It's a phrase we hear over and over on Twitter whenever someone criticizes morally troubling anti-leftist tactics used by members of the right.

They say, what are you? Some sort of coward? What are you worried about? My principles? The phrase is meant to deride the supposed moral preening of those who criticize. They must think themselves high and mighty, whining about virtue, where some good hard-nosed old-fashioned get in the dirt and fight-em tactics would do. These worries about the right and wrong just hamstring the right. My principles are liability. Why can't those weaklings just get over the supposed moral purity and fight in the trenches? Now, I am no fan of political cowardice. I wrote an entire book called Bullies in which I blasted the left's character assassination techniques. I routinely speak on

college campuses in conditions that are less than physically secure. I am more than happy to tell

people things they don't want to hear in political debate, and I've been threatened more than

once on national television, by the way, for my trouble. But I am also a fan of principles.

I'm a fan of principles because without them, politics becomes meaningless. Even those who

criticize my principles have their own principles. The ma principles crowd's highest principle is supposedly

defeating the left. That's the entire argument. If you stick with your wishy-washy principles about

civility, you'll lose. And if you lose, my principles will be destroyed. But as it turns out,

many of the people who mock my principles have no actual principles

other than empty tribal victory. Never was that clearer than this week when several members of

the self-appointed Trump Ardened Defense Squad went full social justice warrior, invading a Shakespeare

in the park performance of Julius Caesar that depicts President Trump as Caesar, screaming

liberal hate kills, they stormed the stage,

called the audience member Joseph Goebbels, and held up the production. Those who objected

to this obtuse behavior were simply being hamstrung by my principles, they then proclaimed.

Except that there were no principles at stake here. What was the supposed principle? Perhaps the

principle was that artists shouldn't make art that invokes images of violence inflicted on a president.

Then why weren't they upset about a rodeo clown dressed up as President Obama in 2013?

Maybe the principle was that radical rhetoric leads to violence.

Then why weren't they upset when candidate Trump urged his followers to clock protesters?

Maybe the principle was that shutting down others' free speech is bad, a sort of ironic lesson for the left.

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