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.
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.
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!
If he works hard,will he ever get "symphony"?
Those are good things.
There shall be no mercy.
101 things that the Mozilla browser can do that Internet Explorer cannot.
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.
No,no. His BAND got the runs. Daylight come and me gotta run home.
Didn't know it until Billy-boy so graciously pointed it out. :-)
Prior to that, I was unclear about my origins!
You are complaining about being bullied by a bunch of girls. HA!
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!
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.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.