All I will add to the discussion is that clearly posts are being made to way too many unrelated topics, so whatever the right balance is, we aren't there. It would be a shame to have people lose posting privileges over something like this, but that is preferrable to us losing Freepers due to others making FR unusable for them.
I think it's a shame to threaten loss of posting privileges over something like this. Sort of validates many of the things people have been saying about moderators.
If people go out of their way to make Free Republic less enjoyable or useful for other Freepers, and do not respond to repeated requests to stop, they will lose their privileges.