Coulter canceled on CNN but not Fox
After CNN promoted right-wing pundit Ann Coulter's scheduled appearance on the March 5 edition of CNN's Paula Zahn Now, following Coulter's March 2 statement that she "can't really talk about" Democratic presidential hopeful and former Sen. John Edwards (NC) because "you have to go into rehab if you use the word 'faggot,' " host Paula Zahn explained: "We invited her to be on our show tonight. She accepted at first, and then canceled on us." Zahn did not say whether Coulter gave a reason for her cancellation. On the same day, CNN reported that "[a]t least three major companies want their ads pulled from Ann Coulter's Web site." Coulter's other planned television appearance on March 5 -- a segment on Fox News' Hannity & Colmes -- went on as planned.
During the Hannity & Colmes interview, when co-host Sean Hannity asked if the reaction to Coulter's speech was "selective moral outrage," Coulter said: "Oh, yes, absolutely. It happens every six months, and you're always there to put me on TV, Sean." Earlier during the interview, in response to co-host Alan Colmes' question about why Coulter was willing to use the term "faggot" but would not use a "racial slur," Coulter claimed that -- as blogger Andrew Sullivan noted -- her statement "isn't offensive to gays. It has nothing to do with gays. It's a schoolyard taunt, meaning wuss. And unless you're telling me that John Edwards is gay, it was not applied to a gay person."
From the March 5 edition of CNN's Paula Zahn Now:
ZAHN: Let's get started with one of the most controversial conservative commentators, Ann Coulter, and what she said late Friday to an influential conservative group in Washington.
COULTER [video clip]: I was going to have a -- a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards, but it turns out that you have to go into rehab if you use the word "faggot," so, I'm -- so, kind of at an impasse, can't really talk about Edwards. So, I think I'll just conclude here and take your questions.
ZAHN: Now, the audience might have laughed, but three Republican presidential candidates, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, and Mitt Romney, have denounced Coulter for that.
And Coulter didn't cool anything off with an email she sent to The New York Times: "C'mon, it was a joke. I would never insult gays by suggesting that they are like John Edwards. That would be mean."
We invited her to be on our show tonight. She accepted at first, and then canceled on us.
From the March 5 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes:
COLMES: Ann Coulter joins us now in her first television interview since making those comments, and also joining us is former Democratic pollster and Fox News contributor Pat Caddell. Welcome to both of you.
Ann, you know, your problem isn't with liberals like me, because I was never your audience, but I'm getting a lot of emails from conservatives, like this one that says, "I'm a conservative, used to be a fan of hers" -- meaning yours. "You're an embarrassment," this person says, "to conservative beliefs, to the Republican Party, and to anyone with a shred of self-respect. Do us a favor, shun her."
What do you say to conservatives who respond to you now like that?
COULTER: That's how all liberals begin letters denouncing conservatives. I've pointed it out many times --
COLMES: So a liberal wrote this, not a conservative.
COULTER: And -- I mean, this is the same thing we go through every six months. I say something, the same people become hysterical, and that's the end of it.
I mean, I think the lesson young right-wingers ought to draw from this is it's really not that scary to attack liberals. This is about my 17th allegedly career-ending moment.
COLMES: But Ann -- well --
COULTER: And by the way, also, again, the left has precisely proved the point of the joke, which was to make fun of that actor going into rehab for using a word. This is like the Soviet Union where if you disagree --
COLMES: It would be better if it were a funnier joke, but --
COULTER: -- with the government, you go into -- you go into --
COLMES: But Ann, you're ignoring my question --
COULTER: -- you know, a mental institution.
COLMES: -- which is that you are attacking this letter-writer for being a liberal. I'm getting a lot of these letters from conservatives. You're losing your conservative base by saying the things you're saying.
COULTER: Well, OK, we'll see. That's what has happened every other time for about a decade now.
COLMES: You continue to say --
COULTER: Every six months, I get the same thing.
COLMES: Your answer is, OK, it was a joke. Would you make a racial slur and just say it was a joke?
