Conservatives make a big deal out of "cancel culture," the idea that liberals step on free speech by calling out people for political incorrectness.

It's partly true: Some liberal fashions are ludicrous. Like all fads, they will fade in time. However, as a contributor to U.S. News and World Report pointed out recently, liberals can't hold a candle to the cancellation happening now on the far right.

The Republican Party platform last year advocated the loss of federal funding for any school that teaches "critical race theory" or "inappropriate" sex education. The contributor noted that 23 states had rolled back DEI initiatives, 26 banned transgender youth from access to certain forms of care, 153 school districts in 33 states banned books, and 36 states canceled education about racism, bias and related topics.

In Florida and Texas, Republican Govs. Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott are leading a multi-state effort to punish companies that embrace so-called ESG policies, emphasizing corporate responsibilities to the environment, society and good governance. The war against this "woke" policy bears the fingerprints of the fossil fuel and gun industries, which some investors and investment advisers choose to avoid.

Cancel culture is old news. A new political phenomenon has appeared. Call it "capitulation culture" — the parade of companies, financiers, billionaires and politicians who once stood on principle but now bend to kiss the incoming president's ring.

Jeff Bezos, owner of the Washington Post, is an example. The editorial departments of many newspapers are separate from their news operations and endorse political candidates. The Washington Post was one. But Bezos pulled the plug on the Post's editorial endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris before November's election. More than 300,000 readers canceled their subscriptions in response.

After Donald Trump won, Bezos-owned Amazon pledged to contribute $1 million........

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