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LOL! It's the extremists on here who sling the most mud. Most conservatives just want to sound off on issues, or discuss current events. It's the extremists that want to fight and question others' motives and judgment. Plus the Libertarians, who for the 80th time are NOT conservatives, condemning anyone who votes for the GOP. No pilgrim, the Republican conservatives on here only want to share and discuss.

If the extremists had enough numbers to have their own websites, they would not be here. Or would they? Like the late Andy Kauffman, are they deliberately trying to provoke reactions and arguments? They are not here to discuss anything. They are here to throw their little bombs, not to engage in logical, polite discussion. I tell you this: whereas before, I would kindly yield to these extremists, I now meet them head on, so any visitors to FReep reading this will know that they do not have anything to add. Subtraction is their pastime.

You can always tell an extremist from a true conservative: a conservative has no problem voting GOP. An extremist ALWAYS has a problem with that. I'm as conservative as they come. If you're to the right of me, I would question why that is. I got an education being on FReep the last two years, and it completely explains why the GOP is not in power in the numbers it could otherwise be. Read most of the posts on FReep and you too will figure it out. If you know about Joshua and Caleb, then you too can understand how corrosive and damaging negative "bad apples" can be. Trying to be mannerly, I avoided debate with them until about a year ago. Those days are over.....

They are here to throw their little bombs, not to engage in logical, polite discussion. I tell you this: whereas before, I would kindly yield to these extremists, I now meet them head on, so any visitors to FReep reading this will know that they do not have anything to add. Subtraction is their pastime.

I tend to disagree, based on my experience since 2000 on this site, it has been the anti-libertarian people throwing the mud around, not debating in logical debate. Such words as 'druggy', 'stoner', 'hippie', etc.

Here is a quote from from a 'conservative' here on FR.

Snip
Forgive my irreverence, but this totally fuels my already negative stereotype of you overindulgent, self-absorbed, degenerate ex-hippies all who wish you were still wallowing in the mud at Woodstock, or exchanging "free love" at the corner of Haight & Ashbury.

Blind loyalty to the GOP is retarded, blind loyal to the LP is retarded, blind loyalty to any party, is well retarded. I'm a libertarian by philosophy but I find myself at a mix between the party platforms of the CP and LP, but am registered republican and split my vote republican and libertarian most of the time. I'll support any RLC candidate

The GOP today is no longer conservative (smaller government), and supports the same views of todays liberals (socialistic health care system, only slightly smaller, a heavy progressive income tax, only slightly lower) or yesterdays liberals (hey FDR and WW drug war was a great idea, lets continue the failed drug war and spend billions more each year!, social security, welfare, etc).

The following is a list that Alan Chapman came up with.

Let's examine some of the accomplishments Republicans have made during the past 18 months since GWB took office:

Took $67 million in taxpayers' money to finance presidential campaign via federal matching funds.
Submitted largest budget ever to Congress, $2.13 trillion.
Campaign Finance Reform.
Airline bailouts.
Post Office bailout.
Amtrak bailouts.
Raised debt-limit from $5.95 trillion to $6.4 trillion.
Creation of new federal bureaucracy, Dept. of Homeland Security.
Wall St. ordered to report "suspicious" transactions, or series of transactions exceeding $5000.
Domestic surveillance by FBI without evidence of criminal activity.
Scholarships for Cuban students and professionals.
"Homebuyer bill of rights" -- federal regulation of real estate.
Continued anti-trust lawsuit against Microsoft.
Federal subsidies for the poor to purchase homes.
Project Safe Neighborhood -- unconstitutional gun-control and federal intrusion.
Boost in American foreign-aid by 50% to more than $15 billion annually.
Continued funding of World Bank.
Additional funding for Medicare.
Health care subsidies for laid-off workers and expanded job retraining benefits ($10 billion to $12 billion over 10 years).
Wage insurance -- federal wage supplement.
$9.5 million to hire new Customs Service agents.
Refused to allow airline pilots to arm themselves.
Federalized airport security.
Increased farm subsidies by $180 billion over 10 years.
Increased Pentagon budget by $48 billion to $379 billion.
$560 million USA Freedom Corps.
Over $3-million spent on SuperBowl anti-drug ads.
Increased funding for IRS and BATF.
Faith-based subsidies.
Engaging in nation-building.
Meddling in Zimbabwe by threatening to withhold foreign-aid (Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001).
Foreign debt relief.
Increased federal spending on education from $39.9-billion to $44.5-billion.
Signed Congressional payraise of $4,900.
"Magic Latern" FBI spyware.
DOJ monitoring of cable modems without a warrant.
$474 million to combat HIV/AIDS overseas, including $100 million for a global trust fund, and $200 million for international disaster assistance.
$676 million for South American anti-drug plan.
$768 million in assistance to independent states of the former Soviet Union. (2001)
$1.3 billion in military assistance and $655 million in economic assistance for Egypt. (2001)
$2-billion in foreign-aid to Egypt. (2002)
$75 million in military financing and $150 in economic assistance for Jordan. (2001)
US military and economic assistance to Jordan is expected to increase by $100 million to $325 million this year.
$582 million to United Nations. (2001)
$1.3-billion in foreign-aid to Columbia to fight Drug War. (2001)
$120 million in foreign-aid to Uzbekistan. (2002)
$40 million in foreign-aid to the Taliban government of Afghanistan (May, 2001).
Patients Bill of Rights -- federal regulation of health care.
Federal Compassion Capital Fund, $700 million over 10 years.
$500 million in funding to combat AIDS in Africa.
Imposed steel and lumber tariffs.
$300 million for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) via the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2001.
$700-800 million in annual ethanol subsidies.
Elementary School Foreign Language Incentive Program (federal subsudies for teaching English).
Technology Opportunities Program ($42.8 million in 2001, $12.4 million in 2002, due to be phased out in 2003).
Federal subsidies to welfare parents who marry.
$8 million to maintain a heating oil reserve to stabilize prices in the U.S. Northeast.
$30 million in research grants over the next five years to develop new ways of making industrial products from plants and natural waste materials.
$100_million to beef up investigative manpower and technology at the SEC.
$6 million to upgrade a U.S. Geological Survey data center near Sioux Falls, S.D.
$10 million to help farmers near the Rio Grande River involved in a water dispute with Mexico.
$1 billion for Pell grants for low-income students.
$400 million to help states improve voting systems.
$200 million for fighting AIDS and other diseases abroad.
$255 million over two years to expand US media influence in predominantly Muslim countries.
Scholarships and grants to nurses and to help hospitals maintain retention of nurses.
Increase the NEA budget by $10 million, to $126 million.
$200,000 for a trucker congestion notification system in Tacoma, Washington.
$500,000 to save the Prebles Meadow Jumping Mouse in Colorado.
$62 million to promote the Sacajawea dollar coin.
$100,000 a month to monitor news reports and offer advice on media strategy for the Pentagon.
$1.5 million for taking care of the Vulcan Statue in Alabama built for the 1904 World's Fair.
$165 billion federal budget deficit.

Very 'conservative' indeed.