Free Republic is the lowest bunch of scumsuckers in existance

[Brittain33]

DU, DailyKos, et al are in the same category as Free Republic.  In tight group-think forums as that, people feel more free to express their extreme views, even if it is something they wouldn't do in a typical social environment.

I think this thread is as senseless as the thread being cited.

DU, maybe. Daily Kos polices itself against extreme behavior and conspiracy theories.

[Brittain33]

Jerry Falwell is no Ted Kennedy.

[Brittain33]

Jerry Falwell is no Ted Kennedy.

He was a polarizing public figure who was loved by some and despised by others - just like Ted Kennedy. 

Cinyc, you're better than this. Falwell at his peak was never in the same league as Kennedy, Reagan, the Pope, or any number of people who were also polarizing but also widely supported public figures with a national or international stature, very long careers of public service, and with a number of positive accomplishments. We must be able to draw a distinction there if there is to be any middle ground. 

[Brittain33]

Because Kennedy was a senator for 40+ years who was a leader of the institution, ran for President, and led many legislative efforts that shaped our country and our economy. This is what I meant about being a public figure. You can describe Falwell however you like, but in no way did he have the accomplishments that Kennedy did. He has much more in common with someone like Al Sharpton than with a longtime political leader.

I have been giving thoughts to the Jesse Helms comparison, because if nothing else, he was a U.S. Senator with a big following and a national leader of a certain flavor of conservatism, much like John Stennis, who got an aircraft carrier named for him. I don't appear to have posted anything to the Helms is dead thread here, but here's what I posted at Daily Kos. If nothing else, this shows the difference between Jesse Helms and Ted Kennedy, and why the latter has gotten a modicum more respect on his death from his political opponents. I think you will see that, in life, Helms set a certain standard for respect to his political opponents while Kennedy held to a higher one.

http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2008/7/4/105059/5366/67#c67

[Brittain33]

Just because one doesn't like Helms' (or any other politican's or public figure's) political positions

For what it's worth, plenty of people with identical political positions or even more conservative ones don't engender the same response. Thad Cochran, for one. I don't think even you would argue that the librul media would rip Thad Cochran to shreds when he dies. Strom Thurmond's passing was also very different from Helms because, while he never repudiated his past in words, he did so in deeds by integrating his staff and treating people who disagreed with him with respect.

You can keep framing this how you like, but there is a reason that Helms distinguished himself from Thurmond, Cochran, and any number of other conservative southern senators, even if you choose not to acknowledge it.