Opinion: The current conservative crisis
Opinion | By Easton Martin | March 17, 2026
The current landscape of conservative media faces a problem which is patently obvious to many who are paying attention. Conservative figures are as divided as ever, and this time, it is over what I will call “the Jewish problem”. The sides are becoming split, from seemingly unquestioned Israel loyalty from figures like Mark Levin and Ted Cruz, to flat out anti-Jewish conspiracies from Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson.
Figures like Owens and Carlson have leaned into a brand of rhetoric that is becoming increasingly tired. They too often rely on lazy conspiracy theories. These theories, much to their shame, rarely amount to anything of substance. When their predictions fail to materialize, the blame is almost always shifted toward the Jewish people in some form or fashion. By and large, this pattern is repetitive and unhelpful.
I want to be clear, I’m not here to play damage control for “Jewish propaganda” as some might call it, nor do I intend to endorse the idea that our country is controlled by AIPAC and the Mossad. What I propose for our current climate is that we should be able to call balls and strikes in our political discourse.
It is perfectly reasonable to criticize the Israel lobby. Most Americans are not fans of lobbyists regardless of the cause they represent. Lobbying is a game that everyone in Washington is seemingly forced to play. Pointing out that certain groups hold power or influence in this country is also a fair observation. That observation is not inherently antisemitic (but often comes with extra baggage these days).
There is a clear line between political analysis and the peddling of broad prejudices. We live in a country where we have the freedom to explore different ideas, and we ought to use that freedom to be precise. The aimless blaming from certain figures is a sign of intellectual laziness. It avoids the hard work of actual investigation and treats everything as a secret psy-op or plot.
Some people don’t want to admit it, but the rhetoric coming from Candace Owens has made her nearly unlistenable. Her descent into baseless theories regarding the circumstances of Charlie Kirk’s death has been particularly revealing. Those claims have made many people notice how clueless she can be on fundamental issues. It’s difficult to maintain a position of leadership when your logic crumbles under basic scrutiny.
The conservative movement needs to return to objective facts and reasoned arguments. This is a plea for better standards. We do not need to rely on the “God’s chosen people” defense to recognize that blatant antisemitism is a weak substitute for real thought. If a commentator cannot explain a problem without falling back on old tropes, they are not providing a service to their audience.
We should demand more from the voices that claim to represent our values. We need to demand analysis that stands up to the truth, instead of blaming a single group for every societal ill.
Whether or not we like it, the “Jewish problem” is becoming a dividing issue for politicians on the right. A politician could be perfectly conservative on every issue; Abortion, immigration, the economy, etc., but their foreign policy regarding Israel, or their acceptance or denial of AIPAC money, could lose or gain them a tremendous swath of voters.
