Tea at Trianon: Why Conservatives Must Draw a Line

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Sunday, November 9, 2025

Why Conservatives Must Draw a Line

From Direct Line News:

Conservatives have long prided themselves on intellectual seriousness and moral clarity. Movements succeed when they are confident enough to police their boundaries. They falter when they mistake silence for strength. Tucker Carlson’s recent interview with Nick Fuentes, in which Carlson failed to challenge Fuentes’ antisemitism and even more bizarre Stalin nostalgia, marks one of those defining moments. Fuentes’ public record is not vague. He has trafficked in Holocaust denial, praised Adolf Hitler, and spoken approvingly about executing “perfidious Jews.” In the interview itself, Fuentes described “organized Jewry” as an obstacle to national unity and expressed admiration for Joseph Stalin. Stalin, a dictator responsible for mass famine, purges, forced labor camps, and millions of deaths, is now a figure of praise for a young right-wing influencer. That alone is disturbing. More troubling is that he received little pushback from Carlson.
Some commentators on the right have attempted to justify Carlson’s passivity by invoking a mirror-image of the old socialist slogan, “no enemies on the left.” Historically, that doctrine excused extremism in the pursuit of left-wing solidarity. Now, the argument goes, conservatives should refrain from criticizing those on the right, no matter how objectionable their views. This is not principled loyalty. It is moral abandonment.
Initially, the Heritage Foundation’s President declined to criticize Carlson, suggesting that calling out the broadcast might infringe on Carlson’s First Amendment rights. That is a misdirection. Free speech protects citizens from government punishment, not from accountability and rebuttal. Silence here was not neutrality; it was tacit approval. Heritage’s Kevin Roberts has since appropriately acknowledged his mistake, but he’s still damaged his institution.
This is not the first time the American Right has confronted this issue. William F. Buckley Jr., building a credible post-war conservatism, explicitly rejected antisemitic and conspiratorial factions. He understood that a movement unwilling to distinguish mainstream ideas from toxic fringe rhetoric would marginalize itself. That choice strengthened conservatism for a generation.
Today, both sides of the political spectrum are wrestling with a rapidly expanding Overton window — where fringe rhetoric and once unthinkable positions are aired as if they merit equal standing in serious debate. That makes responsible gatekeeping more critical, not less. (Read more.)