Posted on 04/01/2005 2:39:59 PM PST by hchutch
Six months ago, Free Republic was riding high, and I was proud to be a part of it. It was coming off having blown the cover off of Dan Rather’s use of forged memos against the President. The President was well on his way to winning re-election. It was a great time to be a Freeper.
However, things have changed. It started with the justifiable removal of ALIPAC. I supported that move by Jim Robinson, but the ugliness directed towards Alberto Gonzales. He was accused of everything under the sun, and Senator Mel Martinez was viciously attacked for speaking Spanish on the Senate floor. The tone and outright viciousness (terms like FROBL and traitor were fired off at anyone who did not toe the line established by Michelle Malkin and Tom Tancredo) on immigration threads had concerned me, but I had concluded it was an isolated incident. After ALIPAC was removed from FR, I had hoped the tone there would improve. But it only got worse. I was point-blank called a traitor because my views on immigration differ from those of Michelle Malkin’s groupies. On immigration threads, questioning the questionable is not allowed. One must accept the unacceptable and allow folks to defend the indefensible. Never mind that VDARE, American Renaissance, and other sites are racist or have no problem hanging out with those that are racists (I’m just going to call a spade a spade here).
There were folks who had the long knives out for Senator Rick Santorum, one of the strongest pro-life members of the United States Senate. Why? Because he endorsed Arlen Specter over Pat Toomey. It was stunning to see these long knives out for a conservative. And all it would accomplish would be his replacement by a Democrat. How in the world replacing Rick Santorum with a Democrat would aid conservatism is beyond me, but it was demanded because Santorum endorsed Specter. The long knives were out, and I suppose it was a sign of what was to come.
The whole Terri Schiavo case has changed everything for me. A mob mentality took over the first few days after the order to pull the tube was given. Anyone who did not toe the line was attacked. I saw a dedicated active-duty member of our armed forces called a “Maine liberal” for simply asking why troops in harm’s way did not get the same sort of “all-nighter” attention that Terri Schiavo got. It was a reasonable question – we have 40-year-old P-3s still out there. We have a war on terrorism still going on, in case folks have not noticed. We have to get Social Security fixed. I say this as a person who believes that at best, Michael Schiavo’s relationship with a woman (and having two kids with her) meant he had a conflict of interest – and that he had decided that Terri was inconvenient. I cannot take his word alone that Terri would have wanted this. I also believe that George Felos is a supporter of euthanasia, and that he is using this case for his own ends. Those folks give me the creeps, and I think that Jim Robinson was on the right side of this issue. However, I also got a very bad feeling when the Schindlers embraced the likes of Randall Terry and Bo Gritz. I had to wonder what has happened to the conservative movement when the threads were allowed to spiral so out of control. The concept of euthanasia is repulsive and disgusting, but it does not excuse allowing the threads to spin out of control.
I have seen the President of the United States, George W. Bush, and the Governor of Florida, John Ellis Bush, take huge political risks in an effort to save Terri’s life. I believe they were doing their best to do the right thing, and that the original law passed in 2003 was a reasonable one that was wrongly stuck down by Judge Greer and the Florida Supreme Court. I think that the Republican Party has taken a huge risk to give Terri a chance at life, and I am disgusted with those who seek a pretext that will justify leaving the GOP in the lurch. I’m sick of the way the Terri threads spun out of control, and the vicious attacks launched at reasonable people who came to a different conclusions about the situation or who pointed out facts that certain people found inconvenient. This is not what I signed on here for.
I believe in a strong national defense, cutting taxes, and in general trying to keep government involvement as minimal as possible (there are times when the best one can do is to limit government involvement in a situation). I am pro-life (with exceptions for rape, incest, and to protect the life of the mother) and pro-Second Amendment. However, I do NOT want the federal government to be involved in any culture war. “Culture” was never mentioned in the constitution, thus I believe it is left to the States or TO THE PEOPLE (see the Tenth Amendment). I do NOT think immigration is a problem, but I believe some mistakes were made along the way (like eliminating the bracero program). I also think that the President of the United States has proposed a sensible plan that will go a long way towards solving the problems on our border with Mexico and do much to alleviate the problems surrounding illegal immigration. Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that it is time for me and Free Republic to part company, because Free Republic has left this limited-government neoconservative. In the process of Free Republic leaving me, I now find that I fear the social conservatives as much as I fear the loony left. As a result of coming to this conclusion, I ask that my account be deleted and all posts I have made, save for this opus and the ping to my friends be removed.
I do this with regret, since I will miss some of those who I have met here, but I feel no other choice. So long.
I have been contemplating the very same thing. The tone here needs to change, I think it will after the Terri issue fades a bit.
I have been fighting the urge to cut and run because I love this site, I think we accomplish important things here, the voices of reason (like yours) are the most valued asset we have.
You've spoken your mind, now take some time, lurk around, but PLEASE don't leave. WE need to stick together, and ignore the vitriolic, disruptive, small-minded ones that have slipped in, but probly won't be here long anyway.
Why aren't you using your other screen name, 'Liberator'? It's still active even after your own opus. No guts, eh? How duplicitous and disappointing.
That's a blast from the past. I used to post on the sports boards there............when I was 13-14.
It was the 'Whitewater' and 'Congress' boards for me. Imagine that. :o)
Thanks for the ping...
I have to wonder about this, is this an April Fools joke? I still havent been here a year, and dont understand this. Why 2 freepers in one day?
Isnt a difference of opinion what makes this country great? Arent opinions like a$$h0l*s, everyones got one, and everyone elses stinks? If the Terri threads were too much to handle, why bother posting, or even reading them? I posted once, that I was crying, and thats it.
Havent all of us, at one point or another been attacked by another freeper for a difference of opinion? I know I have, and I just stop posting to that thread.
Is turning the other cheek so hard?
You know, instead of this being an opus to leave, these are the sorts of posts that folks should make in threads, or vanities, to get people re-focused on the task at hand. The leaving in a huff detracts from the points made and turns a good post into a self-indulgent whine.Yep. Excellent point. Always turn a "negative" into a positive.
That stuff about "FR leaving me" is some real egomania though.
Yep! I thought about this pic I made when I read this "opus".
we need to get a new picture of Jerry JOnes there....now he looks like Mr. Burns from the Simpsons!! LOL
I'm disappointed it took you so long to figure it out.
Pray for W and Our Troops
We have enough home-grown cretins so why import more Luis? You might like your tax $ going to support this wave of humanity with their never ending need for services paid for by American tax $ but I know this is a path to national suicide. How many more hospitals need to be bankrupted, schools overloaded, innocent people violated before you and the rest of illegal pom-pom crew get the message........will it take one of your loved ones being assaulted before you get it?
LOL. I think that probably goes for most of us.
Gulp. I was posting on political boards pre-Windows 3.0, the old DOS format. I think maybe I should be embarrassed; I'm not, though, because JR was 'there' at the same time I was. :o)
One of the Prodigy Chat logs I posted (4/11/97) even has a brief bit of 'Nazi' name-calling, but it was from the other side instead of 'the enemy within'.
<< That's a lot of words. >>
Yair.
Did he actually say anything?
LOL
Remember the difference between a liberal and conservative is a mugging.
LOL. Glad I didn't miss that one.
I totally agree. I have been flamed on some threads, too, but I am still here. The conservative movement is too important.
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