COULTER: No. That's preposterous, and I think it's offensive that, you know, you immediately -- whenever you have to go to the argument, "Oh, would you use the N word," I mean, that is part of this semantic totalitarianism, to compare everything to the N-word. No, if you weren't brought here as slaves --
COLMES: I didn't say the N-word. I said a racial slur.
COULTER: -- and you weren't legally discriminated against -- you hear this when people say, you know, we can't use the word "illegal alien," because that's like using the N-word. No, those are words that are specifically used to demean a particular race. The word I used has nothing to do with sexual preference. It is a schoolyard taunt, and unless you're going to announce here on national TV that John Edwards, married father of many children, is gay, it clearly had nothing to do with that. It's a schoolyard taunt. It means --
COLMES: Ann, you're tap-dancing around my question. I asked you a very simple question.
COULTER: No, I'm not.
COLMES: I didn't ask about the N-word. I simply said, you write this off and say, "Oh, it was only a joke" --
COULTER: And I just said why I wouldn't.
COLMES: But you used a word that's very offensive to gays. Would you use a word offensive to another group of people and say, "Oh, it was only a joke"? Where do you draw the line?
COULTER: It isn't offensive to gays. It has nothing to do with gays. It's a schoolyard taunt, meaning wuss. And unless you're telling me that John Edwards is gay, it was not applied to a gay person.
COLMES: Was Isaiah Washington wrong to use that word to -- when he used it to describe T.R. Knight?
COULTER: Yes. He used it incorrectly, but I still don't think he should go to rehab for using a word. I think that's crazy. I think all of America outside of Hollywood thinks that's a wee bit crazy.
COLMES: So he used it incorrectly, but you used it correctly?
COULTER: Yes. Yes. I would say that of pretty much every Democratic politician. It could have been John Dean, but he's not running for president. It could have been a different word --
COLMES: So they're all gay?
COULTER: But that's not the word that Isaiah Washington went to rehab for, which is what it was a joke about.
[...]
HANNITY: Well, I think there's a lot of selective moral outrage. I mean, you know, [Sen.] Dick Durbin [D-IL] compares our troops to Nazis. He's a senator. He can have an impact on the troops and their future. You have Howard Dean, you know, Republicans are dark, evil, brain dead. They can't get African-Americans in a room unless the wait staff is there. You know, we have the former Klansman who was the head of the Democrats. Ann, is this selective moral outrage? Are they trying to use you now as a fundraiser?
COULTER: Oh, yes, absolutely. It happens every six months, and you're always there to put me on TV, Sean.
HANNITY: But what --
COULTER: And somehow, it's not driven that conservative base away. And by the way, the examples you are talking about aren't - weren't even intended as jokes. I mean, Alan can say, "Oh, well, that wasn't funny." Well, OK. This audience of 7,000 people thought it was funny. It was intended as a joke. Even if you think it was a joke that did't work, it was a joke. What Sean is talking about here aren't even intended jokes.
Coulter canceled on CNN but not Fox?
She must be a f*aggot.
For all of the Beck haters out there... he just railed Coulter on the air for her use of the other f-word and he defended Bill Maher for his statement about Cheney. If you give some peeps a chance you might be surprised at what you learn.
Oh, so Beck's marginally ignorant than I originally thought? This changes everything!
Losing ad revenue. This is what I meant yesterday when I said this comment was going to hurt her worse than the others.
Bruce, I hope that's true, knocking her down a peg would do us all good......but I am skeptical of any long term ills she will feel from this. Short memories and fresh controversies. She'll be nicey nice again for awhile, until her ego's alarm goes haywire again - or she wants to buy oceanfront propertly somewhere and needs cash.
Operation Ignore Ann Coulter was a success and she got booted off CNN!
Right. To ignore her is not the ticket. I think MMFA can take some credit for Coulter's latest failure.
I was being sarcastic... Ignoring her is not the way to go...
That was in referance to a certain someone we all know and love saying that we should just ignore Ann and she will crawl back under that rock she slither out from under.
CNN is claiming that Ann cancelled, not that Ann was cancelled by CNN.
For once, I agree with you.
