Tenure. Repeat after me: tenure. Academia is full of tenured flower-children, now safely protected by university endowments to shoot off their mouths. No courage there.
If you are a young conservative academic, the trick is to keep quiet about politics (don't be provocative or outspoken) until you get tenure. Then speak your mind. (The real trick to getting tenure is to make sure your students like you, publish enough—and get along well with your colleagues.)