giggle
Posted on 04/01/2005 2:39:59 PM PST by hchutch
Six months ago, Free Republic was riding high, and I was proud to be a part of it. It was coming off having blown the cover off of Dan Rather’s use of forged memos against the President. The President was well on his way to winning re-election. It was a great time to be a Freeper.
However, things have changed. It started with the justifiable removal of ALIPAC. I supported that move by Jim Robinson, but the ugliness directed towards Alberto Gonzales. He was accused of everything under the sun, and Senator Mel Martinez was viciously attacked for speaking Spanish on the Senate floor. The tone and outright viciousness (terms like FROBL and traitor were fired off at anyone who did not toe the line established by Michelle Malkin and Tom Tancredo) on immigration threads had concerned me, but I had concluded it was an isolated incident. After ALIPAC was removed from FR, I had hoped the tone there would improve. But it only got worse. I was point-blank called a traitor because my views on immigration differ from those of Michelle Malkin’s groupies. On immigration threads, questioning the questionable is not allowed. One must accept the unacceptable and allow folks to defend the indefensible. Never mind that VDARE, American Renaissance, and other sites are racist or have no problem hanging out with those that are racists (I’m just going to call a spade a spade here).
There were folks who had the long knives out for Senator Rick Santorum, one of the strongest pro-life members of the United States Senate. Why? Because he endorsed Arlen Specter over Pat Toomey. It was stunning to see these long knives out for a conservative. And all it would accomplish would be his replacement by a Democrat. How in the world replacing Rick Santorum with a Democrat would aid conservatism is beyond me, but it was demanded because Santorum endorsed Specter. The long knives were out, and I suppose it was a sign of what was to come.
The whole Terri Schiavo case has changed everything for me. A mob mentality took over the first few days after the order to pull the tube was given. Anyone who did not toe the line was attacked. I saw a dedicated active-duty member of our armed forces called a “Maine liberal” for simply asking why troops in harm’s way did not get the same sort of “all-nighter” attention that Terri Schiavo got. It was a reasonable question – we have 40-year-old P-3s still out there. We have a war on terrorism still going on, in case folks have not noticed. We have to get Social Security fixed. I say this as a person who believes that at best, Michael Schiavo’s relationship with a woman (and having two kids with her) meant he had a conflict of interest – and that he had decided that Terri was inconvenient. I cannot take his word alone that Terri would have wanted this. I also believe that George Felos is a supporter of euthanasia, and that he is using this case for his own ends. Those folks give me the creeps, and I think that Jim Robinson was on the right side of this issue. However, I also got a very bad feeling when the Schindlers embraced the likes of Randall Terry and Bo Gritz. I had to wonder what has happened to the conservative movement when the threads were allowed to spiral so out of control. The concept of euthanasia is repulsive and disgusting, but it does not excuse allowing the threads to spin out of control.
I have seen the President of the United States, George W. Bush, and the Governor of Florida, John Ellis Bush, take huge political risks in an effort to save Terri’s life. I believe they were doing their best to do the right thing, and that the original law passed in 2003 was a reasonable one that was wrongly stuck down by Judge Greer and the Florida Supreme Court. I think that the Republican Party has taken a huge risk to give Terri a chance at life, and I am disgusted with those who seek a pretext that will justify leaving the GOP in the lurch. I’m sick of the way the Terri threads spun out of control, and the vicious attacks launched at reasonable people who came to a different conclusions about the situation or who pointed out facts that certain people found inconvenient. This is not what I signed on here for.
