Me, too. And several days ago I was actually involved in a thread in which I dared defend Rudy Guiliani in a limited way and that stirred up a bunch of hard feelings from the past that I had no clue about (I've been here a year.) Jim himself responded to my post and laid down the non-Rudy law. I also learned a lot about Rudy's political views that I did *not* know about and, frankly, ended up having little problem with throwing Rudy under the bus. ;0)
So hopefully you can see that I, too, want the thought police not to jump to any conclusions and I, and many FReepers I think, still need to learn a lot about individual candidates. And as you said, that is different from living and voting according to Conservative principles which I believe I've done my whole life.
Things go in cycles and sometimes there are waves of people that - regardless of their intentions - end up stirring up so much animosity and stupid political "dust" that reasonable discussion becomes impossible. Those are the times when I support the warning and/or even zotting of those who are vociferously advocating RINO or Conservative-lite positions. But only when the noise level is so high that a Conservative Adult needs to take a firm hand...
I consider you my FRiend until proven otherwise. I do *not* believe in thought police or I will someday make an honest opinion "error" and get zotted myself. And if I can't fit in at Free Republic then I don't think I can fit in anywhere!
The only other point I feel strongly about is the need to educate almost everyone (besides FReepers) about the distinction between a Conservative and a Republican. And a RINO is actually, I think, a Conservative-In-Name-Only but I doubt anyone will stop using the term RINO, it has so much traction.
(Long post, sorry.)
Thank you! Sorry you were whacked re: Rudy. I would take him any day over McCain, who I have always found an unpleasant as well as uninformed candidate. But he does have his warts.
I think I shall end with one final thought, which echoes what you wrote. People sometimes say and write things that aren’t quite right. To the true blue conservatives who post here, please be patient. I know from experience that those who are patient with me have a great impact on the way I think, and I find that they are patient because they have great confidence in their views and feel like they can set me straight.
There are millions of newbies who are likely converts to conservatism. I also think there are millions of people who have historically called themselves Democrats who are waking up, tens of thousands of them each day, to the present danger.
I believe this is the time to win converts rather than batten down the hatches.
My advice would be to welcome these folks even when they post something you don’t quite like, or that objectively runs counter to the facts or to conservative principles.
I believe that FR has more potential than any other site, in part because it has the greatest number of truly compassionate and committed conservatives. I also recognize the tradeoff of remaining dedicated to this passionate core versus reaching out to others. As I’ve written, it’s Jim Robinson’s choice. It’s just that I dissent from the tactic he’s presently taking.
I’ll now let this rest. I apologize for any disruption.