Spurning allies

I've always been puzzled by the Republican failure to reach out to liberals in the aftermath of 911. This is because liberals hate everything about the Jihadis and would make a natural ally against them.

Consider:

Liberals fight for freedom of speech through the courts, through street protests, and through exercising their rights. Islamic Jihadis aren't interested in free speech for anyone but themselves.

Liberals fight for gender equality. Islamic Jihadis want women to cover, cower, and conform.

Liberals fight for religious tolerance, yet Islamic Jihadis promote a totalitarian faith that murders non-subscribers.

Liberals believe in expansive personal freedom, and that these freedoms are America's strength. Islamic Jihadis are opposed to the very principle of a self-guided life that pursues happiness.


Consider again:

When Al Quaeda attacked London and New York it attacked two very liberal cities. They didn't attack, for instance, a southern city widely known for it's racism and cultural conservatism.

Reconsider that:

If Al Quaeda "can't stand freedom" and attacked New York and London it must be because they associate freedom with liberal politics.


I simply cannot understand why Republicans have spent so much of their time attacking liberals recently. They are dividing their allies at home as effectively as their allies abroad.