Thanks for the ping and reply. I agree with most of the "bedrock issues" in FR's description of conservativism.
IMO, you are correct about the forum changing. In just the three-plus years I've been here, I've noticed a change, too, to a more "moderate" membership. (As a matter of fact, I remember more right-leaning Freepers flaming me in the past - as in, "What do you mean you don't want religion in schools?! Are you a troll?" - whereas now the flames come from a more left-leaning crowd here - as in, "What do you mean you don't think there should be public schools?! Are you crazy?!"). ;-) Another example: there were many more homeschoolers here when I first signed up, and now that's just not the case anymore.
But I can see why the FR tent has widened. First, there are those of us whose views are right-leaning in a more "libertarian" sense (like Boortz and Elder). We tend to take the idea of limited gov't to an extreme, but I think we belong here.
Nowadays, there are newer Freepers who just seem to have "pet conservative issues," while taking a moderate stance in a few other areas. But, I can see why they'd belong here, too. It'd be worse if they strayed to the other side; the more votes cast for conservatives, the better. Anyway, the President himself takes a moderate position is quite a few areas (to the dismay of some of us).
I appreciate your comments. Thanks.