Posted on 12/30/2011 11:20:08 AM PST by exit82
FRiends, another new year is about to dawn. As 2011 fades into the sunset, I celebrate the completion of one more year on FreeRepublic. Thirteen years have gone by since I signed up. I had been lurking here since the summer of 1998, and answered the call to attend the March for Justice on October 30, 1998 in Washington, DC. I came there on my own all the way from NJ, not knowing how many people might be there, and not really caring if I was the only one who showed up. What mattered was that a President was breaking the law and he had to be held accountable, and there was a man, Jim Robinson, and a website, FreeRepublic, that intended to do just that.
When the history of the impeachment of William Blythe Jefferson Clinton is written, the activities of FreeRepublic will stand out. In the very first Internet call to arms, over 4,000 Freepers came to DC to protest President Clinton and to call on the House to do its job and to impeach the President. The power of the Internet to act as a “Paul Revere” was demonstrated convincingly. What a sight it was to walk from the Metro station to the Washington Monument and to see as I came over a rise, the flags of all 50 states and thousands of patriots of all ages, sizes and shapes—all good hearted folks who were not afraid to wear their love of America on their sleeves! What an inspiration!
By December 18th, the House had impeached Clinton. A treacherous Trent Lott torpedoed the deserved removal of a law breaking President, along with RINO Senators, on February 12, 1999, many of whom still infect the institution of the Senate today.
Since then we slogged through the aftermath of the 2000 campaign, with Freepers staking out the VP’s home and telling Gore “to get out of Cheney’s house!”, and the infamous “Sore-Loserman 2000” bumper sticker by Freeper Registered.Florida Freepers helped to ensure that compromised ballots were counted in the open.
Freepers were right there on Sept. 11, 2001, when the tragedies in New York City, Washington, and Shanksville, PA unfolded before our shocked and unbelieving eyes, with up to the moment reporting and pictures unequaled in any newsroom around the country that day.
The 2004 Presidential campaign brought our support of the SwiftBoat Vets against the traitor John Horseface Kerry, even though President Bush and Tokyo Rove called them “vigilantes”. But it was Freeper Buckhead who unmasked the nefarious plotting of CBS News’ Mary Mapes and Dan Rather in a scheme involving a faked letter from the Air National Guard casting aspersions on the record of President Buash.
Then we watched in utter dismay as President Bush threw away his political capital from 2005 onward, in a four year declining spiral, with Harry Reid calling the Iraq War lost, the Dems winning the 2006 mid term elections, the 2007 war on Amnesty with McCain-Kennedy, the abomination known as McCain-Feingold, the rise of Barack Obama. The 2008 Presidential campaign gave us a glimmer of hope after the absurdity of John McCain being the Presidential nominee occurred, with the selection of Sarah Palin as his VP running mate.
Once again we saw our hopes dashed as McCain and the GOP ran a horrid, tepid campaign, unwilling to take on the biggest threat to the Republic since the end of the Cold War. Coupled with the financial collapse of September, 2008 and TARP and the GM bailout ,then the coronation of Obama as President, it did not seem as if the fortunes of America-loving conservatives could sink any lower. The beginning of 2009 was spent in a morose state of shock as we could see where America was headed, but felt powerless to correct the course of the ship of state. Then came Rick Santelli’s rant on CNBC and the rise of the Tea Party, resulting in a historic reversal of Democrat fortunes and the re-taking of the House of Representatives in the 2010 elections. For that we can thank the tireless efforts of citizen leaders and one Sarah Palin, who rallied the people from coast to coast to vote for candidates who believed in the promise of a free America.
The year 2011 has been marked by a confusing situation regarding the political future of the GOP and conservatives. A bruising run-up to the primary season saw conservative candidates such as Sarah Palin and Herman Cain removed from the competition, and the rise of Willard Romney, Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich. Conservative candidates such as Michelle Bachmann and Rick Santorum and Rick Perry held their own in the many debates, and the first few upcoming primaries will decide their political fate.
After posting 20 threads and over 18,100 replies, there is one thread of which I am most proud. It is this one, where in early February 2008, I gave my take on the what was happening in the GOP concerning conservatives:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1963918/posts
That reflection proved to be true. In a way, we are poised for a repeat of what happened in February, 2008, the foisting upon us of a candidate no one here believes in, Willard Romney. What is clear right now, almost four years later is that we are in a fight on two fronts: one, for the very soul of America, whether it will be a Constitutional Republic or a Socialist Entitlement Democracy run by elites, and two, whether the GOP will survive the 2012 elections as a major party. As conservatives we have been the redheaded stepchild, needed by the GOP to win, but not allowed to rule. Those days will end on November 5, 2012.
And they will end one of two ways: either the GOP will have a resounding victory in the House Senate and White House because of the work of conservatives, or the GOP will imperil the country by allowing the re-election of Obama, because conservatives will have been purposely marginalized in the fight.
