Sunday’s Book Review had two excellent articles that you should check out before the links dissolve on Sunday.

The first was a conversation with three liberal journalists about the future of liberalism and the Democratic Party. Peter Beinart, the editor of the New Republic, was one of the discussants. Peter is one of the best political minds today and why I decided to read this article.

The discussants tackle the issue of why Liberals have become estranged from the rest of America. Beinart points out the bad move that Democrats made by excluding the pro-life Bob Casey from speaking at the 1992 convention. Democrats also demonized Tipper Gore for her critiques of the music industry, which were pretty mild. Demonizing Gore and sidelining Casey helped form an image of Liberals as intolerant and excessively tolerant at the same time (my point). Liberals have an opportunity in foreign affairs to push the issue of democracy and human rights, where the conservatives are vulnerable. He says that perhaps that unseating Hussein was significant. He doesn’t discount market-oriented solutions to social security. And the Democratic party has to hit the streets and talk to real people to determine its direction for the future.

Here. Here.

I have a post brewing on privatization vs. government-based solutions to providing services, so I’m going to wait on that one. I’m going to tackle women instead.

In the last election, there was no gender gap. For the first time in years, Democrats lost their edge with women. The press pointed out that many women switched camp and voted Republican because of the security issue. The Security Moms.

I have a lot of sympathy for the Security Moms, though I voted for Kerry. I think they showed both parties that women are able to think about international affairs. Woman are about more than the abortion issue. You can’t just say “pro-choice” and expect the women’s vote. It’s time to think more closely about what women want.

Abortion issues might sway the under 30 crowd, but the post 30 crowd is too busy trying to get pregnant to make it their key issue. How about expanding and strengthening the Family Medical Leave Act? Women in the 30-50 aged demographic are busy dealing with their kid’s education and paying medical bills. Childcare. Preschools. Community centers. Women want more creative ideas on those fronts.

And security is an issue. Hell, I’m nervous about my husband commuting into NYC everyday. He’s nervous about it, too. I’m not sure that either party will be able to stave off the next surprise attack, but there must be efforts made just the same. The Democrats need to be able to talk tough. They could be going after Republicans on their refusal to stop terrorists suspects from buying guns.

There is also a snobbery in certain quarters about a woman’s role at home. Stop it, now. The old feminists have lost touch with modern women, and there needs to be new spokespeople for women on the stage.

There are a few issues, like education and work-life matters, that women do think about more closely then men. If you want to appeal to women, then hit those hard. But the Security Moms also showed us that women are more complicated than that. If you want our vote, then you must do a good job across the board.

I’m a liberal because I believe that government can play a positive role in removing obstacles that prevent individuals from reaching their true potential. However, I think the Democratic party has lost touch with that message and instead wasted effort by supporting a teetering coalition with old ideas.

The other good article was by Franklin Foer on the Joys of Federalism. Maybe I’ll write about that tomorrow.

Since this blog seems to attract a lot of women from both sides of the spectrum, let me throw it to you. What do women want?