They didn't 'cut and run', bud. They were harassed, provoked and finally driven out, or banned. More like the Huegenots were driven from France.
Granted, some of them were trouble makers and self promoters, had FR in an uproar, and maybe deserved what they got. But the facts are that a lot of us who stayed, kept quiet with our reservations about this president. What with the joy of the close win, the horror of 911 and all the rest of it, to do anything else would have been churlish. But as those events recede in our memory it is becoming very hard to keep biting one's tongue, as the disappointments pile up at the door of the White House. That doesn't mean Mr Bush is a traitor to conservatism or any of that exaggerated nonsense you can read here at times. But he is dismaying his supporters with these constant letdowns and you would really think that (after his father's experience) he would be on guard against that. I can read the pulse of this website and I will make you a little prediction that posters are going to get very restive here, over the next few months, unless this president stops trying to please liberals who never voted for him. The people here who defend the president 24/7 won't be able to keep a lid on it. And we are going to end up with divisive factions on FR yet again. That can all be avoided if both sides could acknowledge that the others' views have some merit.
At the time, if I remember, Mr. Robinson did all the banning personally (no moderators), so it amuses to read of your vicarious persecution complex. As far as I'm concerned, they knew the rules, and should be proud that they were banned by the top dog.
The point of the matter is, opponents on this website have a tendency of accusing each other of groupthink. Witness our present fondness for terms like "Bushbot" and "apologist." Sure, the terms get a point across, but the point is small and unsophisticated. In other words, if you don't feel like arguing, simply accuse your opponent of acting (fill in the blank).
It why I find these us versus the "coven" spats amusing. they're so . . . cheap. By the way, what are we up to now, Coven II, Coven: The Sequel, Coven IV: The Return of DonMorgan?