One way the Democrats are screwing up

I know nothing about parenting. Neither did my parents at one point. So I never learned anything about parenting. But I do have some intuitions about some things that children need. I was wondering if there are parents out there who can back me up. If I am way off then my analogy is flawed, and this is all wrong, but I think I am on to something.

I strongly suspect that children (and adults too) need to see that their caregiver is decisive. They need to see that their caregiver has rules, boundaries, and inspires confidence. Their caregiver cannot be wishy washy, should not waver, should motivate their children, etc.

I wonder what kind of child will be raised by someone who is unsure what their children should be doing, cannot decide when bedtime is, what they can eat, what clothing is appropriate, what constitutes proper sexual behavior, what their attitude should be toward alcohol, relationships, drugs, etc. Parents need to present a united and decisive front on most issues.

I would guess that when parents don't, their children loose faith in their parents. When children are very young they need to believe that their parents can handle all situations, and more over, know what to do at all times. I would not be very inspired by parents who had no social, intellectual, or moral, compass that they were motivated to pass on to their children.

Democrats seem to be in the same boat as parents from the 60's. Few convictions, few beliefs, and a hesitancy to speak up on any issue except how bad "the man" (ie, Bush) is. The Democrats need to grow up and start acting like responsible leaders. When there is an issue they need to take a stand.

The Republicans always take stands. Their stands might be stupid, arrogant, inconsistent, annoying and wrong, but they take stands. They will always let you know what they think, and what their moral vision is on any given issue. They may even change their minds from time to time. But at any given time, they have a view.

The Democrats lost the election because they had no position whatsoever on anything. Kerry, Moore, and moveon.org had no problem bitching and complaining about Bush and other authority figures. In that respect they were all acting like adolescents. Who the hell wants to have an angry teenager as your ruling political party, or your president. People want a leader who can lead strongly. People want decisions. People want a president who is given authority for four years because they have a vision of how the country should be and they agree with it.

No one in this country agreed with Kerry's vision for the future of America. Not because his vision was dumb, but because he either has none or he chose not to tell us what it was.

Most recently when Terry Schiavo was allowed to die, the Republicans had no problem telling us what they thought, and how it fit in to their moral vision for America. The Democrats probably believed the opposite, but you wouldn't know it from following the news. No protests asserting her right to die, no Major democrats getting up and holding press conferences, no Howard Dean telling us that anything. Where the heck is the Democratic leadership?

I suspect that there are a lot of Democrats out there who would vote for a Democrat if the Democrats would exhibit leadership instead of adolescent rage all the time. I very well might. Who is the person making sure that Democrats stay obscure? Who is making sure that everyone has beliefs about the Democratic party that they cannot verify?

The Democrats have to take a lesson from Republicans and good parents. Show that you are strong, show that you are leaders, and show that you care about the fate of the country and that you have a plan for its future. If they do so, the voters might treat them like leaders.