Versha Sharma and Mark Bergen of TPM Cafe say that "The Center Has Not Held," and as evidence, we have Max Blumenthal's new book -- which we will be discussing all week at TPM Cafe, and everyone is welcome to join in.

By now the internal combustion of the national Republican party is clearly evident. The fringe has overtaken the center, led in part by a powerful alliance of religion and politics. Journalist Max Blumenthal has been chronicling this takeover meticulously -- and TPMCafe is pleased to feature his latest book, Republican Gomorrah, in the Book Club discussion this week. Max is currently a senior writer at The Daily Beast and a Puffin Foundation writing fellow at The Nation Institute.

His book has particular resonance right now, as talk turns to the 2010 elections. Though Republicans hope for next year to be a repeat of 1994, it remains to be seen whether or not they can keep it together: a Rasmussen poll last week showed the strength of the so-called 'Tea Party' against the GOP.

Joining the discussion this week are Frederick Clarkson, co-founder of Talk To Action, a website dedicated to reporting on and discussing the religious right; Sarah Posner, associate editor at Religion Dispatches where she covers the messy intersections of faith and politics; Adele Stan, Washington bureau chief of AlterNet; and Todd Gitlin, regular Cafe contributor, author of The Bulldozer And The Big Tent (among others), and professor of journalism and sociology at Columbia University.

We hope you enjoy the conversation.