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The conservative movement is at a crossroads, and Rep. Randy Fine has the grit to call it like he sees it. Fine warned that while conservatives value vigorous debate, too many in and around our movement are quick to silence disagreement rather than answer it, a trend that should alarm every patriot who believes in free speech and robust discourse. We want debate, not a policing squad deciding which voices get to speak on our side.
Fine didn’t mince words when he took aim at the most visible recent offender, calling out a slide into dangerous territory after a high-profile interview crossed lines that used to be unthinkable for mainstream conservatives. He labeled Tucker Carlson the most dangerous antisemite on the right after Carlson gave a platform to Nick Fuentes, and that intervention forced a necessary conversation about who represents our values. Conservatives who care about America, Israel, and basic decency should welcome, not fear, that moral clarity.
When institutions tried to shrug off the problem, Fine put his principles where his mouth is and canceled a planned event with the Heritage Foundation when its leadership refused to condemn the move. That was a rare moment of accountability from a Republican lawmaker willing to hold conservative institutions to the same standards we expect from the left. If our leaders will not draw lines, grassroots conservatives must, because credibility matters more than headlines.
Yet Fine’s critics are right about one thing: conservatives must also resist the scourge of cancel culture when it’s wielded by the left or by elites within our own movement. We debate, they shut people down, and that instinct to silence opponents is how the left hollowed out public life for decades. Carl Higbie’s FRONTLINE and other conservative platforms must remain battlegrounds for ideas, not show trials where inconvenient voices disappear without a fair fight.
This is not a call to embrace every crank who shows up on a podcast; it is a call to be principled and consistent. We defend free speech for those who disagree with us, but we also have a responsibility to confront genuine extremism that delegitimizes America and allies like Israel. Republicans who value both liberty and decency must stand firm against antisemitism without turning into speech police at the first sign of controversy.
Randy Fine’s tough stance is a reminder that conservatism must be brave enough to police its own house while brave enough to fight censorship from the left. If the GOP wants to win hearts and minds in the long run, it needs leaders who will protect free speech, reject ugly ideologies, and refuse to let a handful of loud extremists define our movement. Hardworking Americans deserve a conservative movement that debates openly, defends liberty fiercely, and refuses to be shamed into silence.
