Peter Beinart's Article: If you haven't already read it, please make your way over to the New Republic and check out this Must Read article. Peter Beinart, a respected liberal, makes the case that the Democrats must make the issue of confronting Islamic totalitarinism their cause. It is very well written and researched.

Today, three years after September 11 brought the United States face-to-face with a new totalitarian threat, liberalism has still not "been fundamentally reshaped" by the experience. On the right, a "historical re-education" has indeed occurred--replacing the isolationism of the Gingrich Congress with George W. Bush and Dick Cheney's near-theological faith in the transformative capacity of U.S. military might. But American liberalism, as defined by its activist organizations, remains largely what it was in the 1990s--a collection of domestic interests and concerns. On health care, gay rights, and the environment, there is a positive vision, articulated with passion. But there is little liberal passion to win the struggle against Al Qaeda--even though totalitarian Islam has killed thousands of Americans and aims to kill millions; and even though, if it gained power, its efforts to force every aspect of life into conformity with a barbaric interpretation of Islam would reign terror upon women, religious minorities, and anyone in the Muslim world with a thirst for modernity or freedom.

After you've read his article, you might be interested in some of the waves it has created:

• Jonah Goldberg's column.


• William Voegeli is skeptical.


• George Will


• Mickey Kaus at Slate


• Peter Beinart on C-SPAN this morning (41 minute RealVideo)

I've been searching the Left/Liberal 'blogs for about 2 hours and I don't see a mention of the Beinart article. If you find any, please post a comment below. UPDATE: Found some.