She opted out of CNN because it's an uphill climb trying to worm her way out of what she said, and the audience she has there isn't as receptive to her as her cushy safe haven at Fox - where she can skate on more level ground. And with Alan Colmes as her biggest questioner, well, she can eat him for lunch.
Yes. So much different than that grand inquisitor, Paula Zahn. Gimme a break. Paula couldn't crack Squeaky Fromme.
I said "And Alan Colmes.........". He isn't the only reason Fox is easier on her, she has Hannity on her side too. And last night the inept Pat Caddell was there to puff her up too. At least on Zahn's show her counterpart may have been more formidable.
I think your other potential explanation is more plausible. Coulter may have been asked to do an exclusive on Fox. Zahn or any other guest wouldn't probably spook Coulter, IMO. I don't think Ann really fears anyone -- One of the benefits of a sociopathic personality, I suppose.
Wait wait wait wait - so when Isaiah Washington used the word to describe a gay man he used it incorrectly, but when Anne used it to imply that a straight man is effeminate she used it correctly? Because it has "nothing to do with gays"?
We're talking about the word "f*ggot", right?
I will never understand conservative thinking.
That is not conservative, clear thinking. In the world of Coulterspin, it is her thinking, alone.
Let's not forget that her promoters at News Corp think along the same lines as she does.
All those nice folks at CPAC seemed to like it. I guess to be fair, I should refer to it as "CPAC thinking."
As I've said, there is a segment within the Republican party that agrees with every gutter slur she utters - CPAC most likely has Coulter fans among it's members, nobody would deny that. Extrapolating her views as mainstream conservatism has no merit. There are extremist views connected to both parties, but to use them as proof of anything is unfair.
Extrapolating her views as mainstream conservatism has no merit. There are extremist views connected to both parties, but to use them as proof of anything is unfair.
Instead, we'll use the Republican strategy of "Gays, Guns, and God" to prove the party's inherent bigotry.
Bitter, I wasn't commenting on Republicans, I was specifically referring to conservatism. They are not mutually exclusive.
I agree, I dont consider it fair to tar conservatives with the Coulter brush.
Sounded to me like about half of them were shocked, and the other half were laughing. In a crowd setting, though, one major reaction usually wins out and the minorities go along with it.
Counselor Rusty, If a "black" man calls another "black" man a nigar, is he guilty of a "hate crime"? And if I call my twin brother (we're both Cherokee) a "blanket-ass", am I equally "guilty"? Please ask your comrades at the ACLU and get back to me ASAP. I wouldn't want my "freedom of speech" to get me in trouble.
I don't understand your point. Are you saying that Coulter is a Gay man and therefore it's okay for her to use a slur intended for Gay Men because she's a Gay man??? BTW, I hate hearing young Black men calling each other the N-word. It's ignorant.
Lynn,
There is no point. Just another straw man. Nobody accussed Coulter of committing a crime, yet somehow to right wigers expressing disgust at Coulters offensive comments automatically means the ACLU is out to getcha... LOL
"BTW, I hate hearing young Black men calling each other the N-word. It's ignorant."- Lynn
You know what I hate, Lynn? The term "N-word". The "young 'Black' men" you cite should be free to use any words they choose. And people are free to disassociate themselves from people who use words they find offensive.
Thanks for the advice but I already disassociate from people who offend me. You didn't answer the Coulter question. How were your examples relevant to Coulter’s use of that slur?
I'm sorry you're a little slow on the up-take, Lynn, so I'll give it to you S-L-O-W-L-Y.......P-E-O-P-L-E S-H-O-U-L-D B-E A-L-L-O-W-E-D T-O U-S-E A-N-Y W-O-R-D-S T-H-E-Y C-H-O-O-S-E. Do you get it, now? No? I didn't think so.
In purely idealistic ways, I agree with you, but in the real world, context is the only thing that matters. No matter how hard you seem to want it to be true, you will not ever be able to walk up to a group of people of a different ethnicity and call them a slur without negative repercussions.
Try that. Then use your best argument why it shouldn't really matter to them. That would be pretty funny to watch.