I believe in a strong national defense, cutting taxes, and in general trying to keep government involvement as minimal as possible (there are times when the best one can do is to limit government involvement in a situation). I am pro-life (with exceptions for rape, incest, and to protect the life of the mother) and pro-Second Amendment. However, I do NOT want the federal government to be involved in any culture war. “Culture” was never mentioned in the constitution, thus I believe it is left to the States or TO THE PEOPLE (see the Tenth Amendment). I do NOT think immigration is a problem, but I believe some mistakes were made along the way (like eliminating the bracero program). I also think that the President of the United States has proposed a sensible plan that will go a long way towards solving the problems on our border with Mexico and do much to alleviate the problems surrounding illegal immigration. Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that it is time for me and Free Republic to part company, because Free Republic has left this limited-government neoconservative. In the process of Free Republic leaving me, I now find that I fear the social conservatives as much as I fear the loony left. As a result of coming to this conclusion, I ask that my account be deleted and all posts I have made, save for this opus and the ping to my friends be removed.
I do this with regret, since I will miss some of those who I have met here, but I feel no other choice. So long.
If you're uncomfortable being around social conservatives, perhaps it is best that you find a Democratic or social libertarian forum more to your liking. There is certainly no shortage of either on the Internet.
If it's not already up, I bet this opus will be featured quite nicely on DU for days to come.
giggle
I dont see what the problem is if people dont agree with you....some people get emotional on this site...I see it on BOTH sides of issues...its just human nature sometimes.
Terry represents a basic human response...religion and death...you dont get any more basic...and emotional than that.
I dont see what the problem is with putting up a vanity post either...as long as its not done regularly.
Maybe people need to chill out and start talking and listening more. Frankly I disagree with some of your positions...but you ought to stay and present logical arguments to defend those positions.
Hell...the only thing thast annoys me on this site is when somebody takes the times to present a reasoned...albeit spirited discussion point...and somebody else trashes it without really reading or responding to the points raised.
I guess thats cause some on this site have an agenda....but hell thats life.
Thank you!
God would probably be flamed within minutes.
Hey I lurked for almost a week. How hard can seven years of lurking really be?
You sense a familiarity in this person?
Hutch:
Do you know what I think?
I am a PA resident that supports Rick Santorum, both here on FR and financially. The spoil-sports that are eager for his defeat are nothing more than childish, movement-freaks, that have no concept of modern politics.
The Schiavo case is another matter. I think you will eventually realize that what President Bush and Congress tried to address was a judiciary branch that is out of control. Remember, we have 3 equal branches and each can check the other. Unfortunately, this was the first attempt to check the judicial branch and the judiciary branch thumbed its nose at the United States.
We need conservatives with various ideas. We are not homogeneous. That is impossible because we all come from different backgrounds. Please stay.
I must say, I look forward to reading your posts, Do not dub me, etc... :) Yes, as arasina said, you have an amazing creative mind.
That's not true. I would never flame God.
(But I'd dog Him mercilessly about the platypus. I mean really, what the hell is that thing all about, anyway? He must have outsourced the designing job or something.)
Sorry if I have to be mean. If you fear social conseratives as much as the loony left, you are a genuine fool. For the last three or four decades, I challenge you to tell us what the social conservatives have done to threaten you. We know what the leftists have done.
Therea rea ALOT of differences in this forum....on all sides of issues. But you know what? We're all on the same side. When you 'get' that...you'll be back.
Why is everyone SOOOO sensitive!? After all, isn't it just a bunch of ions on a computer screen? GEESH!!!
It'll work, but make sure that the fish have someplace to hide. An overhanging platform, maybe a little cave or something. Anyplace that they can run to if they see a bird in the air or a racoon on the bank.
The problem is I dont like YOUR seniority attitude.
I dont have a seniority attitude myself..I frankly dont think it matters when you sigend up.
Oh, and why is this in News/Activism? I don't think it is on the list of my top 5000 stories of the day.
Everyone in my family, who legally emigrated bought into not only the American economy, but also the ideal of what America is all about. I never carried around my Italian flag (artistic embarrassment that it is) as if it were part of my identity, the only flag I ever caressed is Old Glory! And yet I am as Italian as much as I am American.
I suppose God would have the ultimate asbestos flame-proof suit. :)
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