Being a strong Christian, I believe the Democrats have many problems. Now before most of you tune out, if you haven't already, I have voted for Democrats in the past and believe they have many good things to say and do.

However, the Democrats are going to continue to lose elections if they continue to turn off America's Christian base. And not just Christians either, this applies to all religious people with conservatively grounded morals. One could have drawn a simple graph from CNN voter breakdown results. The more often a person attended church, the more likely he was to vote for President Bush. It was as simple as that.

So whose fault is this? What is to be done?

This is so easy. I don't understand why people do not get it. The "left wing bomb throwers" — to borrow a term from Bill O'Reilly — not to mention the people who typically frequent Democratic/liberal demonstrations and protests scare the religious people in this country. Day in, and day out, these are the front-line representations of the Democratic Party. I say this truthfully and openly. These people simply do not share anything close to the same moral values as myself or many others — and I am not even talking about issues like homosexuality or abortion. The more they scream, the more they protest and the more publicity they incite, the more they galvanize the conservative base for Republicans.

That being said, there are many Democrats who do share similar moral visions for America as many Republicans. However it is important to note that these are not the people getting the attention.

When many people think of liberals or Democrats, they think of bitter cynics who believe everyone is out to get them — especially the rich and the big businesses. When many people think of liberals or Democrats, they think of crazy lefties who hate God and want the Ten Commandments destroyed. This is the truth. People do think these things. Now obviously this is not true in all cases — although I certainly know a number of democrats who this description would fit wonderfully — but this is the perception because of the media's attention.

Allow me to draw a picture. This is an extreme example where obvious generalizations are being turned into rules. Nonetheless, these are somewhat accurate: You are a mother, a father, a grandparent, etc, and you are driving down a road where there is a protest. Republicans are on one side, Democrats are on the other. On the Democrat's side you see a lot of young people with tons of piercings, occasional anarchy flags or communist slogans on posters, screaming across the road. You see former hippies who just don't seem to have a solid grip on reality as they wave their U.N. flag or tie-dye peace flags and sing songs from the 1960s. A smattering of burned or shredded U.S. flags, perhaps. On the other side of the road, you see many people waving American flags and wearing polos and khakis pants. You note a distinct absence of deviant culture represented here.

Regardless of who's representing what views or what the protest/counter-protest is for, who are you — the family man, the working mother, the concerned grandparent — going to identify with more easily?

Leave charges of racism, intolerance, bigotry, etc aside. Just as one side can charge the other of bigotry — which I think can be justly found on both sides — so too can the other side counter charge with similar claims and be just as unfounded. Remember, it's not so much the truth but the public's perception that counts.

Burning American flags, shouting Communist slogans and presenting the Democratic face to America as a maligned culture will never win elections. The Democrats need to define who they are morally. They need to find a direction, and sink or swim, navigate their own path.

Harbecke is a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences.

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