When did Freepers turn so nasty? (vanity)

vanity | 2/12/2016 | Optimist

[Optimist]

Over the past several months, Free Republic has begun to show an ugly side of its members. Although admittedly comprised of many strong-willed, opinion-charged individuals presenting thoughtful, conservative insights into the topics of the day, this forum has begun to show a seamier side as the Trump-Cruz-Rubio-Carson 2016 Primary heated up. You all know what I mean. Many of you have either been at the giving or receiving end of EMOTIONALLY-charged attacks against various candidates or even individuals as their supporters.

Herewith a few thoughts I would like to share:

1. Passion for a candidate and buying into the campaign is exciting and important for exposing others to knowledge and understanding more about "your" candidate.
2. Most of us WILL NOT be able to have a voting impact on which individual becomes the candidate, so why such vitriol? A little perspective is really needed. What are you going to do if by mid-March (when only 20% of the country has had any type of primary vote) and your candidate has fallen off the slate? Face it ANY of these candidates are better than any Democrat or potential Independent opposition, and will have a better chance of being elected than nay 3rd/4th/obscure party candidate.
3. When did we turn into the Ron Paul group? Sorry, I don't mean to offend, but you know what I mean: personality driven, my guy can do/say no wrong, I'm going to get in your face if you don't see things my way, and .... well, you hopefully see the similarity.
4. None of the candidates is 100% perfect, but they all have characteristics that are admirable:
   • Trump is politically astute and media savvy, and has made an apparent conversion to conservative principles with support driven primarily by his fight against illegal immigration, and actually opens New York as a potential electoral win.
   • Cruz has a proven track record of fighting and winning for conservative causes, believes (along with other noteworthy legal minds) that he is eligible to be president, and is not afraid to stand up for and convincingly explain his position.
   • Kasich, has a history of fighting for fiscal responsibility, understands the workings of both legislative and administrative politics as well as decision balancing and decision making in an important electoral state.
   • Rubio is the new younger face of the Republican Party (hell, he's the younger face of the 2016 election) from one of the two critical electoral states in the past several elections, eloquently espousing conservatism and having shown his political chops by running and winning against an entrenched Democrat.
   • Bush comes from a conservative background, with administrative experience in what has consistently been a crucial electoral state, with the potential for earning crossover votes from the Latino community.
   • Carson presents the studied, calm outsider's perspective of the challenges we all know we face, speaking for many who are ready for the politicians to take a back seat and let intelligent people of good heart give it a try.
5. Yes there are negatives for all of them, but this is THE BEST crop of candidates we have ever had to choose from, unlike past elections when it seemed inevitable that the hand-picked, it's-his-turn, establishment candidate was chosen for us. And, besides, go back and re-read number 2.
6. And (finally?) a word about pundits: (Glenn Beck, Rush, Fox News, et. al.):
   • Fox - yeah they seem to be coming down pretty hard on "our/my guy(s)" but they are still a lot better than almost any of the hacks on all of the other networks, and why are you surprised that they have a bias for/against any of the R candidates (aren't all of us exactly the same?) when we have always known journalists are NOT unbiased, but just hopefully, at Fox, a little more centered.
   • Rush - has taken up the banner for many of the candidates and refuses (as always) to endorse one in particular, instead cheerleading the positive aspects of each because he knows one of them will be the only way to stop HillBerniBiden.
   • Beck - is passionate and has done exactly what we want "our" media pundits to do: TAKE A STAND! I'm sorry if his choice and their definition of conservatism isn't yours, but at least he has the balls to speak up, stand by his candidate, and explain his principles in as objective a way as you could hope. Considering some of the nasty attacks I have seen recently against different candidates and their supporters, as well as Beck, it would seem we need to put up a mirror so we can each see ourselves as others see us. We are better than that.

Well, this is what happens when one (Ok, I) become frustrated with the ad-hominem attacks against so many good people both on this site, and otherwise supportive of conservatism and the rise of a conservative Republican Party. We are all decent, America-loving conservatives who are driven to strive for what is best for returning this country to its pride.

Please Freepers, make your best case, and trust that whoever eventually runs against the Demobeast will, with God's light, be the right person for the job.

Let the flame-war begin, I have donned my suit! And God bless.

[central_va]

Ask the question do we need a F bomb dropping dictator as President.

He never said it. He mouthed it.

