An Opportunity At FreeRepublic

I got curious, given their collective angst over the immigration issue, if I could interject a voice of reason. So I did what I never did before. I ventured over there. Admittedly I haven't been entirely truthful because if I was, I would be banned. But I have managed some 50 posts over the past few weeks and I'm still going.

I am surprised. There are some true moderates there and they do seem to be holding their own. Moreover there is a general recognition that they are in trouble, and even better, they are at least a little displeased with Bush.

I'm not sure what to make of this, exactly, but it sure would be nice to win a few friends, influence a few people, and throw the bums out in November. They still hate Democrats and I can't say, myself, that they're entirely wrong about that.

And they're way out of the mainstream of even most rightwingers (I'm talking people here, not politicians).

Could be that it's hard to maintain discourse at the level of a shriek forever, and their moderators (an interesting term, considering it's Freepers) are getting tired and lazy about deleting posts and banning people. My entire domain has been banned for years and I can't get on at all. Not that I've tried that much.

does it matter? I seem to be driving some wedges.

Until recently I never went there at all so I can't comment on what once was.

Continue to voice your thoughts & opinions there intelligently and w/o stridency. You'll stand-out among the usual crowd there, but who knows, perhaps it'll cause a few to think.

Despite the gulf that separates typical opinions among Freepers and DUers, I think any reasonable, even if clandestine, dialog between the two sides, if done right has potential. One drawback I've sometimes felt about the dialog on many political forums that have clear political leanings is a general quality of "preaching to the choir".

That's all I'm saying.

"They still hate Democrats and I can't say, myself, that they're entirely wrong about that."

Say what? Would you care to explain your hatred of Democrats?

I'm simply not enamored with any politician and prefer to maintain a healthy dose of cynicism.

On immigration, at least, they haven't quite decided whether to shoot 'em all and let God sort 'em out, or if they like their lawns kept tidy by people they don't have to pay very much. When they settle on their position, though, you can bet that voices of reason will get their zotting.

The Admin over there does not like the Minutemen. I'll say that. The WILL tolerate some dissent on quite a few issues. But DO NOT think you can bash the troops. They have zero tolerance for that.

There are a lot of guys disgruntled with Bush on several issues and they are allowed their say.

Like I said, there is some dissent over there, but it is a tiny, tiny minority.