An attack by narrow minded newbies is a problem for Free Republic.
Those incapable of actual thought must and do ride what I think of as settled, doctrinal, bandwagons. To participate on Free Republic, one must ride the doctrinal band wagon and restrict thought and resultant thought to the hivemind.
Any post that is longer than a sentence or a few words is disregarded as antidoctrinal, nonconforming the settled dogma, and therefore the posting of a heretical crank.
The result of this doctrinal and dogmatic narrowmindedness has and continues to be the reason many good minds of real thinkers have fled.
Bert, back at ya bro