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Pioneer Behind Grass-Roots Conservative Web Site Gets Ready to Do Battle Again (Free Republic)
AP via St. Louis Today ^ | Tuesday, November 18, 2008 | John Ellis

Posted on 11/19/2008 12:26:59 PM PST by kristinn

A Democrat is poised to take the reins of power in Washington, D.C., and Fresno resident Jim Robinson is feeling a sense of deja vu.

It was President Bill Clinton's 1992 election that sparked Robinson's political activism, driving him to create a Web site that made him a grass-roots leader among conservatives before Clinton's term was over.

This year, as Barack Obama prepares to sweep into office on another tide of Democratic votes, Robinson and denizens of that Web site, freerepublic.com, are preparing to do battle again.

"We'll double and redouble our efforts to fight for what is right," Robinson says. "We've got people just spitting nails."

Free Republic, founded by Robinson in September 1996, doesn't attract much attention from the national press and is not well-known among political experts. Many of its postings have a decidedly fringe feel.

But long before Red State, Daily Kos and Little Green Footballs arrived on the Internet political scene, Free Republic was building an audience -- and becoming a formidable political force among conservatives and libertarians that is admired even by some who disagree with its political philosophy.

In a study last month by the Internet ratings firm comScore, Free Republic ranked fifth among political blogs, just behind heavyweights The Huffington Post, Politico, Drudge Report and RealClearPolitics.

(Excerpt) Read more at stltoday.com ...


TOPICS: Breaking News; Free Republic; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 111th; bho2008; faq; fightingback; fr; freerepublic; frinthenews; internet; jim; jimrobinson; johnrobinson; lookmaimadenizen; netroots; newmedia; obamanation; patriotism; preparefortrolls; robinson
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To: RaceBannon
Huff is a heavyweight?????

Some sites like FR and Drudge are heavyweights because they've done something and been around for a while. Huff is heavyweight because it's got big financial backing.

81 posted on 11/19/2008 1:14:41 PM PST by antiRepublicrat
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To: elk
BTW, I am the only nail-spitter who worries if the FR server is ever down, thinking, "oh, no, they've finally gone and done it - free speech has been taken away..."

Not at all. Sometime next spring I won't be suprised if the Home Page is a yellow police line wrapper.

82 posted on 11/19/2008 1:15:47 PM PST by AU72
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To: kristinn; Jim Robinson

God Bless you Jim and God Bless Free Republic!!!


83 posted on 11/19/2008 1:16:43 PM PST by Lucky9teen (The press is still trying to shine the turd...but the stink is becoming too hard to ignore.)
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To: montag813
Is Fresno a Conservative area? What areas of CA would FReepers suggest to move to if one had to move to CA?

Anywhere other than the immediate metropolitan areas: San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles and Sacramento.

Those areas, plus creative gerrymandering, have pretty much hijacked the entire state, politically.

84 posted on 11/19/2008 1:17:13 PM PST by Publius6961 (Change is not a plan; Hope is not a strategy.)
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To: kristinn; Jim Robinson; Bob J; Philo1962; All; GodGunsGuts; dixiechick2000; sweetiepiezer; grb; ...

Yes, spread the word:

The way to fight Marxism and neo-Marxism is PUSH HARD NOW.

Whenever they attempt to build their Marxis programs and time-bombs, arouse everyone who can be aroused. Spread the evidence far and wide. Create massive public pressure. Make it the amnesty battle squared. Don’t be afraid of “McCarthyism.” Just give out more evidence and use the word: Marxist.

Another word to use now instead of “conservative” is “American.” Use the word. American, Americanism, Americanist.

Use the occasions to teach about America being necessarily founded on the rights to Life, Liberty and Property — including unadulterated business ownership without institutional theft by government.

Capitalism is just economic freedom. The three pillars are 1. Private Property, 2. The Profit Motive, and 3. Free and Defended Markets.

If the electors actually elect him, we are in the eye of the storm and the winds are strongest in ahead of us.


85 posted on 11/19/2008 1:17:45 PM PST by unspun (PRAY & WORK FOR FREEDOM - investigatingobama.blogspot.com)
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To: kristinn
And Free Republic played a key role in driving an anonymous chain e-mail that falsely claimed Obama had concealed ties to radical Islam, according to Danielle Allen, a professor of social science at the Princeton, N.J.-based Institute for Advanced Study who studied the rumor.

I thought it was shown to have come from one blogger, not a FR post itself. The blog may have been quoted on FR, but it was not hosted here to my knowledge.

And the left consistently used the straw man arguments like attending a "madrasa" and "was sworn in on a koran" to shoot down the legit ones (such as being enrolled as a muslim, attending koran class, and still being able to recite the islamic call to prayer in arabic).

86 posted on 11/19/2008 1:18:29 PM PST by weegee (Global Warming Change? Fight Global Socialist CHANGE.)
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To: kristinn; jimrob

Love you both! CONGRATS JIM!!!


