Let me start with a confession. Even though I'm an active Republican, I have a lot of opinions that are in remarkably good odor here. I have the Republican aversion to profligate deficit spending. I am a "well-armed dove" who opposed the imperial invasion of Iraq from the outset. I am infuriated by the incessant torrent of corruption and deception flowing from this Administration, and harbor the visceral Republican fear of and disdain for a President who has declared himself our de facto monarch.
Having exposed corrupt televangelists, I have earned the right to say and will say for the record that by and large, Evangelicals are galaxy-class nut cases. Any group of people that would give millions to a mendacious mail-order "minister" who exorcises "demons" of heartburn from suburban housewives in Deer Tick, Alberta (that expose appeared on Inside Edition -- complete with a bogus "exorcism" we staged) can't possibly have both oars in the water. Frankly, they make couch-jumping $cientologists like Tom Cruise look positively sane by comparison.
I'm more inclined to listen to Randi Rhodes than "OxyContin" Limbaugh. I watch Olbermann, Colbert, Jon Stewart, and Meet the Press. I tend to get my world news from New Zealand, as FAUX News is fairly unbalanced -- and I don't consider the latest detritus about Chandra, JonBenet, Natalee, Anna Nicole, or especially Paris Hilton worthy of the term "news."
That having been said, I believe I'm honor-bound to tender an apology. While what you said about dKos was not completely accurate, your criticisms were not totally without merit. It is not an electronic Democracy Wall, where anyone can say what they think without fear of censorship. Rather, it is a lot closer to being an on-line version of The Factor.
FAUX News scarcely bothers to hide the fact that it is the official mouthpiece for the neo-con wing of the Republican Party; dKos freely admits that its purpose is to elect Democrats. Still, I have to give dKos props for openly admitting what you and your colleagues are too disingenuous to state bluntly.
As is true on The Factor, when you say certain things, you will be shouted down by the community. Easily the most surprising of these is the claim that President Clinton committed perjury: despite the fact that a judge he appointed turned him in, and the state of Arkansas and the Supreme Court both saw fit to disbar him for his antics, to even mention this issue is pure anathema. They break out the garlic and cloves, and the troll squad jumps into action.
Hypocrisy is the currency of the realm in American political discourse and tragically, dKos is not immune. The Chinese had a wonderful proverb: "Do not complain about the snow on your neighbor's roof if your own doorstep is unclean." While Scooter Libby's perjury was intolerable (on this, I am in agreement) and warrants meaningful prison time (it does), whatever Bill Clinton did to get disbarred (perjury and obstruction of justice were the charges, iirc) is somehow de minimis? I can't even begin to fathom a salient distinction between the two. Again, it's just like The Factor ... albeit in reverse. Bill Ritter is treated differently than David Vitter.
While "Kossacks" (as they call themselves) might diss the Pope, they have a remarkably Catholic view of political sins. Whenever a Democratic public official commits federal felonies, they are dismissed as venial sins and where necessary, indulgences are granted. But whenever a Republican commits an analogous offense, it is invariably mortal in nature. As a Republican who is old enough to have lived through Watergate, I would be among the first to concede that the sins of this Administration and its allies in have been as grievous as they are numerous. Still, it beggars the imagination as to how this unfortunate fact could ever excuse serious Democratic crimes.
As discordant views and "Republican talking points" are routinely shouted down by the community through the (ab)use of "troll ratings," it is fair to conclude that wishes that Tony Snow die of cancer and that Dick Cheney be assassinated are representative of the community view. It's just like The Factor, where you cut off the microphones of spokesmen with opposing views. Some Kossacks really do want America destroyed -- endorsing the Mexica Movement and demanding open borders and/or citizenship for all illegals. I'll bet you five ameros your boss Rupert Murdoch just loves 'em....
But as to the central question you raise -- whether dKos is a "hate site" -- the short answer is no. There are a lot of people here who really do hate Republicans, and who have their reasons. But in that regard, it is indistinguishable from Townhall.com, FrontPageMag, or Bill Kristol's wretched Weekly Double-Standard. I comment over there on a regular basis (they won't let you blog), and find that unpopular views are met with the same heavy-handed intellectual Stalinism we have come to know and love from FAUX. You seem to think that everyone is entitled to your opinion....
But before I close, I implore you to step back and assay the damage you and your colleagues have inflicted on this country. We don't just respectfully disagree any more. We hate. I have been roundly berated, badgered, and belittled for the "R" behind my name, and it is no different for the Kossacks on RedState. And if you sit back with your loofah in the tub and reflect, I'm sure you will be able to admire your handiwork.
I suspect that my days are numbered here, as blogs aren't inclined to suffer opposing views, and the wrong kind of candor is disfavored. But I wanted to get this apology out (and convert it into a pdf file to send to you) before the inevitable happened.