[Bêthberry]

I'll weigh in too and sorry, Might, to disavow your notion. I know many Downers who are right-wing but also many who are left-wing. And a few in the middle too. (Gasp! yes, I come from a country where there is a middle.)

I think one reason the BarrowDowns attracts people from across the political spectrum is that the Barrow Wight kept the focus of the forum on Tolkien and Tolkien-related matters (see, for instance, how Werewolf looks here), so people weren't posting on tangential things like local politics.

Tolkien wasn't an ideologue, so there's something in his work for every political point of view.