I agree, a weak circumlocution cannot be a defense to simply insulting someone.
But I don’t accept that this is remotely what happened here. HurricaneDitka had said:
What can this comment possibly mean except: “In real life, I like the idea of [either myself of Republicans in general] trolling libtards.”
So Elvis was responding to this admission with disapproval, not conjuring an insult out of thin air.
If the broader basis of Elvis’ warning was “insulting another poster”, it seems unjust to me that HurricaneDitka’s warning for a far more insulting comment was rescinded while Elvis’ warning was allowed to stand. (Although I don’t think either should have been warned; a more general Note to tone things down would surely have been sufficient when the whole thread is read in context. It is, in my opinion, a good-faith but polarized discussion of IRL Republican activities, and I don’t think anyone involved had the intent of insulting other specific posters.)