CARE AND FEEDING OF THE WAHOOS:

The general consensus is that this action is largely redundant, mostly for show. To get funding for research, universities already have to protect free speech on campus. This executive order, vague as it is, doesn't seem to add anything else to that. And it doesn't interfere with financial aid, which is in itself interesting in a way.

Those old enough to remember might think back to Grove City College v. Bell. Which is to say that this is about power and intimidation, even if it's largely toothless and for show. Conservatives used to appreciate keeping the government out of these things.

That's where Alexander weighs in:

And I agree that colleges should punish hecklers who veto free speech, and stop coddling students to protect them from disagreeable points of view. But I don't want to see Congress or the President or the department of anything creating speech codes to define what you can say on campus. The U.S. Constitution guarantees free speech. Federal courts define and enforce it. The Department of Justice can weigh in. Conservatives don't like it when judges try to write laws, and conservatives should not like it when legislators and agencies try to rewrite the Constitution.

Amen. They're not making any more Lamar Alexanders these days. Instead, we're raising a crop of Charlie Kirks.

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