A provocative thought from the late Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, himself a conservative:

No conservative should need to be told that terms such as racism and anti-Semitism can be abused to quash the discussion of legitimate issues, but some may need to be reminded that the evils signified by such terms are not merely figments of the fevered liberal imagination.

In view of some of the recent debates in the U.S. on immigration, Israel, and education, and on deciding where and how government budgets should be cut, we would all do well to keep these words close.