The New York Times posted an article last night that asked “Shootings Pose a Hard Question for the Right: Who’s a Conservative, Really?” I am shook. If this is what poses for journalism today, no wonder the failing NY Times is failing.

The subtitle on the article is “Republicans wrestle with Trump administration positions that seem to contradict their beliefs on gun rights, states’ rights and limited use of federal power.” I admit that I occasionally due struggle with the administration’s positions on subjects. Then I remind myself that I voted for Bush Father and Son twice and Mitt Romney once and I am not ashamed. President Reagan was my kind of Conservative. No holding my nose with him as with the Bushes or Romney. Don’t get me started on John McCain.

I used to like the Russell Kirk’s Ten Conservative Principles until I read The Heritage Center’s. Theirs are clearer.

So let us take a look at “Who’s a Conservative, Really?” by Richard Fausset. The article begins:

Representative Randy Fine, a hard-right Republican from Florida, has regularly warned about the perils of federal government overreach during his decade-long career in government.

As a state legislator, he described federal Covid-19 vaccination mandates as “tyrannical.” As a member of Congress, he supported the elimination of the Department of Education, stating, “Federal bureaucrats shouldn’t dictate how our kids are taught.” In a 2022 social media post, Mr. Fine, memorably and menacingly, addressed President Joseph R. Biden Jr. over gun control, telling him, “try to take our guns and you’ll learn why the Second Amendment was written in the first place.”

But this weekend, Mr. Fine took to X.com to voice his approval that federal immigration officers in Minneapolis had killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse whose filming of immigration officers on Saturday morning turned into a confrontation. The officers shot Mr. Pretti at least 10 times after one of them had removed a holstered gun that he was legally authorized to carry.

The first two paragraphs are spot on correct. The third paragraph is problematic as is Mr. Fine’s X post. Here is that X post:

An armed seditionist attacked federal law enforcement today as they were rounding up foreign invaders in Minneapolis.

The insurrectionist was put down.

Well done.

I stand with ICE as they fight these foreign invaders and their treasonous allies.

We will not stop until…

— Congressman Randy Fine (@RepFine) January 24, 2026

That post is cringe. I don’t think we should describe our fellow human being as “put down”. Mr. Pretti should have stayed home or stood on the sidewalk with a sign.

I don’t want to split hairs. I am for zero illegal immigrants in our nation. I don’t want anyone unalived, until after they have had their judgement by “twelve good men and true”. Plus, all of the requisite appeals.

More from Mr. Fausset:

American conservatives have a long history of supporting gun rights and states’ rights, as well as calling for firm restraint on the federal government. And they have criticized the excessive use of federal power in a number of bloody confrontations with recalcitrant citizens, including a white separatist family in Ruby Ridge, Idaho, in 1992, and the Branch Davidians cult the following year in Waco, Texas, both by agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

But in the case of the Minneapolis deployment, the Trump administration and some allies like Mr. Fine have taken positions that seem to contradict some of the bedrock principles of conservatism.

Contradict? No. Skirt the edges? Yes. I am not going to throw anyone out over a bad X post on a difficult subject. If his constituents throw Mr. Fine out of office that is their business.

This video is interesting. The ABC host is a moron without understanding of the Second Amendment or Open Carry. If I were legally carrying and I engaged with a law enforcement officer (LEO), I would put up my hands and tell the LEO where on my person the weapon was. That’s because I respect us both.

Fine is correct that this is a drama to cover all the fraud in Minnesota. Conservatives need to reinforce that point every time.
The address where Mr. Pretti was shot had three different businesses in it that engaged in that kind of fraud:

Google the address of the shooting – I did and what Rep. Randy Fine says is true. Just a quick Google search shows you this fraud. Shocked the hell out of me! Pissed me off, too . . . https://t.co/Ms6uCt3P2k

— LoriHiland (@LoriHiland) January 27, 2026

The fact that Governor Walz and Mayor Frey don’t understand states’ rights, gun rights or the limits of federal power. Mr. Fausset doesn’t either. He also doesn’t understand Conservative Principles. Most don’t at the failing New York Times.

Featured Image: Battle of Lexington Engraving/Wikimedia Commons.org/cropped/Public Domain