Is the Online Community Conservative?

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rhubarb

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I understand that most Americans are connected to teh internets, and presumably that would make those online about evenly split between Conservative and Liberal. I ask, though, in reference to the Zumbo fiasco. He came out online on the side of gun grabbers and the response was swift and painful. Has a similar thing happened in the liberal camp? Have liberal forumites and bloggers united effectively for a liberal cause with similar results?

With the introduction of the new AWB, I would expect the liberals to be crowing and falling in line to support it. I don’t see it happening. When I google H.R. 1022 or assault weapon ban, the only relevant results are either conservative bloggers or forums like THR that are sounding the warning. The Brady blog has written about it, but there is no mention of the new AWB on their home page. I have been watching http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/110_HR_1022.html that shows the status of 1022 and comments about it. 99% of the votes and 100% of the comments are against it. Where are the gun grabbers?

Are guns an issue in which liberals have only a passing interest? Are we EBR owners the only ones for whom this is a hot button topic?
 
This isn't a conservative site, but more of a libertarian-oriented one. Certainly there are conservatives here (like me, although I would classify myself about 60/40 conservative and libertarian), but they aren't too popular on a lot of issues.

Are guns an issue in which liberals have only a passing interest? Are we EBR owners the only ones for whom this is a hot button topic?
Leftists have an interest in gun control, but it is too sensitive a topic to go into detail publically right now. They would rather be sneaky about it, so that we can't find out in time to do anything about it.
 
As a generalization ...

TV, Newspapers, Hollywood are liberal.
Radio and the Inernet are conservative.

The number one rated morning talk show in Minnesota is conservative, but liberal Radio America is going bankrupt.

On the internet, the few anti-gun blogs only exist because they are funded by the Joyce Foundation; whereas there are multiple ten-thousands of pro-gun blogs and websites that are fueled by passion alone.

So, I think the idea is they have the old media and we have the new media. They have the old media because it is possible for rich liberals to "buy it" at a few key points and the culture trickles down from the top. It is much more difficult to "buy" radio and aboslutely impossible to "buy" the internet ... the 'net is still in the hands of the common people and it's a no-brainer that the common people are much more coservative than Hollywood or the Old Media Moguls.
 
Trust me, as a left leaning moderate, there are plenty of issues more important than guns. We're at war for one, and losing our civil liberties piecemeal for another. Not all liberals are anti-gunners. Saying so is just as unfair as saying that all conservatives are racist.
 
I'm a universal-healthcare, gay-marriage OK, pro-environment, bike-riding, semi-Jeffersonian liberal with a CCW and 2 EBR's who mostly votes Democrat if the NRA rating is good enough.

(ducks)

But I've found THR to be a pretty neutral site.
 
Not all liberals are anti-gunners. Saying so is just as unfair as saying that all conservatives are racist.

I'm a conservative/libertarian as are all my friends and acquaintances and I never hear any racist remarks or off-color jokes from them. To the contrary, it is the liberals that I come in contact with that are hateful, spiteful and racist. No wonder, because if you look back in history it was the Democrats who were behind the KKK, the first gun control laws (designed to deny guns to blacks), the Jim Crow laws, segregation and finally, the economic genocide of blacks through welfare. And let's not forget that the only current member of Congress to have been a KKK member is a Democrat. So if you want to find racists, you'll find way more in the liberal ranks than in the conservative ranks.
 
You have to keep in mind that the average joe, conservative or liberal, is not even aware of 1022. Like hundreds of other bills this session, it has been introduced with little fanfare and shuffled off to committee.

Despite what some folks here think, most of the country is focused on issues other than gun control. This is why you aren't hearing much about it. Iraq, Iran, immigration and so forth are bigger issues on most people's minds these days.

Now, if it comes out of committee and goes to a vote of the floor, you are going to see people come out of the woodwork supporting it.
But, until then, it's just one of the hundreds of bills floating in limbo. And this is why it is a good idea to try to get it killed in committee.
 
I'm a conservative/libertarian as are all my friends and acquaintances and I never hear any racist remarks or off-color jokes from them. To the contrary, it is the liberals that I come in contact with that are hateful, spiteful and racist. No wonder, because if you look back in history it was the Democrats who were behind the KKK, the first gun control laws (designed to deny guns to blacks), the Jim Crow laws, segregation and finally, the economic genocide of blacks through welfare. And let's not forget that the only current member of Congress to have been a KKK member is a Democrat. So if you want to find racists, you'll find way more in the liberal ranks than in the conservative ranks.


I highly doubt that.

I'm sorry to go off on a tangent, but a lot of racists self-identify as conservatives. This is derived from my experiences arguing with them on bulletin boards. Particularily with StormFronters.

