The Right That Was

Remember FreeRe​pub​lic​.com? The right‐​wing web forum for Clinton‐​hatred, respectable and otherwise? I recently ran across an article, “The Secret FISA Court: Rubber Stamping Our Rights,” that somebody posted on FR back in 2000. (Hat tip: Glenn Greenwald.) The comments are precious:

This is beyond frightening. Thank you for this find.


This does not bode well for continued freedom. Franz Kafka would have judged this too wild to fictionalize. But for us — it’s real.

And my personal favorite:

Any chance of Bush rolling some of this back? It sounds amazing on its face.

Today, when NSA surveillance is in the news, as with the recent decision in ACLU v. NSA [.pdf], you’re far more likely to read this sort of thing over at FR.

Privacy is a false argument and has been for some time. Your insurance company and the credit bureaus have more on you than the feds do and you can do nothing about it. I would rather be secure knowing that the feds were looking over my shoulder and keeping me safe. I have nothing to hide, and in times of war, these steps are necessary.

There are a few exceptions per comment thread, a few throwbacks to the pre‐​9/​11 Right who think skepticism about power is justified even when the Red Team’s in charge. But they’re a distinct minority.


Was it September 11th that “changed everything,” or Republican takeover of the executive branch? Either way, for the Right, it’s a different world indeed.