Yeah, that was another point they tried to push about conservative blogs which I disagreed with totally.
If you've hung out on places like DU, it really is directed from the top down to a significant extent. DU is kind of like an official channel of the Democrat Party with a forum on the side, whereas FR is a forum free-for-all with an explicitly conservative bent. Ideologically, FReepers are all over the map as is in evidence in most threads. DUers are allowed very little latitude when it comes to dissent, and risk getting banned simply for questioning or contradicting the party talking points. You have to be a flaming jackass to get banned on FR, as vigorous dissent is standard fare here and perfectly acceptable.