"No matter how hard you seem to want it to be true, you will not ever be able to walk up to a group of people of a different ethnicity and call them a slur without negative repercussions."- "Open" Mind
No matter how hard you wish it were true, I don't see "ethnicity" in my fellow human beings. Go back to sleep Closed Mind.
"No matter how hard you wish it were true, I don't see "ethnicity" in my fellow human beings."
- clsn_lx1315
That's funny: in an earlier post on this thread, you felt it necessary to describe yourself and your twin brother as Cherokee. So you're blind to ethnicity... except when you're not?
Clsn,
For the sake of your own argument, you should really consider dropping that condescending tone: you sound like an idiot, since your point is one that no one here has contested.
Of course people should be free to use any words they like. Moreover, in the U.S., people are free to use whatever words they like. The examples you gave don't constitute hate crimes. They don't even constitute harassment.
Coulter can say whatever she wants. She faces no legal consequences. At issue is whether or not she and those who support, promote, and publicize Coulter should be held accountable in non-legal terms.
Why do you have a problem with people here asserting that what she said was inappropriate and offensive?
"you should really consider dropping that condescending tone: you sound like an idiot," -Vysotsky
Classic projection, Vysotsky, truly classic.
I'm just following your lead, friend.
Why would either of those speech acts, on their own, constitute hate crimes? And what does this have to do with crime, anyway?
Ann Coulter isn't guilty of a crime. She's being a jackass. What angers me about this is that she's supported by so many major irresponsible political and media organizations precisely because she traffics in these sorts of juvenile stunts. But this isn't a legal matter.
By the way, this is precisely why her comparison of ABC to the Soviet speech regulation is not only inappropriate, but contrary to her own politics. As far as I know, Isaiah Washington wasn't censored by any state, nor was he threatened with any legal action. If his "trip to rehab" was compelled at all, it wasn't any state: it was ABC and those responsible for managing his career and PR, and they were acting in response to free market forces: they were afraid of losing dollars if they appeared to tolerate Washington's use of an anti-gay slur in the workplace. This is, in fact, the furthest thing from Soviet censorship motivated by communist ideology, and is instead one of the inevitable and ironic effects of free market capitalism: self-censorship motivated by profit, on the level of the individual and the corporation.
The funny thing to me about all this is that Coulter spend so much time decrying the "liberalism" of Jon Stewart, when in this case, her real argument is with the classic liberalism of John Stuart Mill and Adam Smith.
Counselor Rusty, If a "black" man calls another "black" man a nigar, is he guilty of a "hate crime"?
No. There's no predicate offense. Calling someone "n*gger" isn't a crime in itself. I suggest you start doing it regularly, in areas where black people congregate.
And if I call my twin brother (we're both Cherokee) a "blanket-ass", am I equally "guilty"?
Yes. You are equally guilty - which is to say, not guilty at all.
This whole "Only on H&C" graphic during her appearance yesterday is curious. Perhaps she has some sort of contract with Fox News for her appearances following a slur of hers, that precludes her from appearing on any other network before Fox. Some sort of exclusivity contract that she suddenly forgot about when booking Zahn's show - then either remembered it, or was contacted by Fox lawyers to remind her?
The fact that Coulter is in bed alone with Fox would not be surprising.
OK Tommy, you just creeped me out there.
Now I'm going to have these images of her in bed in my brain. There's already enough ugliness up there in my head.
You're creeped out? Imagine those that would share her bed? Now that is offensive.
Now I'm really going to have nightmares, thanks Tommy.
Hey "Tommy", there's no need to slurp up to the Leftists here. You know you'd give a year's salary just to lick the bottoms of her shoes, let alone a night in her bed.
Are you trying to scar all of us for life?
I think Tommy has higher standards then that and he doesn't strike me as the type of guy to have a foot fetish.
Licking Annie's boots is a Dick Morris perversion.
"You know you'd give a year's salary just to lick the bottoms of her shoes, let alone a night in her bed."
-----
That sentence makes no grammatical sense. From the construction of your sentence, you're saying he would give a year's salary to lick the bottoms of a night in her bed. The closing phrase needs a parallel verb in order to make sense.
Before you attempt condescension, try to learn how to use the language so you don't end up a fool.
