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.
I think of this site in two ways. One, it does a great job of keeping you informed, and you get to know how the Left thinks; but, two, it can be depressing and discouraging, since the news is about 95% negative. It seems that, no matter who has the majority in Congress, or who has the Oval Office, as a country, we continue to slide leftward toward the train wreck.
So many of the conservative pundits and talkers declare that we are a center-right country. Well, I ask, where's the proof of that? Does our government, year over year, become smaller, less intrusive, more efficient? Or, does it become bigger, more powerful, more intrusive, more corrupt, more stupid?
Which is it? It's one, or the other, black and white.
As a people, as a voting public, where are we going over the long run, toward freedom and personal responsibility, or toward dependence and tyranny? On the optimistic side (which, admittedly, is hard for me), it seems that individual states are still willing to fight toward freedom. For instance, CA and NY businesses fleeing to more business-friendly states. And, states which show gains in firearms freedom, such as my own AZ.
Speaking of that, hmmmmm....you know AZ has had concealed carry on the books for well over a year now, and there are no mediots squealing about the increase in gun crime? You can bet if there was an increase, they'd be squealing about it. Too bad for them. Heavy, heavy disappointment.
Our last hope is that more and more states recognize that freedom works better, and that we make FedGov as irrelevant as possible.
States, turn those bloated, arrogant, corrupt Federal hogs into laughingstocks, they deserve it. Hit them in the pocket book. Take away their money, take away their power. Send reps and senators there who will do it, who will tell them to go to Hell.
Nita, I get it now! And yes, we sure need a new press. They are just propaganda arms now for the Left and the White House, and they don;t care who knows it.
How far that profession has fallen.
Lets cut him in half and count his rings
Monica is
My 13th anniversary was last April. Never thought to commemorate it. CONGRATULATIONS, Exit82!
I just tossed out reams of tractor feed paper filled with WW prodigy discussions
Who are the 20 eldest FReepers? Would be nice to have a list.
No, but I think Citizen Soldier, the other poster the post was directed at, was at Cheney’s house. Trooprally and I have met at various DC protests over the years. I look for a VERY tall American flag and I usually find him!
I know my wife and cried tears of joy on January 20, 2001, when we watched on TV as George Bush took the oath of office. It was like eight years of a terrible nightmare had ended.
Little did I dream that the Dems would top him with Obama.
The Dems are the enemies of freedom.
I think we have the same wife! ;)
OK, but the rings in his nose and ears don't count.
It would be nice to have someone every year to post a list of the freepers that have passed this year I know we lost a few
And I thought you exited in 1982?!
Flyvet, I hear you and share your views.
We know that in 2008 there was a wave of hysteria that voted Obama into officed.
That magic is not going to work this time.
If we all try to inform and influence those around us in 2012, we can make a difference and get this country back on track.
Happy New Year to you!
You are a newbie!
There was a younger woman that posted as Landryfan who I met on line through my son’s military blog while he was in Iraq. She told me about some of the pro-troop demonstrations in DC area. I think she used to go to some of TroopRally’s demonstrations at Walter Reed. I always appreciated what that little group did, I’m glad to hear you knew of them and did some participation with them.
Well, let’s commemorate it right now! Happy 13th Anniversry to you!
You had an interesting question—who are the first 20 Freepers. Hope that isn’t a national security secret, but it would be interesting to find out.
Years ago you could find out what number Freeper you were—mine was 17,400 something, and that was at the end of 1998.
Happy New Year to you, montag813!
And happy NEw Year.
Happy New Year to you too!
If you check the Home page of FR, and scroll alll the way down to the bottom, there a green rectangle with "Freeper Memorial Wall" on it. Click there, and you'll find those who have passed on.
It goes back a very long time. It has their posts and tributes linked---you'll remember a lot of the screennames.
If I recall, doesn’t your screen name reflect the Exit you needed to be picked up at for the Impeachment Rally?
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