When the focus of liberalism or governments is on groups rather than individuals, it is easier to ignore or run roughshod over the individuals

…why do you think liberalism contributed to Bill Clinton's treatment of these women?

Human Events asked the author of Their Lives: The Women Targeted by the Clinton Machine.

Candice Jackson: It's a counterintuitive case to make because the initial reaction is, what does politics have to do with it? In fact, his politics call for gender equality and being helpful to women politically. And I actually see in the reverse, where there are actually aspects of liberalism where the focus is on groups rather than individuals, which I think made it easier for him to mistreat women. He believed himself to be in power and helping women as a group, and it just didn't seem to matter all that much if he had to use and abuse a few individual women along the way.

Human Events: Does this mean, as a result, we should distrust all liberals when they speak of moral values?

Candice Jackson: : The disclaimer is that not all liberals are misogynists like Bill Clinton. However, I do believe there is a danger in liberal ideology that can lead to this abuse — abuse of women, in particular. At the heart of it, I really see the problem with liberalism being that no matter how good their goals are — whether it's racial or gender equality or protecting the environment— it's the methods they choose to use to enforce that goal, which really comes down using force and threats of force to get things done. Anything they declare to be a good goal, they are willing to use force — laws and regulations — to get it done. It's not enough to persuade people to do the right thing. You have to force them to do it.