacks on the administration over Iraq and judges, felt the need to push back when asked why Democrats in Congress are not willing to consider impeaching the president.

"We do not control the House of Representatives," she said. "It's an impossibility. . . . I say censure the president and move on."

But Moulitsas said the movement has been miscast as a collection of young, far-left activists by Washington-based Democratic consultants, Republicans and elected officials.

"I think Democratic politicians -- I don't know whether slowly or quickly -- are realizing that we aren't these far-leftist, naïve and young political extremists, that we're actually a fairly representative cross-section of the Democratic Party and we don't have an agenda other than seeking strong Democratic voices."

Tom Mattzie, Washington director of MoveOn.org, called the struggle inside the Democratic Party a "clash of civilizations" between an old order and a new order, but he also discounted those who view it purely in ideological terms. His group, he said, had polled the net-roots activist community. "What they want is not an ideological litmus test," he said. "They want Democrats to stand up and fight. They don't want Neville Chamberlain Democrats; they want Muhammad Ali Democrats."

That, said many of those in attendance, explains the contempt with which net-roots activists hold Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.), whom they see as having gone out of his way to support Bush and to criticize Democrats on the Iraq war and other issues. A popular button here showed Bush and Lieberman in near-embrace with the words "The Kiss," and Lieberman's primary challenger, Ned Lamont, has become a darling of the net-roots activists.

But Dave Dayen, a comedian and activist, said the net-roots activists are genuinely pragmatic in evaluating candidates, particularly those in heavily Republican states. He noted that Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) is as conservative as Lieberman but has not been targeted by bloggers. "We understand regional realities," he said.

Stirling Newberry, an active blogger on economic issues, said the list of attendees at the conference validates the significance of the net-based movement. "The media are here, the candidates are here," he said. "That says the power is here."

Joe Trippi, who helped tap the power of the Internet for Dean as his campaign manager, said he was surprised more prospective Democratic presidential candidates were not here. "Skipping this is like skipping the Iowa J-J [Jefferson-Jackson Day] dinner," he said.

Moulitsas said he expects the power of the blogosphere to grow. He predicted that it will play as significant a role in shaping the field of Democratic presidential candidates as in who raises the most money and who signs up the best consultants. "I think there's clearly going to be a blogosphere primary [in the 2008 race]," he said.

Whether the activists can fulfill the movement's potential that many see is far from clear, however. The first YearlyKos conference offered a glimpse into the future, but as Richardson told some of the participants, there is still a long way to go before they turn ideals and ambitions into action and accomplishment. Future elections will show whether they have been successful.