Ok, WingNut: "spend"
lol Tommy
I guess it's because only FAUX could give her what she wants ;)
"It isn't offensive to gays. It has nothing to do with gays."
Apparently she's bucking for Tony Snow's job.
Nothing to do with gays...? Right...
Coulter's career should be cancelled and she should try employment as an AIDS hospice worker. Possibly she might learn a little about compassion for other human beings. Maybe the very "Christian" Ms. Coulter should concentrate on saving her soul rather than furthering her hateful career.
And how much time have you spent at an AIDS hospice, Irony?
Ann Coulter's appearance on Fox wasn't cancelled????
I'm shocked!
I also thought having "Democrat" Pat Caddell on with her was a sly trick. It appeared to be an opposing view but FOX News and Coulter knew that he'd be supportive of her and bash Democrats. Sure enough, he was the most supportive of her of them all, saying that he thought people were taking her comments too seriously and throwing a gratiutous (and false) smear at Bill Maher. Caddell called her "Honey" at the end, indicating that they have some kind of personal relationship as well.
Also, in Part 2, Coulter insulted Romney, Giuliani and McCain for condemning her, saying they "aren't that smart" and then promising "And by the way, if they’re going to start apologizing for everything I say, they’d better keep that statement handy because there’s gonna be A LOT MORE in the next year.”
Hannity said enthusiastically, "We'll cover it all."
Wait a minute...hold up...there are advertisers on Ann Coulter's site?
"3 major companies" pulled their ads from her site? WTF were they doing advertising there in the first place?
I'm curious to know what other companies have ads on her site, but my dignity would never allow me to go there and give her another hit.
CNN didn't cancel Ann - she pulled the plug because John Aravosis was going to be on with her.
Coulter does not do well when she is asked real questions and is required to give real answers. Ann has more of a problem with facts then she does with cocaine.
Anybody catch Max Blumenthal's video of Michelle Malkin? Perfect example of why conservatism is dead.
Actually he sounded like a 2-year-old.
Avarosis or Blumenthal?
"Actually he sounded like a 2-year-old."
That is precisely the level one is forced to go to, in order to communicate with Ann "Schoolyard taunt" Coulter.
Cocaine...?
Hadn't heard that before... but it would explain a lot. Any source or reference for that?
Of course not, Irony. You don't need facts here. You just throw out a charge and the LeftWing Lemmings run with it....Right over the cliff.
Here is a link to Max Blumenthal's documentary with regards to Ms. Malkin. Pretty funny and sad stuff.
Speaking of Andrew Sullivan, go to his website and read a letter from one of his readers about his brother, who was not a fa##ot, but a man.
It is very touching. If Coulter had any class, she would read it on the air.
Tommy, unfortunately that would humanize f*ggots and that is NOT acceptable to Ann Coulter fans. They prefer dehumanized "enemies" that are easy to demonize, fear and hate.
Am I outraged by what Anne Coulter said?
No. Everything she says is so outrageous that my capacity to be shocked by her behavior was depleted long ago.
When you get right down to the crux of the matter, Anne Coulter's nothing but a right-wing carnival freak, just like that obnoxiously loud but neertheless decided minority of people who applaud her every statement to the point of self-induced hysteria.
So, do what I do -- roll your eyes and get over it, and instead reserve your outrage and contempt for those media outlets that continue to offer this malevolent clown a forum because they consider her "good copy".
Because, to be perfectly frank, I'm really tired of being forcibly diverted by the so-called mainstream media to watch the sideshow, while the fire inside D.C.'s Big Top rages anew.
And she STEPPED on the BALL...
...That's the line that always comes to mind whenever I see Ann Coulter.
Ann makes me sick...and the fact she is on ANY show trying to defend her statements says all i need to know about that particular network... and what the hell does she mean 'semantic totaliarism'...?? She makes no sense...
If Ann "makes you sick", change the channel. You know, like you lefties tell conservatives who complain about the liberal filth on the television.
I do change the channel. And you can keep your filth... in fact wallow in it.
