Free Republic is about the only conservative discussion web site I go to. My only complaint about the web site is when ever one expresses an opinion that might not lean the conservative way, people are quick to call you a troll, or other names, worst of all liberal. I like to play devils advocate on various topics, like the hypocrisy of some talk show host's, and other controversial events of the day. I am amazed how I will be called a moron without anyone ever addressing my points that I bring up. Don't get me wrong, some liberal sites like News hound are not any better, but I expect the name calling from those sites. I like to have good old fashion debate without being insulted. I think that might be why some of these conservative sites might be losing traffic.
Maybe if you would just express your honest opinion on a subject instead of playing "devils advocate" you would have a better chance of having a "good old fashion(sic) debate". There appears to be more and more who come to FR for reasons other than to discuss conservative issues or news from a conservative perspective.
It has become obvious that some posters are, in reality, GOP operatives. They post the party line talking points without the ability to explain or defend them.
Clearly some liberals like to post on FR to get the goat of conservatives. They do waste time and bandwith but are usually easily spotted because they cannot control their urge to act, well, liberal.
I have had disagreements with posters from both ends of the spectrum but the childish invectives and name calling come mostly from one direction. Open border advocates are downright nasty. Rudy supporters aren't far behind in their quest to degrade their opponents without answering real questions. Often the tactics are similar. First is to call anyone who does not agree with them a "hater". I believe they picked this up from the "you must always support President Bush" posters. I can't remember being called a name by a poster who obviously has a strong religious point of view, even when they disagreed with me. On the other hand "fundamentalist freaks" type of postings appear quite common.
There clearly is a battle among those who tend to be Republican. This can most obviously be seen on the Rudy threads. Winning is everything (and only we know how to do it) against we won't support those pushing a liberal agenda no matter what. This battle will probably continue until the election and afterwords. One of the things that annoys me is why those pushing a liberal or a liberal agenda feel it is necessary to get on FR to express their opinions. This is a conservative forum. The "platform" has been nicely laid out. Maybe some believe that if they make enough noise the "platform" will be discarded. This is plainly what some hope will happen with the Republican platform. Or maybe some just like to play the "devils advocate".