This is a standard complaint that is posted at least once every two or three months. It's a special with the "Kvetch of the Month Club." Of course, there's some substance to it. Libertarians have asserted themselves more recently, perhaps because the last election was so klugey. The level of conflict appears to have escalated too; seldom do disagreements get resolved in any kind of amicable fashion anymore. And irrelevant, inane postings seem to be proliferating at the expense of reasoned political discourse. Pregnant Barbies and Expando-Jeans for Men seem the order of the day, while informed analysis of post-Taliban Afghanistan goes begging.
However, FR seems to be remarkably homeostatic. Given enough time, it always seems to restore itself to normalcy.
But every swing of the pendulum seems to get a little longer ...