"My" filth, Irony? Wrongo, partner. It's the liberal leftists in Hollywierd who trade in filth. You guys OWN that one. Don't try to pin it on conservatives.
Wrong. Houston is one of the dirtiest cities in the country. It's pretty filthy down there in red country.
"If Ann "makes you sick", change the channel."
Coulter is really your problem more than ours. Her hatemongering voice is the voice of conservatives and the Republican party. Hence her keynote appearance at CPAC.
But maybe you think calling others "fa__ots" and "ragheads" is a winning campaign strategy in '08.
Brilliant plan! Coulter/Savage '08! We'll win for sure!
I have to change a lot of channels to avoid conservative ignorance
Solon, I wear out channel changers faster than I use up razor blades. ;>)
Coulter humor...
I was going to talk about Ann Coulter but then I learned that I would have to enter therapy if I said the word (insert extremely offensive vulgarity applied to women that rhymes with "runt").
Funny? Are we laughing hysterically, Ann? Ann? You angry?
Awww, come on... it's just a schoolyard taunt... Jeeez.... no sense of humor.
I don't understand. Why would you call Coulter a punt...?
"Why would you call Coulter a punt...?"
Because "cunning, malicious, right wing attack monkey" had already been taken... ;>)
Did you see "30 Rock" a few weeks ago? The whole show was based on the Fey being called the C word.
It was very funny.
It's curious that her lame defense is the same one put forth by the conservative apologists on this very site: not offensive to gays, a playground insult, blah de blah...
Why don't we just replace her with WeinerRocks or Braid?
This is why Alan Colmes is such a joke. Any responsible and competent human being would have replied with any of the following:
I hope Colmes was well compensated for the soul that he sold to Fox News when he agreed to be their liberal straw man.
You nailed it, VY... *** (gold stars)
I thoroughly concur. VY did, indeed, nail it!
The Blog | Steven Weber: My Date with Ann | The Huffington Post
Don't know if you guys have seen this one, got it from NewsHounds.
Steven Weber does it so you don't have to........... Brilliant!!!!!
Is Weber OK? He sounds a bit queer...uh, er, I mean odd...I mean strange...Oh darnit, I can't say anything anymore...
You can say whatever you want, Clsn: just be responsible for them. You want to make a joke about the word queer? Be my guest. But when people criticize you for not being funny, don't whine that you're being censored. This is the precise opposite of censorship: this is open and public speech, and if you want to participate, you'd better be prepared to stand up for what you believe.
You sound like a coward when you pretend that you're being held back from saying what you want to say. The only person restraining you from making a bigger jackass of yourself is you. You want to make queer jokes? Be my guest, if it's that important to you. Just don't be so cowardly as to cry "Censorship!" when you're merely criticized for it.
You know what Vysotsky? You take yourself way too seriously. It's really not warranted.
Well, we all have our faults. I take myself too seriously, and you refuse to offer reasonable and coherent arguments or direct responses to criticism.
If this is free speech, why do people post here using *, @, !, etc. to get past the sensors?
Because the institution that hosts a public forum has every right to regulate speech within that forum however it likes, just as everyone here has the right to use whatever words they want outside this forum.
What a coward this woman is...
Is it possible to go any lower than this woman has gone?
Total coward...Is this not the spokeswoman for the Con party? Total cowardice.
...Disavows her own words when it's too hot to handle. Total weakling, coward.
'Total weakling, coward."
I finally figured out what bothers me so much abot Ann Coulter. It's her lack of self-respect... In all fairness, this a fairly bright, well-educated woman. When she hurls shocking, demeaning slurs she demeans not only her intended targets, but she demeans herself. She's too intelligent and educated to express herself in the crude way she does.
It's one thing to go to a bar with friends after work and after a few beers someone tells politically incorrect jokes. It may not be right but it's private and among friends, and the intent may not actually be malicious... just mischief without meaning harm. But Coulter talks and writes as though she's sitting in a bar after a few beers... and it's not appropriate on many levels, but particularly because it reaches and potentially influences millions of people.It's not just loose talk among friends. You might expect some goonish caricature with llow intelligence, and there are many such right wing TV personalities, to behave that way on TV, but deep-down I think she's a little smarter than your typical Sean Hannity type.