Either way, the future of the GOP is in doubt. The former will result in the ascendancy of the Tea Partiers within the GOP, changing it radically and for the better. The latter will result in conservatives forming a new political party and leaving the GOP to go the way of the Whigs in 1856.
I do not know who the Republican nominee will be in 2012. Romney is two-faced weak reed, and Ron Paul is touched in the head. Gingrich and Perry have shown they have some fight in them, and that backbone is needed to take on Obama in what promises to be a brutal election season. Michelle Bachmann and Rick SAntorum, good conservatives, are letting all know thsat they are still in the fray.
Once a nominee is selected,as conservatives, we have one mission in 2012: defeat Obama and the Dems, keep the House and take back the Senate. That is the Prime Directive. We can fix the GOP and the RINOS later. Until then, let’s fight the good fight for the candidate of our choice.
Our nation’s future,and the future of our families will be defined by what occurs on November 5, 2012. We will know the winners and losers, and which direction the country will be led. We will also know by the end of June the decision on the individual mandate in Obamacare when the Supreme Court renders its decision. The year 2012 will be a watershed in American history, similar to 1776, 1812, 1860, 1917, 1941, 1985 and 2001.
As we enter into this momentous year, I wish all of you my very best wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year for you and your families. Thank you for your friendship, your insights, your humor and your political acumen over these last 13 years. There is no site like FreeRepublic in quality, nor are there any better group of people who have loved and served this great land of ours.Perhaps some here can add to this history of FreeRepublic by relating some activites that I have not mentioned.
May God bless you and may He continue to bless our beloved country, the United States of America, the last beacon of freedom and hope for all mankind.
My 13th anniversary is tomorrow, brother!
I was trying to count how many people I’ve brought into the FR fold and lost count at about 17.
Happy New Year and happy Freeping to all!
Jim, thank you for letting me “play” here for thirteen years. You have been a man of principle during that entire time, from daring to hold President Clinton accountable in 1998 to today, reminding us daily not to fall for false conservative candidates served up by the GOP. Happy New Year to you, the missus, and John.
Registered and Buckhead, I have mentioned your contributions here, but don’t know if you still post or even lurk here. I hope you see this and stop in to say hello to all the Freepers.
Happy 13th to you too, FrogMom! It’s been quite a ride, hasn’t it?
Happy New Year to you and yours!
You are just a noobie ibtz
Excellent postings and congrats to you! I too started lurking here and showed up for the March for Justice and the December rally at the Capitol steps. I went by train from NJ alone and was so inspired to find like minded folks there I eventually signed up here too. I read with relish all the unabashed Saturday protests at the White House, Kristinn’s showing up at the Church on Sundays when the odious ones attended to keep an eye on them and let them know we’re out here, freepers showing up at hearings on their lunch time. Alamo Girl’s extensive records on the clinton corruption, the awful tense times of the 2000 election and recounts where freepers went to Florida to help in the recount by monitoring. The court hearings afterwards when freepers like Barbara Olsen and her like explained what was happening with the rulings. I sat all day and night in front of my computer when 9/11 happened to get the story of what happened. So many memories and I owe so much thanks to Jim for creating a place for us all to congregate.
Another noobie
Don’t fall over—I actually posted a thread!
Happy New Year to you and to your families!
Mine also!
I’ll be posting my “13 Thread” in April. Congrats to an old FRiend!
Thanks,al babay, and thanks for all the laughs over the years. Your posts are great.
Happy New Year to you!
hah! rookies... i’ve been here since... OMG I’VE BEEN FREEPING FOR NEARLY 20 YEARS!!!!!
(I better send jimRob another check soon)
Wow you re old
Happy Anniversary, exit82! I was prompted by your post to check my date. Turns out I’ve been freepin’ since Oct. 26, 1998! And lurking long before that! 13 years! Long time!
You must be using the new math
Best to you and yours.
Citizen Soldier, thanks for sharing your beginnings with FreeRepublic. I’m in southern DE now, but it’s a shame we didn’t run into each other at Freeps over the years.
I have terrific memories of Freeping at the White House in 1999 and 2000 with the DC Chapter on Saturdays. The tourists loved to take pictures with the signs we had.
Thanks too for remembering Barbara Olsen, who dies on 9/11/2001, a passenger on the jet that crashed into the Pentagon. We lost so many bright lights that day.
Well, you can’t keep a good Joisey conservative down,right!
Haven’t we made the endangered species list yet?!!
Happy New Year to you!
Happy 13th( a little belated) to another member of the Class of ‘98 and a happy New Year also!
Congrats. I happen to have you beat by 9 months & approx 2000 more replies. This is the only site that I feel comfortable replying. Happy New Year to all.
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