Let me say up front that I apologize to xzins for making the ‘paid poster’ accusation. It was wrong, I frankly didnt even mean it, it was said out of frustration to repeated statements I dont think are true. Its to his credit that he ignored it, we’ve argued but he’s never been out-of-bounds w/ me, so he didnt deserve it.
I too have been called a bunch of names over the years for being on the ‘wrong’ side of an FR argument(*), and invariably they are off-base and wrong. The most ironic one is the accusation that I’m a Romney supporter, as I’ve defended Romney from various false allegations (mormon stuff, his record), and hyperbolic attacks (calling him a socialest etc). Well, I’ll be certainly voting for him in the fall, but he wasnt my pick this time or in 2008, and I understand his weaknesses.
But he’s the GOP pick, like it or not, and there are many like me in the Republican party who are more conservative than Romney but understand that he will at least sign some conservative bills and do some good things, whereas with Obama it will be 100% opposite to what we want. I think continued attacks on Romney do *not* help the conservative cause at this time, but only help re-elect Obama, which in my estimation would be a catastrophic thing to befall the country *and* conservatives.
If that opinion is not welcome on FR, then it wasnt the site I once knew.
Thank you also, WOSG. We've all said things we regret.
Thirdly, thanks to Xzins for your participation here. As we've discussed before, I don't agree with you on the Constitution Party for now, but I'm quite aware of how bad things once were a few decades ago in the Republican Party, and if things go seriously wrong, there may be a lot more people running for the exits and hunting for a place to land. The Constitution Party may be the logical choice for social conservatives if the Republican Party decides it doesn't want us.
I generally check people's posting history before saying something negative, and since I read much more than I post, often I know regular posters by their comments. In this case, WOSG, I was aware of your Wednesday post to several people (including Xzins) in which you said “Would have been Newt for me, and might still be (in Texas) just to show conservative colors.” I understand that in your case you are a Romney supporter by default, i.e., a legitimate “anybody but Obama” guy, rather than a Romney supporter because you think he's the best candidate.
The problem is that Jim Robinson's truce inevitably will open the floodgates not only to people who back Mitt Romney because he's “anybody but Obama” but also to people who support Romney for reasons that are incompatible with the stated purpose of Free Republic.
I don't see any way around that. Barring “anybody but Obama” supporters of Mitt Romney means Free Republic risks being marginalized, being irrelevant, or possibly being gone entirely. On the other hand, the unavoidable consequence is letting people talk who at least covertly want to push an agenda to make the Republican Party much more liberal than it is today.
I believe it is those people, not people like Xzins, who are the ones who need to be watched. It's those people, not long-term solid conservative Freepers, whose motives need to be questioned because in some cases they may be paid disruptors.
We've got a terrible mess on our hands this election on the presidential level. My hope is that we avoid the conservative circular firing squad so enough of a conservative movement is left after this election to pick up the pieces. Of the two candidates still in the Romney-Obama race, whoever wins this fall will be one of the three most liberal candidates who ran this year (the third being Huntsman).
That does not bode well for the future of America.
Apology fully expected, and I understand your frustration. FWIW, I don’t think someone saying “the logical result of supporting a 3rd party is to take votes away from Romney, therefore, that weakens him and is to Obama’s advantage.”
I understand that logic. I don’t think there’s anything flawed in it NO MATTER what the other person’s reasons for supporting a 3rd party might be.
HOWEVER, there are valid, integritous reasons for supporting a 3rd party. Those people can legitimately argue, “I am striving for another objective, so it is not TRUE in our case that we are supporting Obama.”
My intent is to: (1) Strive for the creation of a legitimate home for conservatives, (2) To demonstrate to the former home for this conservative a number that could have belonged to them if they would not have left conservative principles entirely, and (3) to prevent a victory that would irrevocably turn the republican party into another liberal party.
One can argue with my rationale, but I know I don’t support Obama, and my track record says I don’t support Obama, so there can be no argument with my integrity.
That would be a personal attack based on whimsy and not on the facts in evidence.