87 posted on 11/19/2008 1:19:28 PM PST by Republic (Barack is anti-Jewish, has to be, or he would have left Wright's church years ago!)
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To: mmanager
Anthony Pratkanis, media whore and propagandist

Why would the MSM call a phycology professor to get information about a war?!!! This must be the LEFT WING MEDIA’s go-to-guy about everything.

******

“I view communications as even more important than the bombs and bullets,” Pratkanis told Newsweek magazine

Pratkanis feels he is helping “define” the story for reporters

Pratkanis, who discounts Bush administration reports of the war’s progress

Pratkanis, who makes his home telephone number available to reporters

******

As an expert on propaganda, psychology professor Anthony Pratkanis was braced for calls from reporters following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

“It finally slowed down today,” Pratkanis said a week after the U.S. military action began.

Among the media outlets that have contacted Pratkanis about war propaganda and psychological operations are Newsweek, the Washington Post, the Jim Lehrer Newshour, National Public Radio, the Los Angeles Times, San Jose Mercury News, Toronto Star, Sacramento Bee, Scripps Howard News Service, CBS News, KION/KCBS TV, Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, Kansas City Star, Hamilton Spectator in Ontario, Contra Costa Times, KCBA-TV, MSNBC News, and South China Morning Post, Hong Kong’s biggest English-language newspaper.

Pratkanis and other UCSC faculty are in demand as journalists seek insight into various aspects of the war.

88 posted on 11/19/2008 1:20:50 PM PST by kcvl
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To: kristinn; John Robinson; jimrob

We are going to have to fight even harder this time. The MSM is even more leftwing than during Clinton’s day. So left wing, they screwed Hillary out of the nomination so Commie Boy would win.


89 posted on 11/19/2008 1:20:51 PM PST by pissant (THE Conservative party: www.falconparty.com)
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To: antiRepublicrat; RaceBannon

And a whole lot of views it gets like triple the hits that FR and other sites get politically. It even gets more hits than Drudge.


90 posted on 11/19/2008 1:21:08 PM PST by Toki ("Palin Pingers" Freepmail Liberity Rocks or me to get on the list today!)
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To: kinsman redeemer

I was reading for upwards of a year before 9-11 but didn’t sign up to be able to post until after than event. Before that, I’d been reading WND.


91 posted on 11/19/2008 1:21:27 PM PST by weegee (Global Warming Change? Fight Global Socialist CHANGE.)
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To: kristinn; Jim Robinson

Congrats on the honor coming from this news report. This is so much needed after all the tech issues FR has been dealing with. :)


92 posted on 11/19/2008 1:22:25 PM PST by Biggirl (Apple Macs, The Best!=^..^==^..^==^..^==^..^==^..^=)
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To: Old Sarge
Standing by!

Photobucket

93 posted on 11/19/2008 1:22:35 PM PST by dynachrome (Obama yunikku khinaaziir)
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To: unspun; Jim Robinson

The one thing Kos has done that FR does not seem to do is encourage its readers to donate to sympathetic candidates and causes. Have you ever thought of moving in that direction?


94 posted on 11/19/2008 1:22:39 PM PST by Chet 99
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To: Old Sarge


"Fed up, angry Conservative reporting and ready for battle, sir!!"
95 posted on 11/19/2008 1:26:18 PM PST by reagan_fanatic (Obama, you are NOT my President!)
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To: kristinn
Fringe feel?


96 posted on 11/19/2008 1:26:18 PM PST by Revolting cat! (Everytime they open their mouth they shoot themselves in the foot.)
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To: Uncle Miltie; Eric; wastedyears

I stand corrected. Thanks


97 posted on 11/19/2008 1:26:40 PM PST by TribalPrincess2U
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To: kristinn
...It was President Bill Clinton's 1992 election that sparked Robinson's political activism...This year, as Barack Obama prepares to sweep into office on another tide of Democratic votes,...

Another tide of votes? Sorry but Klintoon wasn't "swept" into office on a "tide" of votes. He got less than 40% as I recall.

98 posted on 11/19/2008 1:27:04 PM PST by FReepaholic (Diversity = .45 .357 .223 .38 ...)
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To: kristinn

Just as Rush has afforded us thought provoking review, analysis and public input regarding news and issues critical to our republic via the airwaves, JRs dedication to task and sacrifice of time, money and talent has given America another critical venue of communication and sharing of ideas.

Thank you Jim. May we be blessed with your presence for many years to come. Good health to you.


99 posted on 11/19/2008 1:30:08 PM PST by benasawin
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To: mmanager

Taken from the article:
“University of California at Santa Cruz psychology professor Anthony Pratkanis sees similarities in Free Republic and Daily Kos, though they come from different ends of the political spectrum. “Both put out the spin that their supporters want to hear; both either exaggerate facts or just plain make them up,” he said.”

Ignorance is bliss...

Semper fi


100 posted on 11/19/2008 1:30:20 PM PST by MASS-2 FAC
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