Behind all the attacks on Ilhan Omar lies a cold Republican calculus. When they look at Ilhan Omar, Republicans seem to see someone so unlike them that the most she represents is a cynical opportunity. Here’s a politician who is a progressive, black, refugee, hijab-wearing Muslim woman. Who better to focus all their venom on?

But what if politics is really a question of addition and not subtraction? What the Republicans don’t seem to understand is that Ilhan Omar’s multiple sides connect her to so many in America. Anyone and everyone who is progressive or female or black or religious or any combination thereof should see something of themselves in her.

There is no question that in today’s climate, many of us are concerned about Ilhan Omar’s safety, as we are about our own. But we also know this, that we are many, and we vote. And the more we unite against such explicit bigotry, the more we will win. When it comes to the political future of this country, the Republicans are the ones who should be afraid.