# Goodbye, Straight Dope **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 20, 2018, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-straight-dope/819899 "2018-08-20T02:31:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-straight-dope/819899/301 "2019-02-27T18:44:26Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > This. Over the course of my adult life, the Republicans have drifted steadily from Conservatives to Cartoon Villains. There are still a few Republicans I can respect, but they’re a dying breed. Twenty years ago, most Republican politicians at least knew that Fox News, and Rush Limbaugh and the rest of the right-wing talk radio jocks, were feeding the rubes a bunch of BS to enable the GOP to keep deregulating businesses and passing tax cuts for the rich. Nowadays, most Republicans in Congress are people who grew up politically listening to Rush Limbaugh. (And the younger ones grew up on Fox News as well.) Rather than doling out the Kool-Aid, the party is mostly in the control of the people who drank it. (Mitch McConnell is an exception here. But not in a good way.) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-straight-dope/819899/302 "2019-02-27T19:05:16Z")
This board seems very concerned with labels - I think that is what gives it a different feel than other platforms. The conversations turn in that direction; which is interesting to for some people (me included) but I think that can be a big turn off for many. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-straight-dope/819899/303 "2019-02-27T19:09:20Z")
> [@betterlifethroughchemistry](#): > > …the Chicago Tribune means it has always leaned left… What, what? [Mediabias Fact Check: Leans Right](https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/chicago-tribune/) [Boston University Newspaper Analysis: Leans Conservative](https://library.bu.edu/news/bias) [Brittanica: Started liberal but became increasingly conservative by the end of the 19th century.](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Chicago-Tribune) [Tribune’s 2007 Mission Statement: The Chicago Tribune believes in the traditional principles of limited government; maximum individual responsibility; minimum restriction of personal liberty, opportunity and enterprise. It believes in free markets, free will and freedom of expression. These principles, while traditionally conservative, are guidelines and not reflexive dogmas.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Tribune#Editorial_policy) [Obama was the first Democratic Presidential Candidate the paper EVER endorsed.](https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2008-10-19-chi-tribune-2008-presidential-endorsement-story.html) [The Tribune was the largest media opponent of FDR, even during WWII.](https://text-message.blogs.archives.gov/2018/02/01/fake-news-1942-president-roosevelt-and-the-chicago-tribune/) In short, it’s silly to ever think of the Tribune as ‘liberal’. At least not since I got to where it is. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-straight-dope/819899/304 "2019-02-27T19:12:20Z")
> [@Mr.Nylock](#): > > This board seems very concerned with labels - I think that is what gives it a different feel than other platforms. The conversations turn in that direction; which is interesting to for some people (me included) but I think that can be a big turn off for many. I’d love to see one of those ‘other platforms.’ Most places I visit on the Web have sorted themselves by their shade of politics. No need for labels if almost everyone there is at almost exactly the same point on the political and ideological spectrum as you are. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-straight-dope/819899/305 "2019-02-27T19:23:02Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > I’d love to see one of those ‘other platforms.’ > > Most places I visit on the Web have sorted themselves by their shade of politics. No need for labels if almost everyone there is at almost exactly the same point on the political and ideological spectrum as you are. I don’t know if it’s allowed, but I could certainly show you what goes on in those other platforms, or tell you which specific ones to look at in order to see for yourself what the difference is or is not. The moderation is much different and there are more specific posting requirements. I believe there are rules here about talking about other message boards, but my post is merely a response to the other posts speculating about the SDMB membership decline especially among younger people. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-straight-dope/819899/306 "2019-02-27T19:35:08Z")
> [@Mr.Nylock](#): > > I don’t know if it’s allowed, but I could certainly show you what goes on in those other platforms, or tell you which specific ones to look at in order to see for yourself what the difference is or is not. The moderation is much different and there are more specific posting requirements. I believe there are rules here about talking about other message boards, but my post is merely a response to the other posts speculating about the SDMB membership decline especially among younger people. Feel free to PM me. FWIW, I don’t see that labels are a big deal here. We argue over too many particulars. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-straight-dope/819899/307 "2019-02-27T19:38:16Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > I’m curious as to why this was bumped…😕 > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I’m guessing that a spambot bumped it, and was banned pretty toot dang sweet, but not before **StusBlues** got to it. > [@Colibri](#): > > No, there was no spam post. Noted. WTF, **StusBlues**? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-straight-dope/819899/308 "2019-02-27T19:42:01Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > We argue over too many particulars. You’re asking for it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-straight-dope/819899/309 "2019-02-27T23:14:54Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Noted. > > WTF, **StusBlues**? Maybe he was just impressed by a flouncer who actually abided by his flounce? ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2019, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-straight-dope/819899/310 "2019-02-28T17:13:23Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Maybe he was just impressed by a flouncer who actually abided by his flounce? Yes, exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2019, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-straight-dope/819899/311 "2019-02-28T18:56:08Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > What, what? > > [Mediabias Fact Check: Leans Right](https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/chicago-tribune/) > [Boston University Newspaper Analysis: Leans Conservative](https://library.bu.edu/news/bias) > [Brittanica: Started liberal but became increasingly conservative by the end of the 19th century.](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Chicago-Tribune) > [Tribune’s 2007 Mission Statement: The Chicago Tribune believes in the traditional principles of limited government; maximum individual responsibility; minimum restriction of personal liberty, opportunity and enterprise. It believes in free markets, free will and freedom of expression. These principles, while traditionally conservative, are guidelines and not reflexive dogmas.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Tribune#Editorial_policy) > [Obama was the first Democratic Presidential Candidate the paper EVER endorsed.](https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2008-10-19-chi-tribune-2008-presidential-endorsement-story.html) > [The Tribune was the largest media opponent of FDR, even during WWII.](https://text-message.blogs.archives.gov/2018/02/01/fake-news-1942-president-roosevelt-and-the-chicago-tribune/) > > In short, it’s silly to ever think of the Tribune as ‘liberal’. At least not since I got to where it is. My parents refused to subscribe to the _Tribune_ when I was growing up in the sixties and seventies. Entirely too conservative, they said. I tried to talk them out of it since _Peanuts_ appeared in the _Trib_. No luck. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-straight-dope/819899/312 "2019-03-01T00:32:57Z")
I’m glad someone else chimed in about this. You have to be super right wing and see every part of the “lamestream media” as on the left to see the Tribune as liberal! However, there’s no doubt that this board has shifted dramatically to the left over the years. Is this really in dispute? And it’s not in the “hey, we’re a bunch of mainstream Democrats”, which would be cool. It has become dominated by aggressively PC, identity-politics oriented left wingers, who are a real buzzkill. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-straight-dope/819899/313 "2019-03-01T00:38:47Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > My parents refused to subscribe to the _Tribune_ when I was growing up in the sixties and seventies. Entirely too conservative, they said. I tried to talk them out of it since _Peanuts_ appeared in the _Trib_. No luck. Couldn’t you just read it on gocomics dot com? 😕 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-straight-dope/819899/314 "2019-03-01T00:47:14Z")
> [@betterlifethroughchemistry](#): > > …being a product of the Chicago Tribune means it has always leaned left… > [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > What, what? > > [Mediabias Fact Check: Leans Right](https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/chicago-tribune/) > [Boston University Newspaper Analysis: Leans Conservative](https://library.bu.edu/news/bias) > [Brittanica: Started liberal but became increasingly conservative by the end of the 19th century.](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Chicago-Tribune) > [Tribune’s 2007 Mission Statement: The Chicago Tribune believes in the traditional principles of limited government; maximum individual responsibility; minimum restriction of personal liberty, opportunity and enterprise. It believes in free markets, free will and freedom of expression. These principles, while traditionally conservative, are guidelines and not reflexive dogmas.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Tribune#Editorial_policy) > [Obama was the first Democratic Presidential Candidate the paper EVER endorsed.](https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2008-10-19-chi-tribune-2008-presidential-endorsement-story.html) > [The Tribune was the largest media opponent of FDR, even during WWII.](https://text-message.blogs.archives.gov/2018/02/01/fake-news-1942-president-roosevelt-and-the-chicago-tribune/) > > In short, it’s silly to ever think of the Tribune as ‘liberal’. At least not since I got to where it is. It’s also not that smart to think of the Dope as affiliated with it. But attention to detail has never been the area where I outshine all of my contemporaries, so if someone wants to show me something I missed… ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-straight-dope/819899/315 "2019-03-01T00:48:32Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Maybe he was just impressed by a flouncer who actually abided by his flounce? > [@StusBlues](#): > > Yes, exactly. Slow news day? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-straight-dope/819899/316 "2019-03-01T03:03:44Z")
Missed this first time around. Get litigious with me, then… > [@JRDelirious](#): > > Well for one I appreciated the OP’s participation. Really? Not familiar with dearly departed OP’s posting history, but judging from his flouncing comments about oh-noes!-antifas/“You didn’t build that” horse hockey, I’m a little surprised to hear you say that. > [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > For what it’s worth, I don’t believe left-wing people are better or more open-minded or inclusive than right-wing people, though they certainly believe they are. Yeah, not worth a whole shitload, that. To remind: > [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > At least liberals (meaning anybody who isn’t right of center) are more partial to actual facts. Liberals also understand the changing world dynamic and see foreign parties as potential investors and new clients, not dangerous mud people who need to be kept away with a nationalist wall. They see a collapsing environment and envision ways to survive and eventually profit from non-traditional sources of energy, instead of greasing the gears for dinosaur industries to bypass regulations that are meant as safeguards, not poison daggers aimed at the rich. …and along with their LGBTQ support and actually giving a shit about the poor, then: nah, they’re, um, fucking _heapfuls_ more open-minded and inclusive than right-wing folk. > [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > OP realizes he can’t defend right wing bullshit, and realizes the shit coming is going to be even harder to defend, flees. Yawn. Sure, I’ll go with that. > [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > … but [the Dope] seems more mean-spirited. Even though I’ve been here not all that comparatively long, this comment seems a little vague and weak and definitely could use some elaboration. (heh - in ATMB?) > [@Gatopescado](#): > > _“There can be only one”_ That’s _“There is only one.”