1

Well, you know how I feel about Ann Coulter. She's a little outrageous, even obnoxious, sometimes, but that is her job. You might as well be offended by bad weather.

Now, as for the open letter, it raises the interesting question of why CPAC invited her to speak in the first place. They know, better than anyone, what kind of pundit Ms. Coulter is. If anyone is truly outraged by what happened at the convention, he should aim the outrage at CPAC and not at Ms. Coulter.

2

www.gaypatriot.net has also joined this statement.

You would put them under "Far Right".

3

Well,

From a strategic standpoint, if anyone gives John Edwards campaign money for this, we should be happy. We want the left to waste money.

Forget Ann, ask them to ban the Mit/John/Rudy brigade. These guys are dubious on a whole range of issues, especially life.

4

I have come to expect so much more from you, Joe.

It's a shame what anger and hatred towards our fellow man (In this case a woman) moves us to do and say, even to lie about what others do and say.

I pray you come to your senses Joe.

And for those who didn't bother to read that far in the other thread, Ann Coulter decidedly did not call anyone a faggot.

She made some social commentary about an actor from Grey's Anatomy who called his co-star a faggot and then, to "fix" his so called problem, went into rehab.

Ann Coulter hit the nail squarely on its head with her comment.

5

Baggi,

Quit fooling yourself. If Ann wanted to simply make a social commentary about Grey's Anatomy etc, she could have simply talked about how ridiculous it is (and yes, it is).

The people denying what she implied seem to be arguing like elementary school kids trying to get off on a technicality. It doesn't matter is if she directly stated that he was a faggot, she used the issue of Grey's Anatomy to excuse herself implying that Edwards is indeed a faggot. She didn't have to involve Edwards at all. She could have simply satired the event at Grey's Anatomy in of itself.

Grow up!

6

I happen to know that Coulter has paid what has become known as "caustic offsets" to some organization called Gaspass. She has reportedly paid an amount equal to one month's utility bill for John Edwards' compound in North Carolina. The payment of the offset allows her 4 bigoted, two racist, four homophobic, 11 death wish, and, of course, unlimited anti-christian comments on weekends. These offsets protect her through the end of the 2008 campaign season, or the melting of the polar ice caps, whichever occurs first. She may extend her caustic offsets into perpetuity if she makes any of her comments on Air America. They will donate all advertising revenues from her appearance and suicide to the Stop Plate Tectonics Coalition for Non-Binding But Still Helpful Resolutions.

7

Joe:

I think the open letter is good. It acknowledges Ann's talent while excoriating her for damaging conservatives. I'm more comfortable with their statement than with, say, Dignan's radical stance against her. I still don't think that in light of the overall tone of political discourse today Ann Coulter is that bad. However, I do agree with the stance the open letter takes.

8

Tim L. writes;

It doesn't matter is if she directly stated that he was a faggot, she used the issue of Grey's Anatomy to excuse herself implying that Edwards is indeed a faggot.

You got that exactly backwards. The first person to use the word faggot was the Grey's Anatomy star, but he is excused because he went to rehab. Hence her point. The following happened before CPAC:

While discussing politicians and celebrities who "run to rehab in times of crisis," earlier today on Fox News Channel, conservative pundit Ann Coulter mocked the idea that someone should have to be "rehabilitated" for using a word that is considered a slur against gays.

"You use the word 'faggot' and you're going into rehab?" Coulter asked incredulously on Fox's Live Desk A-List.

The best selling Godless author was referring to Grey's Anatomy star, Isaiah Washington, who used the word twice in reference to co-star T.R. Knight. Knight later publicly "came out" when word broke out about the on-set scuffle the two actors had.

[...]Coulter maintained that going to rehab was "a way of avoiding the actual bad thing you did," like "have an affair with your aide's wife."

San Franciso Mayor Gavin Newsom "apologized Thursday for having a sexual relationship with his former campaign manager's wife," the Associated Press reported a few days ago.

"Now," Coulter continued, "unless you were caught drunk driving like Mel Gibson and that's what the issue is...it's substance abuse you know, you use the word 'faggot,' and you're going into rehab?"

"Come on," Coulter added.

Get it? Coulter agrees that calling someone a faggot is a bad thing to do, hence the reason she said, "Coulter maintained that going to rehab was "a way of avoiding the actual bad thing you did,""

Get it, she agrees that calling someone a faggot is a bad thing, and she thinks it is rediculous that if you do a bad thing, you should have to go into rehab.

Hence the whole point of her joke. But as they say about jokes, once you have to explain the whole thing it isn't funny anymore.

Maybe this is a great example of why conservatives are accused of not having a sense of humor. Her joke/social commentary is quite biting and funny and of course, has nothing at all to do with calling Edwards a faggot.

9

I agree with her assessment that "rehab" is used as an escape in Hollywood, etc.

Baggi states:

"You got that exactly backwards."

I don't even get what you mean by that. I KNOW the whole story. I know what happened on GA, I know the conversation that she had on Fox News earlier in the day and I know exactly what she said on CPAC.

