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"And if someone attacks someone because of their political hatred, or hatred of the military, then I see no reason why they should not get a longer sentence. "

The reason is that as soon as you start punishing people for their state of mind or their thoughts instead of for their actions, justice becomes arbitrary, no longer based on fact but based on conjecture.

When that happens, no one is safe. Anyone can be prosecuted arbitrarily giving prosecutors unreasonable powers over everyone. Thought crime trials would resemble witch trials.

Thought crime legislation is stupid and scary.

"soon as you start punishing people for their state of mind or their thoughts instead of for their actions..."

We've always done that though. Increasing the penalty because of a subjective analysis of the perp's thought processes is a routine part of all sentencing--not just for hate crimes. Sometimes, the mental state is even necessary to get a conviction altogether.

And yes, it is somewhat arbitrary, which is why the legislature has different degrees of criminality, and also why they have sentencing guidelines.