A journey across America into the heart
and soul of the netroots movement.

CRASHING THE STATES is a cross-country journey to capture firsthand the excitement and activism of netroots-supported campaigns. Inspired by the netroots movement and Markos Moulitsas Zúniga and Jerome Armstrong's insightful book "CRASHING THE GATE", bloggers Gary Abramson (Reality Bites Back) and Dante Atkins (Hekebolos) traveled over 10,000 miles across 26 states connecting with members of local blogging communities who were participating in campaign activities to support their candidates. From within the campaigns, they reported first hand the coordination, confusion, energy, trials and determination of netroots activists as they worked to secure electoral victory. Bloggers and their candidates were interviewed to find out who they are, what inspired them to action, and what impact, both expected and unexpected, their efforts are yielding.

Abramson and Atkins brought the entire netroots community along for the ride posting diaries of their experiences on the largest political blogs on the internet. At each campaign destination, they meet the bloggers who were working to support their candidates. From North Carolina to Northern Vermont, Chicago to San Antonio, and Seattle to San Diego, their trip across America landed them on election night at one of the biggest upsets of the 2006 election at a nail-bightingly close campaign that changed the balance of power in the United States Senate.

Notables interviewed for the project include DNC Chairman Howard Dean, 2004 presidential candidate Senator John Kerry, Senator Russ Feingold, Congressman John Conyers, Congressman Brad Miller, and Congresswoman Louise Slaughter. Senator Jim Webb, Senator Jon Tester, Senatorial candidate Ned Lamont, Congressman Jerry McNerney, Congressman Paul Hodes, Congressman Joe Sestak, Congressman Patrick  Murphy and Governor Mark Warner. Congressional candidates Eric Massa, Darcy Burner, Dan Seals, Jay Fawcett, and Barry Welsh. Howard Dean campaign chair Joe Trippi, MoveOn co-founder Joan Blades, DFA Chairman Jim Dean, founder of MyDD, Jerome Armstrong, founder of DailyKos Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, founder of FireDogLake Jane Hamsher, co-founder of ePluribus Media and NY State Congressional candidate Brian Keeler and other netroots luminaries including Chris Bowers, georgia10, MissLaura, Tim Tagaris, Lowell Feld, Josh Chernila, A Seigel, Psifighter37, and dozens of others.

The culmination of these efforts will capture the nexus of a new American political movement and the struggle to reclaim and restore American democracy.