What the hell was the Liberal Party thinking when it tried to smear Anne Aly on Islamic extremism?

National security is a strength for the conservative side of politics. As a senior security official told me not long ago, a smart conservative knows the politics will naturally run their way on national security if they play a straight bat.

Well, the Liberals didn't play a straight bat on Dr Aly. They took a wild swing, got an inside edge and played right onto their middle stump. So for all the Liberal talk of making security a bigger election issue, the case of Dr Aly shows just how dangerous it can be to push it too hard.