Posted on 01/19/2011 10:00:05 AM PST by Jim Robinson
Edited on 01/19/2011 10:21:38 AM PST by Jim Robinson. [history]
I'm placing this in breaking news, because there have been several breaking news complaint threads recently. Guess there are a lot of people not understanding the facts about FR, or what we stand for, where we're going, etc.
First of all, who reads FR and how many accounts do we have? I honestly have no idea and the exact number does not concern me. We currently have over 369,000 registered accounts on FR, but as someone pointed out yesterday, not all of them are active and I have no idea how many are active.
Many years ago we had less than 30,000 accounts registered. Then we hit a hundred thousand, a hundred fifty thousand, then two hundred thousand and three or four years ago we approached and went over 300,000. Every few years as we hit a major milestone in registered accounts, I updated our home page with the current number of accounts on FR. I'll probably do it again after we go over 400,000, then 500,000, etc, and maybe I won't. The number of registered accounts doesn't really mean much. And our growth in the last few years has tapered off anyway for various reasons.
Who actually reads FR? Again, we have no idea, but there are hundreds of thousands maybe even millions of readers. All kinds of people read FR. News hounds, liberals, conservatives, politicians, talk show hosts, religious types, atheists, you and me brother and everyone in between. We serve over 1,000,000 pageviews per day.
So why has our growth tapered off? Well, probably the primary reason is we've narrowed our point of view lately as we've moved away from just talking about the issues and have actually started becoming constitutional activists.
The time for talking is over. Now we need to walk the walk. Our focus has become closer to working on our primary goal which is a return to constitutionally limited government and a full restoration of our God-given unalienable rights.
We can't do that by being big tent, all things to all people, non-principled, two-talking politicians. If we are truly interested in advancing our traditional conservative pro-God, pro-family, pro-life, pro-country, pro-liberty principles and positions then we must reject the politicians and people supporting the other way.
As an organization, we cannot be both for and against homosexuality, abortion, big government, border and national security, etc. I don't know about others, but if we must choose, I choose to be on the right side of each and every issue. Why should FR use its limited resources to allow liberals, homosexualists, abortionists, big spenders, big taxers, big government solutions advocates, gun grabbers, pacifists, isolationists, environmentalists, open-borders lobbyists, etc, ply their trade on FR? Well, more and more lately, we don't. And, apparently, that has pissed off a lot of big tent, true blue RINO types and the herd is stampeding. Let them go.
We who share our common traditional conservative principles, values and goals will be better off in the long run. We need to build on our strengths and attract more traditional conservatives to our viewpoints than to water down and weaken our own. It just doesn't make sense to me to support politicians like Giuliani, Romney, Gingrich, et al, who have RINO/liberal track records. It doesn't make sense to allow abortionists, homosexualists, gun-grabbers, big-government solutionists, etc, to have free rein on FR to target and lambast us daily with their repugnant bile. Let them go.
FR will continue on the traditional God, family, country, life and liberty path. If it means fewer accounts or less growth, so be it. If it means we receive fewer in donations, so be it. We will adapt, improvise and overcome and I believe prosper (God willing) in the long run. And, hopefully, someday we can say that we helped restore our beloved republic and our Liberty!
Resty, are you in or out? No Romneybots, read that? If you stand with Jim and Free Republic than please say so. Or beat it.
My position on Sarah Palin is the same as any other candidate. I will look at each candidate's pluses and minuses. If she's the most conservative on the field, she gets my vote. If not... she won't.
But whatever happens in the primary... if she's the one left standing to go to battle against 0bama in November 2012, I'm behind her all the way.
I’ve given up watching the news on the TV and that includes FOX for the most part as even they cannot inform the public about social issues(take note cowardly Hannity etc) and what the likes of the homosexual agenda trying to do to our children.
‘bane in the [Obamabots’] ass’
Lol—you are FR’s resident comic relief. The only thing funnier I’ve read lately is danamco’s mention of Abercrombie’s “hippo mouth”.
And obstinant promotion of liberalism.
I agree with the world according to Jim.
Perfectly stated. Right on, Jim.
I’m pretty sure it’s a necessary evil to keep that stuff out of the main News/Activism forum. Even with the separate forum, that stuff takes over unrelated or tenuously-related threads in News/Activism from time to time.
Waffling on principles is how the Republican party got itself into such a mess. When you make deals, you make sacrifices. The Republican party made too many sacrifices in the name of bipartisanship. Now we find ourselves at the bottom of a slippery slope.
How do we get back to the shining city on a hill? First, we have to stand up. That requires putting ourselves on solid footing, which means no waffling.
Thank you for posting one of my favorite’s yours!
Since your designation, my life is a living hell. I can't step anywhere in the house without my cat hissing at me and clawing my ankles.
My cat is a black devil with a white bib; he's now a highly suspected 0b0z0 troll!
Gee, I thought I was. Moaning Papa Alinsky
JimRob —
I agree with everything you said in your post. I am totally in line with every position you take on the issues. We will vote alike next year.
However, I would sincerely ask that you consider one point that concerns me: please allow FR to be a forum where we can openly discuss both sides of an issue, throw out ideas and debate without fear of being ostracized or zotted.
As I’ve stated in other threads, it’s important that we understand the other side and prepare to refute their talking points. If FR becomes a place where only the strict conservative arguments are allowed to be voiced, we risk becoming idealogically “inbred.”
Sometimes it’s good to ask, honestly, what the conservative position is. For example, do we want laws that limit homosexuality or do we want the government to stay out of private behavior? (Emphasize on “private.” There is no question about public behavior.) I want the first option, but I’m not sure that is a conservative position. Please allow us to talk about gray areas, fine lines, how to balance living freely with the necessity of some government.
It’s not wise to dismiss the opposition. Scoffing and ignoring will not defeat them. Understanding what they’re saying and discussing it openly is healthy and productive preparation.
I’ve always enjoyed rigorous debate, even occasionally adopting an opposing viewpoint to stimulate discussion. Please continue to allow intelligent arguments.
“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17
Your cat is just training you up.
Thanks Jim, I cannot imagine what you have been through since this baby was hatched in your fertile mind.
I agree with you completely and have donated a monthly auto-deduct for the first time.
Radio controlled?
LOL! Actually UberCommie, of Abercrombie and Bitch fame, looks like a very chubby, short Corzine!
Christie is weighty, Thank God!
I just noticed the flag graphic is the same one that's on my cell. LOL
That vid is hilarious. It appears to depict troll-extraordinaire and (ex)pseudo-Freeper TNTNT taking a swing at Lazamataz.
Laz: ‘Step over this line; I dare you.’
TNTNT: ‘I’m a steppin’!
‘Whoa—fire in the hatch! M’feet are burnin’!’
What bcsco said times 100!
For the Cause!
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