Jerry, with respect to you and your friends, it is regretful if they did leave Mudcat, but eight years of the shrub's disasters led to a lot of us ranting and raving here because there was no where else to do so. With a GOP Prez and Congress majority it seemed there was little hope for most of us. If we were strident about and vilified most Republicans it was because they were so prevalent and, what a lot of us considered, disastrous for our country and none would listen.
I, too, have some fine Republican friends and I am a Democrat, but even they are seeing there is a lot to regret from shrub's time in office.