Look, I'm gonna say it like it is. Like it or not, this is how it is. Poison was here when you guys weren't. There's history, no backstage shit, just history. AA says he's gonna flame him based on some chatroom nonsense that happened a while back. Whatever Poison said, he said. But guess what, he said it to get a rise from you. And...well...because he's good at it, you're still holding a grudge.
As far as Brad talking about backstage politics, hanging reputations out there, it's not about that. If some rookie signs up here, and the shoe's on the other foot, and AA tells some kid to get teh aids or sumn, then goes on a trip to mexico to find out what this "Tequila" thing is all about. When AA decides (if it's actually even poison coming back) to come back, and the rookie he was shitting on is still holding a grudge, and starts ranting about how he's gonna flame the shit out of AA when he get's back (and all that other nonsense), are you (Brad) going to sit back and not defend your friend because he bashed some kid a ways back? NO! You're going to stick up for your friend. How, in any sort of way, does this involve politics? It doesn't, so stop making this more than it is. AA doesn't like him, and wants to be mad at him, let them deal with it. Steve and I both stuck up for Poison, if that's not a character reference, I don't know what is.
But don't go trying to turn this into more than it is, which is a friend, defending a friend.