I posted my own thread on this a few minutes after this one - it was locked and pointed here. I had checked the topic but you beat me to it by a few minutes. I was driven to start the thread not because of any feeling for or against Romney - I just think the off-topic adds (which are huge and take up the whole first page of every thread) are ruining the functionality of Free Republic. If Jim and the powers that be feel the need to make the FR all about Romney bashing can they at least do it with a small banner at the top of every page or something less obtrusive.
Here is my post from the other thread.
Posted on Tuesday, December 01, 2009 9:47:17 AM by azcap
Enough all ready with the Romney ads. Is the Free Republic “the premier online gathering place for independent, grass-roots conservatism on the web” or is it just a forum for anti-Romney adds? I understand that those who run the FR don’t like Romney - Great, I’m not a big fan either but does every page of the Free Republic have to start with an Anti-Romney add. The FR makes a big deal of not accepting advertising but the Romney blurb on every page is as annoying as the worst pop-ups anywhere else. Want to read a post about the Global Warming scandal? - first you have to scroll through a page of anti-Romney. Want to see what “Dubai’s Dilemma” is or “Why Is China Engaged In A Military Build-Up In The Himalayas?” Click on the story and what do you get - A full page of anti-Romney before you can get to the posts. ENOUGH - ENOUGH - If a story has a Romney angle or a 2012 election angle the FR “Romney is the Anti-Christ Crowd” will be sure to be there and post their prepackaged anti-Romney posts (complete with pithy graphics and photoshop) That’s just swell lots of Freepers agree - But we do have to read about Mitt Romney on every thread on the Free Republic?
Actually, it's a 1 second scroll, if even, to get past it.