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Free Republic losing its impact
Alamance Independent ^ | Unknown | Matt Maggio

Posted on 12/01/2002 1:23:55 PM PST by BraveMan

What a long way Free Republic has come! From its birth in 1996 as what began as just a place where hardcore conservatives to post the latest news and analyze it, Free Republic two years later had a significant role in the neutralization of the Clintons - as it became the organizing point for enormous protests ridiculing Bill Clinton over Monicagate everywhere he went in the U.S. early in Monicagate throughout 1998. Some top liberals even blame Freepers for Al Gore's defeat.

Very early in Monicagate, Freepers brought Free Republic out of just being a sort of giant cybercafe for dissidents to talk things over - and made it into a very-effective organizing point for giant protests against liberals and liberalism, like the one in Houston at a Clinton fundraiser that not only like most greeted Clinton with hundreds of dissidents ridiculing him for his adultery and perjury, but even found a fire engine to hang a giant sign on that read "Bill Clinton Is A Four-Alarm Fraud." Freepers in Florida hung a giant sign on a cabin cruiser to float in a strategic position just offshore a fundraiser of his there. And here in North Carolina, about 30 Freepers picketed an Al Gore fundraiser in Raleigh's Volvo district in May 1999 - some dressed as Buddhist monks. The Clintons/Gore Regime just couldn't escape the conservatives from hell.

Other liberals were no luckier. The "Rosiecott" that ended Corporate America's willingness to indulge leftist politics was in large part organized on Free Republic. Freeper-organized boycotts were to Rosie O'Donnell's career what a later gay boycott was to advice-talk radio host Dr. Laura's.

But - just six years after its founding, just four years after the height of its power - Free Republic today is largely a total waste of time. As a reader commented, it isn't accomplishing anything anymore - with the giant protests against liberals formerly organized on it by Freepers over; as he agreed last week, the sole positive things it now does are to provide rapid dissemination of news, even from small-town dailies, to dissidents everywhere - and to guide dissidents to the various dissident newspapers that really are hardcore.

Some social issues are almost unmentionable on Free Republic today. More than one Freeper has griped that posted articles on immigration often just disappear. Other Freepers have been just blacklisted from Free Republic - for offending the sensibilities of founder Jim Robinson or the small clique under him that largely actually runs Free Republic now.

Today, Free Republic is every bit as handicapped as founder Jim Robinson - but by another problem. To all too many Freepers now, anyone calling themselves a Republican is God's brother - and cannot be criticized, no matter how Clintonesque their views on many social issues may be. And to all too many Freepers now, Pres. Bush really is God - uncriticizable, no matter what.

To make Free Republic great again, a number of things have to happen. First, all involved - from ordinary Freepers to "JimBob" himself - have to accept that having an (R) next to one's name doesn't make a politician beyond criticism. Second, all involved must also accept that Pres. Bush isn't God. And then, all Freepers must commit to doing again what made Free Republic great - hounding any politician at odds with Red Nation's masses on social issues; if that means picketing Pres. Bush everywhere he goes if he hints at amnesty for illegal aliens or tacit support of racial quotas, that's what it takes.

Free Republic didn't become great by being a Chinese-style "Democracy Wall" for dissidents to post articles from "mainstream" newspapers to and then discuss them. It can only became great again the same way it originally got great.


TOPICS: Editorial; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: antifreeper; opuslist; tos
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To: MSCASEY
Ditto! Hispanic heritage, and don't like this crap either! Fed up with the state becoming 3rd world, losing our hospitals, and bankrupting our schools!!!
Bash on!
Con toda sinceridad,
Teresa
341 posted on 12/01/2002 4:42:11 PM PST by Terridan
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To: BraveMan
Perhaps once a month or once a year, FR could have a "welcome all idiot ideas day" Post anything you like including racist posts and personal attacks. Everything that day gets deleted after 24 hrs. though. Might be worth a try just to see what happens.
342 posted on 12/01/2002 4:43:00 PM PST by staytrue
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To: Howlin
He took my comment to mean that I support the bigots at Ala-whatever. Guess he missed my use of "idiots" in the post. reading comprehension is lost on some.
343 posted on 12/01/2002 4:43:19 PM PST by Bella_Bru
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To: William McKinley; glc1173@aol.com
GREAT FIND Mr. McKinley!!!! SOOOOOOOOO Mr. Maggio....got anything to say????
344 posted on 12/01/2002 4:44:36 PM PST by Neets
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To: Howlin
BTW, ace job on the McKinney thing......I hope she saw you!

Thank-you for the kind words all around!