_ > [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > Russia as a nation has zero prospects of conquering the world…Russian imperialism without a compelling ideology to go with it is a vastly smaller threat. Usually try to avoid responding to someone who got a cardiac(?) about five months ago and hasn’t been here since, but seriously, **AllanFotheringhamgay** , Russia is expanding their influence all over Central Asia; they’re frantically boosting trade relations with Japan, Taiwan, the Koreas, Vietnam the Phillipines, and Indonesia; exerting influence in Venezuela; sowing political discord in the US and western European countries to weaken the shit out of them (along with fomenting divisiveness between NATO and the European Union); and encouraging alt-right extremism in eastern European countries [and in Sweden, as well as in Holland, trying to get alt-righter and Jimmy Page imposter Geert Wilders (unsuccessfully, thankfully) into power about a year and a half ago.] So to claim that Russia is _not_ angling to be virtually _the_ dominant world player is, at best, disingenuous. > [@RTFirefly](#): > > Much of the ‘liberal’ media still treats the GOP as the more fiscally responsible party, even now. :dubious: Elaborate, please. A couple +1 posts, further reinforcing the left’s openness, and the right’s dysfunction: > [@E-DUB](#): > > Roosevelt said:“I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished. The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” > > Republicans say: “I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished. All right, cheap labor.” > [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > [T]he conservative reason for rolling back regulations is climate change skepticism, when it’s plainly obvious they don’t want to make less money on energy production. They’re closing their eyes to new technology that doesn’t result in polar ice caps melting. That’s not the conservative tenet of creating and exploring opportunity that the Reagan era espoused. They want to protect a dying industry purely for short-term profit with no concern about future generations. That’s not fiscally responsible. > > Conservatives used to be all about balancing the budget. Not any more! ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-straight-dope/819899/317 "2019-03-01T03:49:52Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > However, there’s no doubt that this board has shifted dramatically to the left over the years. Is this really in dispute? And it’s not in the “hey, we’re a bunch of mainstream Democrats”, which would be cool. It has become dominated by aggressively PC, identity-politics oriented left wingers, who are a real buzzkill. I don’t think so. This board has always leaned “cite?”, where actual facts and coherent arguments were more important than the spouting of talking points. That viewpoint, in and of itself, certainly can make things appear to “lean left”. The board always has had some obnoxious, asinine leftists (I wonder where Diogenes is now?), and there will always be ElvisLives or asahi to continue the trend. But it’s no worse now than before. One thing I have noticed though is the recent loss of intelligent Republicans. It’s not like we were swimming with a ton of them before, but I haven’t seen Bricker or Scylla or really any rational Republicans anymore. I suppose UltraVires, but that’s no great shakes. I dont think that’s an issue with the board, though. It’s really hard to be a rational Republican now. Now that we’ve learned the reality of who the Republocan base really is and what their motivations really are, it’s tough to defend. Much easier to take a hiatus or find another place than to try to defend this horrid administration and its spineless enablers. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-straight-dope/819899/318 "2019-03-01T03:54:42Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > One thing I have noticed though is the recent loss of intelligent Republicans. It’s not like we were swimming with a ton of them before, but I haven’t seen Bricker or Scylla or really any rational Republicans anymore. I suppose UltraVires, but that’s no great shakes. **Bone**? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-straight-dope/819899/319 "2019-03-01T10:06:05Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Really? > Not familiar with dearly departed OP’s posting history, but judging from his flouncing comments about oh-noes!-antifas/“You didn’t build that” horse hockey, I’m a little surprised to hear you say that. I am, and while he was a Nomad he did indeed contribute many interesting points. For many years, he lived as an ever-moving expat because he had the kind of job which allowed that (self-employed IT dude) and because a medical incident as a child made him uninsurable in the US as a self-employed IT dude. ACA made it possible for him to go Back Home. The things he says in his OP make me think of all those immigrants who, as soon as their paperwork is fully finalized, start ranting, not against illegal immigrants, but against anybody who dares immigrate to “this country WE built!!!” Uh, you got sworn-in as a citizen last Saturday, I was there… ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-straight-dope/819899/320 "2019-03-01T12:45:32Z")
Hamlet, the dynamic you describe should support there being a disproportionate number of hyper-rational center-left types who are fans of Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Bill Maher, etc. But that describes me to a T, and when I stick up for those kinds of viewpoints, I get roundly attacked by a swarm of “woke” politically correct types whom I would not characterize as being in the facts-and-reason camp, sadly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-straight-dope/819899.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-straight-dope/819899.md?page=17)