A two hour Republican debate in Dearborn, MI finished just now. I have about an hour to kill so I'm going to go through the FreeRepublic comments and pull out some of the most characteristic.
The defining element of FreeRepublic right now is confusion. While they were united under Clinton, Bush's dismal reign has exposed the fact that the Republican party is just as diverse as the Democrats, and they have a wide variety of ideas as to what makes a conservative. So, while we may look at Obama, Edwards, and Dodd and see three great candidates who all have the strength and courage to do the job, they are looking at Romney, Thompson, Huckabee, Brownback, and Hunter and getting very angry with each other over which of these are True Conservatives, which are unelectable, and which are "RINOs".
The "base" doesn't know what to do with Ron Paul-- a few embrace him loudly, some shove supporters aside as trolls and try to get them banned, and others neither bash nor support. Phrases like "Paulbots" abound, but he's not the only candidate derided-- Duncan Hunter supporters are called "DuncanDonuts".
Most of them are anti-Giuliani, but not in the sense that most Kossacks are anti-Hillary because she's too powerful and too much of a lobbyist. Giuliani is simply the opposite of everything they stand for, and although what they stand for varies from gun-toting to banning abortion, they are fortunately unappeased by his citing 9/11 every ten seconds. Luckily, this means I can call him a fascist using my covert Freep account and not get called out. McCain is also widely disliked by Freep-- the site owner calls him a "traitor"-- but I find this label somewhat less entertaining.
But in the end, no matter which candidate is elected most of Freep will be unhappy. Is this really the "base"? Their participation on Freep indicates they are loyal to the GOP, but it seems that their desires are not being met in the current set of candidates. I will be unsurprised if Hillary opens the polls at 60% next August-- the dissatisfaction with the GOP has bled all the way down to the grassroots.
At least they'll always be able to laugh at Dan Rather together...
Wait, Nixon? Huh? Uh.... anyway!! On to the debate thread!
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Here goes the moonbat...Paul blaming and wanting wealth-redistribution.
99 posted on 10/09/2007 1:08:00 PM PDT by traditional1 ( Fred Thompson-The ONLY electable Republican Candidate)
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Has Huggabee ever heard of Stafford loans for college?
145 posted on 10/09/2007 1:14:34 PM PDT by Clint N. Suhks (BUILD THE WALL, ENFORCE THE LAW! ®™ ± ‰¢ ©)
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Hey, I know you hate Paul’s critiquie of the Federal Reserve and the Military-Indusrial complex but he didn’t call for income redisribution . You must really hate Paul, however, to resort to lies, especially since everyone hear actually saw what he said.
148 posted on 10/09/2007 1:15:09 PM PDT by Captain Kirk
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Duncan Who?
167 posted on 10/09/2007 1:16:26 PM PDT by traditional1 ( Fred Thompson-The ONLY electable Republican Candidate)
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Tancredo crazy as a loon 2.
202 posted on 10/09/2007 1:19:46 PM PDT by teddyballgame (red man in a blue state)
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To: AmericanMade1776
Romney can manage my American Country anytime.
377 posted on 10/09/2007 1:36:41 PM PDT by AmericanMade1776 ( my opinions do not represent the opinions of the management at Free Republic, they are mine alone.)
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To: Canticle_of_Deborah
I think you’re wrong. Hunter looks like a foolish protectionist.
378 posted on 10/09/2007 1:37:00 PM PDT by BubbaBasher (WWW.TWFRED08.COM)
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Duncan Hunter just blew the rest of them out of the water with his "No to Dubai" answer.
The man has the courage of his convictions.
409 posted on 10/09/2007 1:39:12 PM PDT by exit82 (Major General, Armchair Warriors USA)
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Fred looks and talks old.
...and Mitt looks as greasy and slick as a gylcerin suppository.
436 posted on 10/09/2007 1:40:55 PM PDT by A_Tradition_Continues (THE NEXT GENERATION CONSERVATIVE)
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Duncan is a freeper.
Fred’s Iraq answer is spot on.. can’t way to see how FraudPaul answers.
500 posted on 10/09/2007 1:46:18 PM PDT by mnehrling ("Ron Paul and his flaming antiwar spam monkeys can Kiss my Ass!!"- Jim Robinson, Sept, 30, 2007)
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Yes, it was a Ron Paul question. He is the only one with a yes answer.
You have to sort it out with experts in constitutional law. Different actions require different levels of approval.
671 posted on 10/09/2007 1:58:38 PM PDT by Canticle_of_Deborah (Catholic4Mitt)
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"He must be...all anybody can rip on are his looks. I look forward to seeing the rebroadcast."
I have to say I've been a bit disappointed by my brothers and sisters in FReeping...sounds more like people fighting over college football teams.
Just IMHO
666 posted on 10/09/2007 1:58:19 PM PDT by sweet_diane ("They hate us cause they ain't us")
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I just don’t get Thompson’s appearance and presentation, although I like most of his positions. If he would go into an "acting" mode and act a presidential candidate’s role, although that’s probably terrible to say, he might come off a lot better. And what’s with the total absence of cosmetics for his first real national exposure?
