Point 1: SWJJ, would you deny that about 2 years ago, you busted out the victim card on behalf of Chrsitians? /j
>>I disagree. I know that all views may take an "intellectual beatdown" but it is the overall tone that rightwingers are simply "sheep" and that they are not freethinkers. Implications are rampant that they "get thier marching orders" or "are brainwashed" just in these two threads. And then when this is pointed out we get accussed of whining.
A couple of additional points:
1) Consider the source (e.g. those posters whom I will not name for fear of a +10). Many of them are individuals who have adopted partisan ideology and are therefore idealogues and/or partisans. When you look at more moderate posters (right leaning, middle or left leaning) you are dealing with individuals who have generally not adopted ideology and are instead looking at issues. If one is an idealogue or a partisan, one has already adopted someone else's set of standards and beliefs as their own. How you don't view this to be "sheepishness" is suspect if not downright absurd. True, leftists/liberals/Democrats who follow partisanship or ideology are the same as the rightists/conservatives/Republicans. But you won't see as many of them quite so closed minded. I'll point some examples here - Rubberneck (a card-carrying Democrat) and gavinj (probably near or at the Top [tm] of EE posters). Rubberneck is going to use Democratic talking points pretty frequently, but if you get him to address specific issues, he's not throwing the Al Frankin equivallent of O'Reilly, Rush, Sean Hannity or Michael Savage back at you. As SBTB already noted, often you've already heard Host X make that very point earlier in the day, and then Poster Rightwinger X throws it back without so much of a credit and therefore, apparently, adopting that viewpoint as his or her own.
Bottom line on this is that liberals/leftists/Democrats tend to show a greater separation between themselves and their party/ideology. Many of these people are Pro Death Penalty and may even be completely Pro 2nd Amendment. On the other hand, many on the right - and particularly here on EE - demonstrate over and over again that they are little more than rubber stamps for the talking points they get from their party, talk radio hosts and ideology. I would invite you to take a step back from yourself and look at it objectively. Only the most dishonest or agenda driven poster will not be able to find exactly what it is that I'm talking about.
The Truth [tm].
TPS