Politics is war without bullets. We either start to play mean or we go socialist/communist. It is not a coincidence that the 19th century politics was way more rough and course than it is now and women were not allowed to vote. With women's suffrage the discourse got more gentile and soft reinforcing that women are natural socialists. It has continued to get more feminists and socialist with each passing year. With Trump you are seeing a throw back the the 19th century style politics; a needed adjustment to say the least.

Its either that or repeal the 19th amendment.

[RKBA Democrat]

I don’t buy the premise that FReepers are all that nasty. Instead, I would point to the first question we should ask in politics: who benefits?

I would argue that the nastiness that we’re seeing has to do with a whole lot of money being out there this election cycle and there not being a lot of effective places to put it. Look at this from the perspective of the donor class. They spend millions of dollars on TV ads and it gets them nothing. TIVO, streaming video and the internet are killing the ability to use TV commercials to get a message out. Phone calls? Caller ID has pretty much killed those. Radio? Streaming audio and podcasts.

So where does the donor class spend it’s money? Social media and websites. But alas, FR doesn’t take ads so we end up with a bunch of nasty paid seminar posters. The boss and the mods are slowly screening the worst but it takes time.

So who benefits? Look no further than the donor class if you want to see why the uptick in nastiness.

[jimbo807]

“Trump won’t be able to trump Cruz on conservatism. So now he’s making clear that he isn’t running a conservative campaign - he’s running a nationalist and populist campaign. His enemies include both Republicans and conservatives”

---

And from the looks of it, Americans are ready to try the third way.

Go Trump. Beat the establishment.

[jimbo807]

I would love to see Trump get up in the UN and tell the people that need to be told to f**k themselves to go f**k themselves.

Then close the place down.

[HLPhat]

>>And from the looks of it, Americans are ready to try the third way.

Uhuh.  As opposed to the Conservative American God-fearing way...

You may not like her antics, you may not like her music and if you hold to more of a “conservative” religious point of view you probably will not like her outlook on theology, but you better pay attention – because ordination or not, Lady Gaga is more than a pop priestess, she is the high priestess of a new kind of religion.

How's that "Populist Nationalist" Created Thing work out per Romans 1:25+ again?

[central_va]

That is what Andrew Jackson would have told them. We need LESS civility and not more.

[jimbo807]

1. I like Lady Gaga.
2. You need more graphics.

Keep fleshing this out, though. You’re onto something big.

[jimbo807]

Exactly. Since when did America become so damn civilized anyway? I thought we were a nation of don’t give a damn and don’t tread on me rebels. Now, all of the sudden, we’re supposed to toe some arbitrary religious code of conduct?

F**k that, prohibition should have proven the wisdom of letting the bible thumpers run the show.

[HLPhat]

>>1. I like Lady Gaga.

"When an interviewer recently called Lady Gaga the "Billy Graham of pop," she claimed,

"I'm teaching people to worship themselves."

http://www.christianitytoday.com/women/2011/may/lady-gaga-wheres-outrage.html

How's that self-worshiping "do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law" thing workin' for American "culture" these days?

[jimbo807]

Xanax. Your friend.

[FreeAtlanta]

I hate it. This is the worse ever, and I have been freeping a long time.

Maybe, there are not enough warnings and bannings going on in the moderator ranks.

[central_va]

16th,17th and 19th amendments are the socialism amendments.

[HLPhat]

>>Xanax. Your friend.

Xanax. Your “conservatism”.

[M. Thatcher]

Rush "stack" is nothing but him printing off stuff form FR

What a crock.

[jimbo807]

We should let Trump propose a few amendments. That would be hilarious.

[HLPhat]

Now, all of the sudden, we’re supposed to toe some arbitrary religious code of conduct?

F**k that, prohibition should have proven the wisdom of letting the bible thumpers run the show.

 

"F**k" the God who gave us life and liberty you say?

 

Conservatism

Good luck with that.

How'd that work out in the National Populist context or Romans chapter 1?

[jimbo807]

You’re like a bad dream, but I like your sticktoitiveness.

[HLPhat]

More like a fungus. I’ll grow on you eventually.

[Optimist]

FR is a good source for obscure articles and certainly many of us often mirror Rush's POV, so why wouldn't he mirror ours.
However, he also uses Drudge as a source (often without credit) and, until he retired, I swore Neal Boortz was Rush's go-to source because he almost seemed to follow Nealz Nuze verbatim.
Great minds think alike.

[CASchack]

The haters eventually turned everyone into haters. Its as simple as that

I couldn't agree more.