P.S. What you're also describing is the Dixiecrats, who should be and have been kicked out of the Democratic party. Hell, you can vote out Byrd for me, just on the pork alone.

That's it for me on this subject. (Don't want to derail the thread.)
 
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I'm right there with jlbraun, although my bike is probably a bit noisier. ;-)
 
Hey! That activist racists may be conservative means nothing, proves nothing, okay? There's a reason God invented the word "some". Let's don't get to straying off into the world of null-thought.

And it doesn't help to go dragging ideas and notions from over a hundred years back to attempt to bolster arguments about ideas in today's society.

Think twice, post once.

My opinion is that the majority of those who post on gun boards tend toward conservative and libertarian in their political views. Not all, obviously, but most. Some are obviously very, very conservative and passionate as to their views about the constitution and gun-control laws.

I guess my take is that the regulars at this and other such sites all believe in the "individual" meaning of the Second Amendment. From what I've seen after eight years of moderating is that the main difference is the noise level about it. Some believe and are quiet; others could be styled "true believers" and are quite loud and emotional.

Art
 
I understand that most Americans are connected to teh internets, and presumably that would make those online about evenly split between Conservative and Liberal. I ask, though, in reference to the Zumbo fiasco. He came out online on the side of gun grabbers and the response was swift and painful. Has a similar thing happened in the liberal camp? Have liberal forumites and bloggers united effectively for a liberal cause with similar results?

Look at the Lieberman/Lamont Senate race. Liberal internet forums and bloggers spearheaded the Lamont campaign's primary victory over Lieberman. The whole Zumbo affair is strictly small fry compared to that success. Of course, liberal forums and bloggers were also partially responsible for Lamont campaign's flame out during the general elections, so it's not all roses for them either.

As for HR 1022, the pro-gun side is a large grassroots movement, which is why we're seeing lots of blog and forum traffic on it. The anti-gun side is a relatively small cabal with a whole lot of nominal supporters. They're biding their time because it's hard to build up much enthusiasm for among their supporters when the bill is nowhere near signing. Which is why they'll wait until it comes out to a general House vote before doing the whole "blood in the streets" shtick.
 
The vast majority of political blogs are liberal. In the mid 1990s left wing groups started using the internet to comminicate with each other, then it developed into blogs etc. Basically the liberals created internet bloging. Conservatives did not start using the new tech until 2000 they are slowly catching up but the majority of blogs are still left of center. THR moderators try to keep this site nutural but it is mostly far right with some moderates and liberals.
 
I'll kill it if a moderator asks me. I'm not advocating having a forum war, just to be clear. I don't even think I'd waste my time arguing with them on their site. It's just good to see things first hand instead of third hand.

And one should always follow the forum rules wherever you go.
 
I'm a conservative/libertarian as are all my friends and acquaintances and I never hear any racist remarks or off-color jokes from them. To the contrary, it is the liberals that I come in contact with that are hateful, spiteful and racist. No wonder, because if you look back in history it was the Democrats who were behind the KKK, the first gun control laws (designed to deny guns to blacks), the Jim Crow laws, segregation and finally, the economic genocide of blacks through welfare. And let's not forget that the only current member of Congress to have been a KKK member is a Democrat. So if you want to find racists, you'll find way more in the liberal ranks than in the conservative ranks.

I've noticed that white cons, particularly those in more rural or low minority density areas, like to tell us that liberals are more racist. It seems they think any reference to race is racist. They do this while refusing to look us in the eyes when they see us on the streets, talking to us with awkward stiltedness and hesitation, if at all. Trying so hard to pretend they don't know race exists that it becomes an obvious burden in communication, to the point where it's easier for them just to avoid us so as to avoid tripping in the cons perceived racial minefield altogether. Liberals mostly talk to us like normal people, jovial, recognizing racial differences as they come to prevent stilted conversation while trying to remain respectful of them. Obviously, the latter is a lot less off-putting. An experience nearly all minorities who've been in both rural con and urban lib environments have encountered. No wonder nearly all minorities go lib.
 
First

Liberals are Pro Gun.... Leftists are not...

Here I go again, beating that old drum. The Leftists have caused a deliberate confusion between the two for their own agenda. Its the same crap that they have pulled since the beginning. "Cop killer bullets", "Assault Weapons", turning the word Militia into something that now is equated to nut jobs. They use the media to change the definitions and connotations of words over time. Every time you call an AR an assault rifle or weapon or call a 15 round magazine that came form the factory a "high capacity" magazine they gain a little ground. Its the same thing as "Dombo" and his stunt.

Are guns an issue in which liberals have only a passing interest? Are we EBR owners the only ones for whom this is a hot button topic?

If you mean LEFTISTS, then no they are waiting for the right moment. They are waiting until they have the strength to pass a real POS that will screw us royally.
 
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