719 posted on 10/09/2007 2:01:30 PM PDT by steve86 (Acerbic by nature, not nurture)
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Everytime Paul comments on September 11th, he joins the Moonbats, the conspiracy-wackos and the friendly folks at BendOver.org.
710 posted on 10/09/2007 2:00:50 PM PDT by Darth Republican (Soon we must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy.)
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[Replying to the above comment:]
I am out of here. I joined and contributed to this forum for many years. But since my IQ is over 90 guess I just don’t fit in.
744 posted on 10/09/2007 2:03:08 PM PDT by eternity (I like IKE)
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Romney is slick like a used car salesman or a televangelist.
Huckabee is smarmy like Bubba. Most be something in the water in Hope, AR.
950 posted on 10/09/2007 2:24:16 PM PDT by AnnGora (I voted for Pedro, but my dreams did not come true.)
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I joined this site because the name Free Republic sounded right. Now during this debate someone like Ron Paul is scorned upon. Instead politicians who are globalist, lobbiests, and members of the CFR are cheered. Open your mind.
956 posted on 10/09/2007 2:25:07 PM PDT by eternity (I like IKE)
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Mitt, just stop it already, you’re embarrassing us...
982 posted on 10/09/2007 2:27:42 PM PDT by darkangel82 (All right! Let's go Tribe!!)
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This is actually a good debate. It is the first one I have bothered to watch. Most of the candidates are doing a pretty good job and the NBC-WSJ leftists are not really skewing the debate. I do not like or support McCain but he has even done well. I feel the same about Romney but he has done well.Giuliani is being very arrogant by always injecting Hillary into every answer, he cannot answer a question directly, he tries to be too clever by putting his spin on every answer. Thompson has not tried to win the debate or impress anybody and that naturalness has helped him.
989 posted on 10/09/2007 2:28:40 PM PDT by Biblebelter
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"I saw a demo party person in my community putting out Ron Paul yard signs. They are giving $$$ to Ron Paul... we all know it, money from the left to tilt the outcome of the election."
Ronald Reagan would disagree with you. His goal was to expand the Republican base by attracting Democrats. If you are happy to depend exclusively on the shrinking GOP base, however, then apparently you are also happy to pay the price of having President Hillary take office.
1,129 posted on 10/09/2007 2:41:25 PM PDT by Captain Kirk
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Funny, no one said "I’m going to be the Party’s nominee".
1,231 posted on 10/09/2007 2:50:56 PM PDT by Right_in_Virginia
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"It is time for the Ron Paul cowards to find their own website. I tire of these children. This site supports the war on terror....period."
That is not your place to say this. I am split between Hunter and Thompson, but I know that this site was built by libertarians as well as conservatives. I know this because, under my original nickname, I was one of the first chapter presidents for Michigan Freepers.
1,303 posted on 10/09/2007 2:56:34 PM PDT by BKerr (Wanted: A principled CONSERVATIVE to support that doesn't sound or act like Bush!)
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Message for President Mitt: Your lawyer called to tell you whether you can bomb Iran nuke plant or not.
When the blogs get hold of this soundbite, Mitt will be the one hit out of the park.
You're right. I can't think of anything that would make a citizen feel less confident in a prospective CIC than that ridiculous statement. Leaders lead, managers manage. Mitt is a manager. We need a leader for President who can make decisions without the help of a gaggle of lawyers.
Mitt, you blew it!
1,375 posted on 10/09/2007 3:04:52 PM PDT by Prokopton
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Many warming unexpectedly to Clinton
CONCORD, N.H. - Don Schwartz, who describes himself as "a super-Deaniac progressive type," decided to back Hillary Clinton - whose centrist views, he concedes, do not necessarily match his own - for a simple reason. He wanted, finally, to be with a winner.
1,432 posted on 10/09/2007 3:13:58 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach (No Burkas for my Grandaughters!)
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White nationalists? For Paul??
And are there even such a thing as "white nationalists"?
There are every other group, but whites have, in this poster’s opinion, been well and truly beaten into submission.
Really. White racism is dead. Like a doornail.
The white majority in America, is the only reason we’re so racially tolerant.
If/when a "minority" group gains a majority, all that tolerance and multiculturalism stuff comes to a screeching halt.
Seriously.
1,469 posted on 10/09/2007 3:23:55 PM PDT by Cringing Negativism Network
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I’m hoping that Thompson can be the authoritative voice of conservatism - and be a conservative Goliath to take down the other two. H
Romney is the best political tap dancer to appear on the public stage since the Rapist-in-Chief.Rudy is a spinmeister extraordinaire. I am have my doubts on Thompson's ideology, but what the MSM see as his weakness will be his strength when it comes to the voters who vote in real primaries. With Fred less is more. The fact that as Shakespeare said of Cassius, he has that lean and hungry look about him, so it is with Romney and Giuliani. The constant willingness to say or do anything to please is difficult to sustain in such a long electoral process. Thompson is an actor and he understands underplaying your role is often a more compelling approach than the overacting of Mitt and Rudy.
1,506 posted on 10/09/2007 3:37:50 PM PDT by Biblebelter