What a silly thing to say. I can't imagine where, on the rankings of the Most Stupid Things To Do list, charging a monthly fee would end up, maybe between lighting oneself on fire trying to burn the American flag or insulting the pedigree of a Navy Seal - while he's conscious. This site thrives because it is open and easily accessible. The NYTimes.com charges for usage, and who goes to that site? Nobody.
I can think of myself and probably 10,000 other users who wouldn't be here today if you had to pay to use this site, and even if you charge to post and keep lurking free, think classmates.com for the probability of success there. Freerepublic has gained alot of fame, mentioned often on Brian Wilson's show, among others. What good would that do if one had to pay before using the site?
This site can raise all the money it needs with quarterly fundraising, without a single ad. Who else can say that?
What you say is exactly correct as to why FR should not have been a subscription site up untill about a year ago. The fact that it is not a subscription site now is the reason it is 40% useless fluff. There's just too much wasting of oxygen going on around here and it needs to be trimmed back. It will become a greater site when it becomes more EXclusive.