[re_nortex]

There can not be anything debated here because that would constitute one of the two parties being a "liberal". We can not debate liberals. That being said, there should be no debate what-so-ever on FreeRepublic.

That's reductio ad absurdum. There's plenty of interesting and lively debate here on FR. Take the Civil War threads for example. :-)

All kidding aside and speaking only for me, what I find appealing about FR is that we can engage in healthy discourse with like-minded people. We will have our differences on nuances but not on the fundamentals. It just plain fatigues me to debate my company colleagues located in an upper-midwest liberal state on political issues. They are simply intractable as all liberals tend to be.

After nearly a decade of treating this site as read-only to get a feel for the culture here, I only recently joined up to join the party that Jim Robinson is kind enough to provide for us. To think that this is merely an echo chamber is so far from what I've experienced as onyx may remember from a "hillbuzz" discussion from last winter.

By way of allegory, if we're invited to a restaurant specializing in steak, we can have passionate and diverging opinions about whether prime rib is better than sirloin. But it's outside the scope to complain that sushi isn't on the menu.

In short, I find Free Republic to be a stimulating, thought-provoking but pleasant environment because they are basic ground rules set forth by Jim on which we all can and should agree.

[ejonesie22]

Take the Civil War threads for example. :-)

You got that right.

Damn Yankee freepers...

Never right about nothin'

:-)

[trisham]

Excellent posts, both.

[onyx]

Thanks for the ping, re_nortex. You’re right. FR offers plenty of debate, but some issues are not open to debate. Life, for example.

It’s impossible to be a conservative and not be pro-life.

[Las Vegas Ron]

Damn fine post but your allegory made me hungry!

;)