Seems to me that very few contemporary 'conservative' figures are actually interested in 'free speech' - at least in the sense that people may speak without fear of government penalties. Who is actually banning books today? Who is banning the use of certain terms?

The Left does support CERTAIN infringements on speech (cigarettes must disclose their carcinogenic nature, 'miracle treatments' must disclose the evidence that they actually work somewhere, etc.). And the Right does support efforts to prevent government from interfering with certain other forms of speech (e.g., when Christians wish to pray in a public school, the Right seeks to ensure that nobody can stop them from doing so - however, when Aztec prayers are presented as a chant or affimation, those same right-aligned conservatives will not hestiate to try to ban such statements).