Not only she (as she was rushing into a secret side entrance), but Daddy Billy as well. In fact, we all tried to engage him in a political debate, but he and his daughter's handlers resorted to calling us "rich, white, Nazi bigots" LOL! It hurt pretty badly at the time, but now that they're both history, I can laugh about it.

345 posted on 12/01/2002 4:45:19 PM PST by dansangel
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To: Sparta
I would've lost every debate with liberals I know without the information on FR.

LOL.......oh, really LOL.

Some day I'll tell you all about how I made a complete fool out of myself the weekend before the 2000 election at a HUGE wedding in Chapel Hill; suffice it to say I gave a virtual symposium on the Electoral College and how Bush was going to pull it off -- all during the wedding reception! --using ALL information I stole from Dales and other people here at FR!

346 posted on 12/01/2002 4:45:36 PM PST by Howlin
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To: FreeSpeechZone
you guys could not challenge him so he got band

If he works hard,will he ever get "symphony"?

347 posted on 12/01/2002 4:45:57 PM PST by sneakypete
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To: Bella_Bru
Sho ya right. Thankfully, this mentality has lost all steam. People are going to associate and love whom they will no matter what, and race is not nearly as strong an ingredient as it once was.

Those are good things.

There shall be no mercy.
101 things that the Mozilla browser can do that Internet Explorer cannot.

348 posted on 12/01/2002 4:46:23 PM PST by rdb3
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To: dansangel
You're a Nazi? Wow, so am I! You should have spoken up before now........LOL.
349 posted on 12/01/2002 4:46:41 PM PST by Howlin
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To: BraveMan
Man...

Ever notice most babies are rather ugly and do bad things? Then they GROW UP into handsome young gentlemen and ladies.

FR is exactly that. We should worry when FR starts into old age. Until then, this is a waste of time by naysayers.

350 posted on 12/01/2002 4:47:19 PM PST by cynicom
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To: Ms. AntiFeminazi
He got band on the run.

No,no. His BAND got the runs. Daylight come and me gotta run home.

351 posted on 12/01/2002 4:48:46 PM PST by sneakypete
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To: dansangel
Thanks from New York. I was holding a special grudge against Cynthia McKinney after that business with the Saudi Prince's money---dissing our Rudy! the nerve!---and y'all got rid of her for me.
352 posted on 12/01/2002 4:49:03 PM PST by hellinahandcart
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To: Howlin
You're a Nazi? Wow, so am I! You should have spoken up before now........LOL.

Didn't know it until Billy-boy so graciously pointed it out. :-)

Prior to that, I was unclear about my origins!

353 posted on 12/01/2002 4:49:45 PM PST by dansangel
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To: BraveMan
Here's the rub. Republicans are in control. Why should anyone bitch about that? And who helped that happen?
Freepers did.

Now this writer expects freepers to expose the weaknesses of republicans? I don't think so. Though they should.

We should all be proponents of freedom. And when freedom is sacrificed for so called "security" we should all object. So why is FR flinching?

I don't know.



354 posted on 12/01/2002 4:50:08 PM PST by takenoprisoner
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To: Diogenesis
That is a great gif. I hope you don't mind if I steal borrow it.
355 posted on 12/01/2002 4:50:21 PM PST by sweetliberty
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To: Badray
You do realize that most of us accused of being Bush-bots are women, don't you?

You are complaining about being bullied by a bunch of girls. HA!

356 posted on 12/01/2002 4:50:28 PM PST by Miss Marple
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To: sneakypete
Orchestra. A symphony is a piece of music.




Sorry - I'm anal rententive, and I have a Napoleon complex.
357 posted on 12/01/2002 4:51:07 PM PST by Senator Pardek
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To: RedBloodedAmerican
Try and Audi or Jetta or Golf. They're nice little cars.

Well Said My Friend........I have a 99 (New Body Style) Jetta. Best Damm Car I have ever had. It's all Audi Technology for about 7 to 10 grand less. If I save a little Cash I will get the New Audi A-4. I have dreams about this car.......LOL!!!!
358 posted on 12/01/2002 4:51:15 PM PST by cmsgop
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To: rdb3
Those are good things.

Yes, they are. My dad once told me he didn't care what the color was of any guy I brought into his house. He had just better have a good job, a future, some sort of aspiration, and had better like guns!

359 posted on 12/01/2002 4:51:18 PM PST by Bella_Bru
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To: hellinahandcart
Thanks from New York.

You are especially welcome. In light of what happened 9-11 in New York City, what she did was a real affront to New Yorkers in particular.

It was a pleasure helping to put someone who thought she was "untouchable" in her place.

360 posted on 12/01/2002 4:52:17 PM PST by dansangel
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