Free Republic Purge: Conservative Web Site Bans Giuliani Supporters

NY Observer ^ | Published: May 24, 2007 | by Rebecca Sinderbrand

[Eurotwit]

A few weeks ago – in between Hillary Clinton’s official entry into the presidential race and the first Republican primary debate of the cycle – the fiery online conservative forum Free Republic marked a decade in operation as one of the premier online forums for right-wing political discussion.

It also experienced one of the biggest internal battles to rock the site since the 2000 election of George W. Bush -- a tumultuous campaign year that nearly tore the site apart, as its founder and chief administrator first cleansed commenting ranks of Bush supporters, then, later, rallied to his support.

At the heart of the latest controversy: the fight over the conservative bona fides of Rudy Giuliani.

Over the past few weeks, chaos has reigned in the “Freeper” community as members sympathetic to the former mayor's candidacy claim to have suffered banishment from the site. They were victimized, they say, by a wave of purges designed to weed out any remaining support for the Giuliani campaign on the popular conservative web forum. Another significant chunk of commenters have migrated away from the controversial site over the action, according to a number of former site members and conservative bloggers who have been tracking the situation.

In a plaintive post on the blog “Sweetness & Light,” exiled commenter Steve Gilbert, who says he does not support the former mayor’s campaign, blasted the site’s new “anti-Giuliani, anti-abortion jihad.” Since George W. Bush was elected president, he wrote, “there haven’t been any large scale [Free Republic] purges to speak of – until now.”

The fight began one month ago, when site founder Jim Robinson posted an anti-Giuliani manifesto titled: “Giuliani as the GOP presidential nominee would be a dagger in the heart of the conservative movement.” Then the virtual ax started to swing. Longtime posters to the freewheeling discussion threads, used to serious no-holds-barred web etiquette, were still stunned by the intensity of the anti-Rudy activity; conservative blogs buzzed with the development.

“Jim Robinson has been going on a tear demonizing Rudy Giuliani, because Rudy (agreeing with the vast majority of Americans), is personally opposed to abortions on a moral level…” complained a user on the GOPUSA Web site. “Anyone who posts any support for Giuliani at the site, if it's at all forceful, will be banned.”

(“Normally, we don't allow complaints about other conservative forums,” chided the moderator, but “…because it is being discussed all over the Internet, I'll make an exception.”)

Just a few months ago, Rudy Giuliani placed second in an early Free Republic straw poll; now, his support on the site has been virtually eliminated. “After the ‘April Purge,’ I don't think there are any Rudybots left around here,” noted Free Republic commenter “upchuck” in one recent post. “And if there are, they're not posting pro-Rudy stuff :).”

The forums weren’t the only venue for the Free Republic’s new antagonism toward Mr. Giuliani, which coincided with a wave of comments expressing similar sentiments from other corners of the conservative movement. A few days after Mr. Giuliani’s equivocal Roe v. Wade comments at the Republican presidential debate on May 3, a new “STOP RUDY NOW News & Information Thread” was featured on the site, and a newly-created stand-alone category debuted via a link from the homepage: “The Giuliani Truth File.” (So far this campaign season, Mr. Giuliani is the only candidate – Republican or Democratic – to be singled out for that level of scrutiny from the Free Republic.)

Why Rudy? Why now? Some conservative bloggers and former commenters contacted for their view of the continuing controversy say they believe that site founder Jim Robinson holds ideologically middling Republicans like Mr. Giuliani responsible for the GOP’s congressional loss and current woes. (They asked that their names be kept out of this story for fear of antagonizing the famously frisky site regulars.)

Others claim that the former mayor’s top-tier status is spurring frantic site administrators into action. Finally, one popular theory holds that the Free Republic is secretly hoping for another Clinton presidency that would send its Alexa ratings soaring back to levels it hasn’t experienced since its halcyon days of the Clinton impeachment, when a since-soured relationship with blog pioneer Matt Drudge and overwhelming anti-Clinton sentiment in Republican ranks helped make Free Republic one of the hottest Web sites in the nation. It hasn't recovered that luster since the Bush administration took over.

“It’s not a conspiracy theory, it’s an observation,” said one blogger, who describes himself as a half-hearted Mitt Romney supporter. “They’ve still got a brand name that means something, but they’re not what they were in terms of real-world impact. A Hillary presidency would get them there.”

Robinson himself could not be reached for comment, but his original post laid out his case against Mr. Giuliani – a graphics-heavy presentation of some of the former mayor’s most damning moderate quotes in mainstream media venues, along with a color-coded report card tracking his less-than-doctrinaire positions on abortion, immigration, gays and guns.

Robinson, it should be noted, famously blasted George W. Bush’s presidential candidacy back in 2000, before a dramatic late-campaign about-face that saw him emerge as one of the GOP ticket’s biggest supporters. But whether or not Free Republic experiences a similar election-year shift this cycle, the site’s current campaign is spreading a dangerous primary-season meme of Rudy Giuliani as big-city liberal – and turning one of the most influential web forums in conservatism into an exclusive gathering place for those who share that view.

