Here’s a doctoral thesis topic, donated freely to whichever desperate grad student is the first to glom onto it:

Feminism had the key insight that the personal is political back in the late 60s or early 70s. Most people become parents, and there is little that is more personal to parents than their children.

So how is it that, whenever you hear the phrase “parents’ lobby group” in the news, it always seems to be some right-wing organization, whose main preoccupation appears to be that gay people and exposed breasts occasionally appear on TV? How did conservatism gain such hegemony over parenthood, and how did the left surrender it?

Let me know how the dissertation goes, and in particular whether you plan to use the past tense. See, Rob Reiner has relaunched his foundation to serve as a national political voice for parents:

In 1997, I started the I Am Your Child Foundation to draw attention to the importance of early childhood development. The organization has educated parents and policy makers about the vital importance of health care, child care and preschool programs that set children on the right track in life. We initiated a White House conference on early childhood, produced a television special on the subject and distributed more than eight million educational videos to parents across the country.

Even with these accomplishments, however, I have felt frustrated by our inability to create fundamental change in the way this country addresses the needs of its 65 million parents and their 72 million children under age 18. Groups as disparate as gun-owners and the elderly, lawyers and truck drivers all have the backing of major national organizations that fight for their rights in Congress and at the state and local level. But what about parents? Who is fighting for them and their children?

With the launch of this website we are sending out a call to arms to parents throughout the country to stand up and let their voices be heard. By changing the name of the organization to Parents’ Action for Children, we are acknowledging that real change rests in the hands of parents. It is time that parenting is valued as the most difficult and important job in our society. And it is time those in power started to listen.

But don’t mistake this for the liberal analog of Concerned Conservative Parents Against The Modern World. It’s not like this is some kind of how-would-Trotsky-feel-about-Ferber, ideologically driven group. Much of their web site falls into the category of practical advice and handy tips; the politics are gentle and moderate. (It’s hard to think of a single paragraph that couldn’t have been lifted from a Paul Martin speech, with a little light geographical editing.)