To whatever extent Alan Keyes is "not respected here," most of that was to a great degree caused by a number of the now-dearly-departed. If you look at the member list of the new anti-FReeper site, a good number of their members consist of those who made a career out of trashing Keyes threads on Free Republic over a very long period of time. Years.
None of this is a coincidence, or without connection. They truly do despise conservatives and conservatism, and that is an objective fact. The "foot on the neck" comments of February 2 were just one of the final clear expressions of it.
No real conservative could possibly listen to Dr. Keyes in speeches like the one below and not only "respect" Alan but greatly admire him. There is not another American I know who communicates what I believe with more power or passion.
No choice for silence
I like Alan Keyes, and all politicians, Reagan being the top example, who lean towards the libertarian ideals of individual freedom.
However I in no way agree with your assertion that the departed despise conservatives or conservatism. I see that as a rationalization to feel OK about driving Rudy supporters out.
When I say “conservatism” I mean something like Jim Robinson’s definition of conservatism on the “clueless” thread, although I don’t agree with him that a conservative must be “religious,” since I don’t know what he means by that (are you allowed to accept the theory of evolution, for instance?) and since many totalitarian governments over the years have been religious, while many non religious people like myself cherish freedom and the founding ideals of our country.
That's nonsense. To pick one example, I am not departed, I have joined no anti-Freeper sites, I bow to no one in defense of conservative values, and I think that Alan Keyes is a crook.