[JRochelle]

LOL.

I have yet to meet anther freeper in person. Someday though..

[LilAngel]

Ewe are well come. Now post sum more, bee four eye get board.

[WorkerbeeCitizen]

LOL

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

There was probably more to it than that, though.

There is - I actually had the chance to ask Drudge about it on a C-Span appearance a few years ago. He said one day he clicked on a link to see a message/thread (not sure which) about "Clinton's Ni__er Baby", at which point he pulled the FR link from his site because of an obvious racial slur. He also complained that he feels he can't pull links anymore because people pitch a fit when he does.

Like you, I discovered FR through the Drudge link in the mid-to-late 90s. Obviously, anyone posting such nonsense today would be zotted immediately, so I wish Matt would reconsider.

[LilAngel]

Whaaaat? I used the spell checker on that.

[Anti-Bubba182]

"..Others claim that the former mayor’s top-tier status is spurring frantic site administrators into action. Finally, one popular theory holds that the Free Republic is secretly hoping for another Clinton presidency that would send its Alexa ratings soaring back to levels it hasn’t experienced since its halcyon days of the Clinton impeachment, when a since-soured relationship with blog pioneer Matt Drudge and overwhelming anti-Clinton sentiment in Republican ranks helped make Free Republic one of the hottest Web sites in the nation. It hasn't recovered that luster since the Bush administration took over..."

The Bold is pure BS! FR's Alexa ratings hit the all time high at the start of the Iraq war.

The Clinton era ratings and traffic are not even close. Actually the whole article looks like an updated version of Anti-Freeper boiler plate. They were, for those who do not know, a small group who spent years bitching on various internet forums about FR. Clown Posse was their last incarnation.

The best thing the purged can do is write Free Republic off and go on with their lives. There are other places to post. Vocal Rudy supporters are not welcome here.

[humblegunner]

I’m overcome by your natural ability to fling poo.

Errr.. it was you who came up with the brilliant statement:

I though it was a purge of liberals not just Rudy fan -

What do you expect when you write like a child?

[maica]

I miss Travis Mcgee....

FR has not been the same since he was shown the door...

A true American, a true Patriot, and a true defender of Western Civ.

Cheers.

&&&&&

So do I, and he was banned for being too excitable against Hispanic “immigration.” Now it is hardly possible to post on FR unless one has the same perspective that he had last year.
Travis was great at writing posts that made sense.

[processing please hold]

I understood your point - communication has occurred. heh heh heh

lololol. :)

[beaureguard]

mark for later

[investigateworld]

For some reason, Rudy's whole campaign is going to end up as verse from Dylan's song ""Desolation Row."

The verse "...they are spoon feeding Casanova to get him more assured".

The now fawning media probably has drawer's full of Rolodex's on his negative points, like they do on McCain.

[muawiyah]

Just said that earlier ~ the piece does sound like Clown Posse stuff but from one of their little number who got purged when they went underground (secret handshakes, sniffs, etc.).

[WorkerbeeCitizen]

Well, as a fairly new FReeper, I was quite set back at first when the long thread was going.

I saw people I liked get tossed Mia T and Travis Magee come to mind.

Some folks fell under the FReepercide category and fell on the own swords.

Some left in their own in frustration.

Others were just plain hacks and trolls, but the truly funny ones fell under the "hold mah beer, watch the sh*t" category and just dared JR to pull their plug.

Rudy will never see the primary as a Republican and could easily beat Hillary as a dem.

The way I see it, Thompson and/or Hunter will see the primaries.

[Anti-Bubba182]

The numbers game they are playing here is the same one they
played at the old Yahoo! Forums.

[Graybeard58]

I have yet to meet anther freeper in person. Someday though.

I've met about a dozen or so.

FReepmail me if you come into my neck of the woods. Central Illinois.

[JRochelle]

O.K.

I live in Nothern Indiana.

[processing please hold]

Ewe might enjoy this thread.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1840358/posts

mispeling wellcumed.

[WorkerbeeCitizen]

Thank you for your kindness sir, I know it will be returned to you 100 fold.That I wish for you.

I have found in my short 54 years that those who spend their time pointing out the errors of others have very little original to say.

I prefer to cease communications with you as it seems you and I fail at it - please respect that.

[John D]

Although I’m not supporting Rudy in the primaries, I’ve posted some things supportive of him. I’ve not been banned so far.
**********************************************************************************************************************
I am supporting him because I feel he is the toughest on the WOT, and I feel our security should be the greatest concern for our president. I have still not been banned, and I have on numerous occasions blasted cut and run Paul and McCrazy.

[apocalypto]

Why MiaT and Tavis Magee?