I think responsive design is over-hyped just like trying to make sites retina-ready.
I think you've been smoking too much of something. Retina ready, I agree... I honestly don't see a great deal about it because screen display hasn't caught up. A few enthusiasts may hype it, but the web design community isn't overall. Factor it, yes. Implement it as a priority, no.
Mobile web... completely false statement. The mobile web is the single biggest thing in web design today, so much so, the majority of designers are now designing for the mobile device first, then adding extra bits for the desktop versions. A Forum will get left behind if they aren't implementing mobile solutions for their visitors.
Tablets are mobile and view differently compared to their notebook counterpart. They orient landscape and portrait, unlike a notebook. People are constantly looking for things on their mobile phones now, as screens got larger on mobiles, data got cheaper and bandwidth speeds increase.
The web design community actions seem to strongly disagree, also, with your view above, as Wordpress, Joomla and most content manager designers are shifting to mobile styles. All the major style providers now only release responsive designs. It is faster, more efficient, cleaner, and more user friendly for the viewer, to have a single style fit their viewing needs in the mobile web.