Coulter probably makes millions doing what she does. But she's like nothing more than a trained monkey for the right wing. They trot her out to entertain their troops and to annoy the left with her shocking talk. In my opinion, that's demeaning to her, regardless how much money she makes doing it. If she has strong right wing views, as an educated woman she could express herself more effectively if her real purpose was to instruct and persuade nothers. However, she's used as nothing but sleazy entertainment. And I am sure she is encouraged by her handlers to be outrageous.
One of the reasons she is so ineffective in defending her outbursts, and to even lie like a coward when trying to do so, is because I find it hard to believe that a woman with her intelligence and education actually believes all the stuff she says. A person of her iintelligence and education would not try to debunk evolution with simplistic, easily refutable examples... and I'm not talking about theories of human evolution, but rather just the simple Darwinian evolutionary principle that living organisms evolve, which is almost as well established as a scientific fact as gravity. Nah... there's something funny about that... she's too educated to believe her own nonsense.
Basically, I think she's just in it for the money (and celebrity, too, perhaps), but she demeans herself in the process... almost like a girl who works as a prostitute when she could have done a lot more with her natural abilities. No self-respect, in my opinion...
Word.
Coulter's most disturbing ramblings, to me, are those in which she jokes about how women "[aren't] that bright" and "should not vote".Her public displays of self loathing make me cringe.
And, Irony, I appreciate that you qualified your comparison of Coulter to prostitutes with the word "almost". Sex workers have the dignity and self respect not to whore out their minds along with their bodies. I'd argue that in her full time job as author, performer, and spokesperson, Coulter sells herself even more completely to her clients.
I'm a little surprised at Alan's lack of memory, having asked Coulter if she would ever use a racial slur in a joke--which in fact she has. She used, I believe, 'raghead' in a speech not too long ago. But there's old Sean, a man obviously lacking in taste (he seems to have a stiff one for the horse-faced wretch), coming to her rescue. I think I find him more appalling than Coulter. Oh, and I wish Colmes would get some spine. He could really wipe the floor with this monster.
It's worse than you think. She used "raghead" at her last appearance at the same CPAC event. CPAC knew exactly what to expect from her, and I don't think they were disappointed: she managed to procure extra attention for their event, she made everyone else look less extreme than her, and she catered to the lowest common denominator of their wider audience.
Furthermore, the person who has most publicly called her (and CPAC) out on this is Michelle Malkin. Colmes could have easily asked Coulter if Malkin was a liberal for taking issue with her antics, but he didn't. He's either totally incompetent or, more likely, fulfilling his responsibilities as the Fox News Liberal Straw Man.
"...and I wish Colmes would get some spine."
He can't... it's not only not in the script (Colmes plays the innefectual, spineless liberal character in this nightly mini-drama), it's probably written in his contract that he is not allowed to show spine on the show. Ever notice sometimes how even unimportant right wing guests are allowed to immediately show the most outright, insulting disrespect to Colmes, and not even because of anything Colmes might have just said, but just because Colmes is the resident whipping-boy "liberal"? And all the while Hannity sits back amused and grinning. Often, Colmes can be seen seething at Hannity for something Hannity has just said and which could easily be rebutted, but inexplicably Colmes sits quietly, his anger apparent. Why? That's his job not to be too effectively challenging to Hannity. The show is designed to make Hannity look good. And I am not being faceteous when I suggest that how far Colmes is allowed to challenge Hannity on the air may even be written, literally, in his contract with FOX News. As i've said here nefore, Hannity & Colmes is a stagr-crafted affair with contrived mini-dramas in which Hannity is scripted to win. Good guy (Hannity) versus bad guys (liberals)... and the good guy always wins in these FOX News dramas.
I agree with a previous poster that Colmes has sold his soul to do this show and FOX News must be paying Colmes a lot of money (though not on Hannity's scale) to take the abuse. That's the only explanation. I don't think I could do it...
Ann Coulter was afraid of PAULA ZAHN??
