"The Dems would LOVE for Free Republic to become a subscription service."
No they would not, because then they could not be posting here incognito without feeling the sting of being hit in the pocket.
Probably a great part of the value of Freerepublic, is developing the ability to identify the deceptions and manipulations of the lib/left/Dems. That's made us all more discerning, discriminating, more thoughtful -- than if we were never challenged to have to do so.
Of course there are better ways of being challenged obviously -- like finding the good, but we also have to be aware of the bad, and those only pretending to be the good so they can set us up for a great deception, ie., the mainstream media tactics.
So it is well that we see it all and work together as an exercise in exposing the fraudulent and insincere -- as great practice for when we encounter these things alone and can recognize them because they have become so familiar and obvious.