It seems to me that there is an issue that might take precedence over copyright, namely historical preservation. It's like when you buy a building and then the historical preservation society decides that the building has some historical significance. So, even though you bought the house, and you have rights as a property owner, the historical society prevents you from tearing the building down or even making any changes they don't approve of.
This is analogous to what Free Republic is doing--preserving history. So, even though the publications and the authors of the articles have certain rights, those rights may be superceded by the value of the articles as historical documents.
What do you think?
Documenting and archiving is one of our arguments.