These trolls have a clear intent to bring down republican candidates who have risen in the polls. Obama Rat trolls should be identified and outted.
First with Bachman, then with Perry, now with Cain (and of course, always with Romney), the Obama Rats use a deceptively simple approach.
They camp out on a thread that seems to support a candidate, Cain for example.
They use one-liners and ad hominem insults to attack that candidate, while implying that they support another candidate, for instance, Perry. Then when one visits the Perry threads, that same poster rarely, if ever, appears. When he does, the appearance is luke warm, and mainly directed toward tearing down some other candidate. When challenged, the Obama Rat trolls avoid supporting the candidate they imply that they support.
In addition, the Obama Rats seem to use many of the same talking points, often referring to Mike Huckabee, or some other candidate from the past. They use virulent attacks on individual posters, who disagree with them, to try to drive that poster off the thread.
One need only research the history of comments from suspected Obama Rats to see the pattern.
Obviously, we each have different views on the candidates. Those differing views are worthy of debate.
However, unless a poster starts finding positive points with a candidate, any candidate, with as much vigor as he tears down other candidates, then he is just another shrill Obama Rat troll, not worthy of debate. He should be identified and outted.
Do not underestimate the Obama machine. The following link compares the relative internet capability of that machine utilizing paid staff on Twitter to the significantly lesser capability of each of the republican candidates. Is it even reasonable to presume that the Obama Rats would not have the same capability to influence Free Republic?
The above is the only part of your post I'd disagree with. I think Obama rats are desperately supporting Romney for the nomination. He is the most beatable of all the candidates. His flip-flopping, liberal, big government approach and his RomneyCare give them something to run against that everyone already agrees on.
Romney actually permits Obama to run to the right of him on a number of issues.
Romney is a disaster. It's wrong even to suggest anything positive about him.