The thing I've noticed about FReeper supporters of Rudy...the majority of them are women or seem to use feminine nicknames.
The other thing I've noticed...this is not the forum I entered in 2004. It's no longer a conservative platform. It's dominated by RINOs, East Coast RINOs who think they and their New York candidate know what's good for the rest of us. Who knew that FReepers supported abortion, gun control and homosexuality? I've seen every excuse for this man with all his liberal philosophies. It's sickening, and there's a long haul to go before it finally ends. By that time, you won't know the difference between FR and DU.
I think the cultural phenom has to do with the celebrity nature of popularity, where you end up choosing a person over principles or core beliefs. I wouldn't call it sickening, but it feels out of place.
A rather uninspiring frosh Senator with little accomplishments is now the Democrats new JFK. Obama attracted 15,000 people in Austin. 18 months prior to an election? That's a bit incredible. Democrats are desperately seeking 'freshness' as a way out of their own policy dilemmas, and now Barack is in the media hype tornado.
Some here advocate Rudy because he is a celebrity who was there on 9/11. others because is popular, which strikes me as circular reasoning. He is popular for some good reasons, only a few of whom have anything to do with how he would rate as a pro-freedom conservative President and CinC. His mayoral track record is the only and best real selling point; much good and some bad there. Still, its obvious the party's Mod Squad like him because he is *NOT* a conservative, and want to use him as a way to 'take back' the party from the Reagan wing. What better way than a celebrity candidate a la Arnold.
That path will lead to an easier victory for the celebrity and the ruination of the rank-and-file and grassroots consrvative activism, and ultimately the GOP itself, turned upside down by the faddish pursuit of personality over core values. Fads change.
For Liberals, it is easy to follow the hype. They have the media on their side to shape perception. Obama shucks the jive of 'get along' moderation and policially correct pop-speak, but his core is orthodox left-liberal multi-culturalism. This is sold (wrongly) by the media as 'cant we all just get along', when in fact it is poison to traditional core American values. The liberals are safe.
Conservatives are not so safe. Any politician who is not energically opposed to the tidal media/academia/culture pull from the left gets pulled by the tide. And we conservatives are left high and dry by politicians who abandon us.
For conservatives who distrust the 'demos' in democracy, adhere to 'principles first', and think cults of personality are dangerous, these are not happy times. When conservatives say "we need another Reagan" they mean this: We need a true conservative who can communicate outside the boundaries of our base in ways that bends others toward conservative values through persuasion rather than contorting conservative values to curry favor with the popular will. A statesman-leader is someone who can tame the popular will and not be a slave to it.
I still haven't found what I'm looking for
http://travismonitor.blogspot.com/2007/02/who-should-be-our-next-president.html
"you won't know the difference between FR and DU. "
Sad, but true, many posters in both places are pulling out all stops in their support of Hillary and defeat of the Republican candidate and you seem to be one of them.