What a.....wussy. <grin>
I believe Coulter's hate speech deserves to be exposed for what it is: a crime that should not be tolerated. Why isn't CPAC, RNC, and WH asked to distance itself from it. Cheney was in the audience - I think he ought to be asked for a comment on what he thinks of hate speech which is a felony. Hate speech thrives in 'shadow' and shrivels in the light of day; Coulter deserves to be vilified publicly. I believe the mainstream media needs to be pressured to discuss the hateful corrosive nature of these remarks. Please consider organizing a letter-writing campaign to mainstream media editors or news directors.
Hate speech it is; a crime it ain't.
Hard to believe you can satirize Coulter, she's such a [insert therapy-triggering keyword here], but CrystalAir.com had a great take on the CPAC comment:
Tampered Anne Coulter Dolls Recalled
http://www.crystalair.com/content.php?id=79200703005
Note that her arguments were nonexistant. She never answers a question! When someone from The Nation challenged her, that she praises marriage so much yet has dropped three engagements, she objected to the interference with her personal life, didn't answer him. And she can't even answer another whore from Faux News!
She's a lawyer? I'd rather have a smart eight grader I talked with recently argue a case for me.
It's about time we cancel the FCC license of any station who broadcasts her porn. And I send her an e-mail to that effect.
Where does this stop? Before you know it, every time I call somebody an ASSHOLE I'll have to worry about it being taken as Hatespeeech slur!
Here's the problem with the whole gay issue: "You are who you have sex with"-instead of keeping personal indulgences private-Gays seem to feel the need to share information that should be a private matter. I'm generalizing to point, but personal accomplishments shouldn't have to be qualified with a sexual preference label-You don't often hear a phrase like Heterosexual poet,actor, musician,athlete....why then do I need to know when somebody is GAY?
It is interesting to me that so many are so offended by the use of the word.
Ann has explained it's use and that it was not meant as a putdown toward homosexuals. But none (or at least very few,) here will accept that. Instead many of you wallow in the mis-interpretation choosing to purposely misunderstand her joke.
In case you missed it, It is obvious there are different meanings to this word just as there are to most words.
I think most of what I would call mock outrage here is manifesting itself in in oder to try to gain some moral "higher ground" in some sort of culture wars. MMFA and many posters here are obsessed with bogymen. You need someone to hate. You criticize conservatives as hatemongers but you are just as guilty.
Hi AA,
I respect your position, but I don't think you're being fair to the people here who have argued that Coulter's explanation doesn't hold water:
First: the premise of her 'joke' was that Isaiah Washington had to go to absurd lengths to control PR damage after he used the word "f4ggot", so clearly she knew that the word is highly charged. To turn around and say that it's actually a harmless schoolyard taunt is disingenuous: clearly it's more than that when used by adult public figures, otherwise it wouldn't be so controversial. I'm not intentionally misrepresenting Coulter's intended meaning: I'm pointing out that she hasn't been consistent about why she used the word.
If she would simply say, "I wanted to take a cheap shot at Edward's sexuality, and I used a word that is offensive to gays to do it" I would respect her a whole lot more. But instead she's simultaneously claiming: a) that she's not free to say whatever she wants because the left is so censorial that they will throw her in rehab; b) that she didn't say anything really offensive anyway; c) that she was calling Edwards effeminate and attacking his masculinity but somehow not his sexuality; d) that anyone who criticizes her for using an undignified schoolyard taunt to attack a candidate must be a liberal.
I trying to be very generous in my interpretation of Coulter's explanations: I think she's a shrewd and clever person, but she's not making a consistent argument.
Second: I think it's safe to say that she knew that she would offend people with her word choice this year just as she did when she used "raghead" at last year's CPAC. There's no misunderstanding here -- it's her annual publicity stunt
Finally: I don't think anyone here is criticizing Coulter, Fox News, or CPAC just for the sake of claiming "higher ground". Nobody needs to claim higher ground than Coulter: Coulter has conceded the higher ground herself by claiming that she was attacking Edwards with a schoolyard taunt. She's admitting that she wants to practice childish political speech. And that's fine, but she doesn't have a leg to stand on if she then wants to complain that people are criticizing her for her decision.