Yet it is not funny, it is not even satire and it is completely wrong. Ann essentially called Edwards a faggot. This is the same stupid argument, same mentality that Clinton used with Monica when he said he didn't have "sexual relations" with her because it didn't involve intercourse. It's the same mentality as saying "i'm sorry you feel that way". yada! yada! yada! Saying that Ann Coulter did not call him a faggot is technically correct but intellecutually dishonest!

10

I think there is some naivete in thinking that being anti-abortion is conservative. GW Bush defined the conservative philosophy in one of the debates as "Trust people." Schwarzenegger's first inaugural address said, "People are sick of activists telling them what to do."

Now when a Christian asks someone to repent of a sexual sin, how is that "trust people"? Weren't the crowds sick of John the Baptist, the "activist telling people what to do"? How about King?

11

..unlimited anti-christian comments on weekends.

Ann Coulter is an anti-christian comment.

12

If anyone is truly outraged by what happened at the convention, he should aim the outrage at CPAC and not at Ms. Coulter.

CPAC is responsible, and hopefully they will act on that responsibility and disinvite her to future events. But Coulter is responsible for her own behavior. This is just one in a long string of such incidents of outrageous statements.

Before last year Republicans were all full of themselves, believing that they had acheived permanent majority status, and so Ann was a guilty pleasure that they could indulge. With power comes arrogance, and then a fall. Now the Congress is in Democrat hands and the Presidency is up for grabs. Republicans can't afford baggage like Coulter anymore. It's time to get serious.

13

It's too little, too late. Why dissociate yourself from her now, instead of after her li'l books o' hate, Slander (2002), Treason (2003), Godless (2006)? Why not after her 2001 remark, "We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity"? How about her habit of calling Middle Eastern people "monkeys", "camel jockeys", and "tent merchants"?

Did you approve of the earlier overt examples of Coulter's bigotry? If not, why is it only now in 2007 that you've finally tried to disown her?

14

PZ,

As one of the signers of the letter I admit I should have been more forceful after calling Iranians "ragheads" at last year's CPAC. I don't obsess over Coulter so I don't read her books or her columns, don't watch her on television, or usually read news stories involving her. I was at CPAC and her what she said. It was revolting to a political movement I hold dear. To Ann is about "Coulterism" instead of conservatism.

15

PZ,

Come on, as much as I do not like Ann, most of her comments are to incite a response and reaction to the incredible bigotry of the Left.

Of course, I doubt you'll deny any bigotry on the left! (Theocracy, greedy, stupid, don't care about this race or that race, don't care about the poor, hicks and many, many more....

Comments on the left about Conservatives not caring about the poor are just as ridiculous as comments by Ann regarding liberals being traitors. I disagree with her methods but I understand her point.

16

If not, why is it only now in 2007 that you've finally tried to disown her?

PZ, I was bashing Coulter before Coulter-bashing was cool. ; )

17

one of your signees on this 'document' is a gay group...i would like to ask in which way you consider yourself to be evangelical christian and/or conservative?
and you presume to speak for the conservative movement...where are we going here people???

18

Joe wrote;

PZ, I was bashing Coulter before Coulter-bashing was cool. ; )

Heh, very telling. You now find yourself in the company of such men.

I hope you soon come to your senses.

Tim L. writes;

Ann essentially called Edwards a faggot.

Again, no, she did not. Not even close.

She said that calling someone a faggot is wrong and going to rehab after doing so is silly and shouldn't excuse the slur.

19

Baggi, I'm sorry, but being a person who has heard more than a few jokes in my time, and knows how to construct a syllogism, allow me to illustrate what Coulter was saying:

"I want to discuss John Edwards. Using the word fag gets me in trouble. Not wishing to get in trouble, then, I will not discuss John Edwards because discussing him will require use of the word."

It's not funny before or after you explain it, and the audience response was sickening, a naughty little "ooh" before a loud and enthusiastic applause.

I'm a liberal, sorry to say, and was directed to this site by an ardently conservative pal. I am impressed and gratified by the response at large to Coulter's remarks, and hope it moves the right and left closer to how they used to be. Remember that time on Capitol Hill when a lefty and a righty would disagree on policy and then get drinks after the work day ended?

20

Wow, just a few days ago Ms. Coulter was a featured speaker at the annual Reclaiming America for Christ conference in Florida. This would have been an excellent time for Mr. Tony Perkins and the FRC to distance themselves from her.

21

Abe wrote;

Baggi, I'm sorry, but being a person who has heard more than a few jokes in my time, and knows how to construct a syllogism, allow me to illustrate what Coulter was saying:

Don't apologize Abe, at least you are being honest. You are a liberal, you don't like Ann Coulter, so you choose to interpret her words that way.

But its a shame for Joe to do the same. He's a pretty clever guy who is better at rational thought than most and he knows exactly what Ann Coulter said. He has no choice but to admit that she did not call John Edwards a fag. She could have wanted to say,

"John Edwards wants to repeal the "don't ask don't tell" policy of the military so that faggots can serve openly."

There is no contradiction between that and what she did say. Therefore, she did not call John Edwards a faggot.

But the clincher is, i'm not even half as smart as Joe and yet I can figure this out.

Which tells me that Joe and some of his fellows need to do some soul searching.