I can do without Ann Coulter (But I'm warming up to her orthodontist)
by CBRADIONovember 26th, 2008 at 3:53 PM
Filed under: News Story Commentary
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Talk radio and the blogosphere are both filled with people who get under my skin, “a raucous chorus of broadcast shock jocks and rightwing loudmouths.” I can admit, on my most gracious days, that some on the right have worthwhile information to discuss. Just the other day Dennis Miller was telling listeners that he believed Newt Gingrich would be the Republican to look for in 2012, not Sarah Palin, and I completely agree. Still, it draws me in like an onlooker to a train wreck. I guess I get some strange, twisted, pleasure out of hearing something completely absurd being passed along as newsworthy information. Whether it’s claiming that Barack Obama is the Anti-Christ or President Clinton is gay, I am always amazed by these types of hate filled messages which are nothing more than conservative spin, beamed directly into the loyal rightwing brains, continuing to divide America. Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, and The King, Rush Limbaugh, along with countless others, all do the bidding of the RNC while never actually serving their country. Out of all these figures there is one shrill voice that rises above the cacophony, reaching millions without using the vessel of a show! I am speaking about the Queen of the Right, author and pundit, Ann Coulter. Ann Hart Coulter was born December 8, 1961, in New York City. She was raised in an upper middle class family and eventually graduated with honors from Cornell University in 1984, receiving her law degree from the University of Michigan Law School, where she was an editor of The Michigan Law Review. I will be the first to admit that Ms. Coulter seems to be an extremely smart woman as well as a gifted writer. She has made a name for herself as a controversial figure on the far right and this approach seems to fit Ann like a glove, penning six New York Times number one best-selling books accompanied by a very popular, nationally syndicated column. At this point in her career she could write anything and it would sell...BIG. With all that being said, the hate filled fervor with which Ann writes cannot be overstated. She fans the ever growing fire on the right while making it crystal clear she is not out to make any friends on the left. "They're terrible people, liberals--these are people who believe you can deliver a baby entirely except for the head, puncture the skull, suck the brains out and pronounce that a constitutional right has just been exercised. That really says it all. You don't want such people to like you!" Don’t sugar coat it, Ann…tell us how you really feel! Aside from stinging remarks and broad shots at the left, I would say my exact distaste for Ms. Coulter would be the feeling I have about her, that she is a genuinely cruel and dishonest person. That being said, I don’t think Ann is anybody’s fool. She is wise enough to know what key ingredient is making her books sell and she knows that it is not her ideas alone. What I mean to say is that Ann Coulter is not ignorant; therefore, in my estimation, she must be incredibly cynical and bitter, and at the end of the day, she is only writing for the money. Ann has figured out the winning formula to increase book sales and popularity: be vicious, be hated, be a bitch. Far above any of her colleagues on the right, Ann has that special talent for cutting down the other side with such tenacity only the shredded remains of the original argument can be found. Anytime she is on television you are guaranteed to see a good ole’ fashioned cat fight. Coulter knows that the generation that loves Ultimate Fighting Championships and Jerry Springer will always stop to watch a fight. The more she does this, the more her books fly off the shelves. The titles of her books alone spark controversy; “Godless, The Church of Liberalism” or “If Democrats Had Any Brains, They’d Be Republicans”. Even if she believes all of what she writes I think there is a part of her that ramps up the intensity only to add stock to her already popular brand. Is that dishonest? Perhaps she is just a shrewd businesswoman? Either way, it doesn’t sit well with me. I also take offense to her as a Christian. Ann, a professed Christian herself, has a very strange way of “spreading the word”. She was recently on the show “The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch”. The host, Donny Deutsch, asked her if it would be better if we (Americans) were all Christian. Ann responded: "Yes." Donny went on to ask, "We should all be Christian?" "Yes," Coulter responded, asking Deutsch, who is Jewish, if he would like to "come to church with me?” “After all, that is what Christians consider themselves to be, perfected Jews." This is not only a prime example of what I think Jesus WOULD NOT DO, but also backs up my theory that she plays up her controversial image. Ann knew that Donny Deutsch was Jewish and she knew exactly how it would play out on television. If you think that this is an isolated event with Coulter, think again. On September 13, 2001, she offered up the single most infamous foreign policy suggestion inspired by 9/11. While writing about Muslims, she declared, "We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity." I don’t claim to be an expert on world history but I think that was tried once before. It was called The Crusades. In all seriousness, this type of talk embarrasses me as a Christian and I think it does much more to turn people away from Jesus. A simple YouTube search with Ann’s name will uncover numerous videos of Ann being caught in a lie or pummeled in a debate. I personally love the video where Al Franken pulls out a paper with an actual source from her book, “Slander” and shows that she quotes something completely out of context. I was even a little embarrassed for Ann…only a little. One video that I found fascinating was an interview she gave to a Canadian Reporter where she was defending comments she made about Canada on Fox News. She was castigating Canada for not going into Iraq and at the same time she was blasting any anti-American sentiment from “ungrateful Canadians,” stating, “They need us! They better hope the United States doesn’t roll over one night and crush them!” When asked by a Canadian reporter what she was implying, Coulter went on to say, “Canada sent troops to Vietnam. Was Vietnam less containable and more of a threat than Saddam Hussein?” The Canadian interviewer pointed out that Canada did not send troops to Vietnam. A flustered Coulter did not believe this and said that she’d have to get back to him on that fact. According to the interviewer, she never did get back to him and a quick Google search shows that they in fact did not send troops to fight beside the Americans. (Canada did eventually send 250 peacekeeping troops in 1973) It is moments like these that make me question Coulter’s honesty. I don’t expect her to remember every bit of information on conflicts like these but one should not be spewing “facts” about Canadian history to a Canadian unless you’ve got all your ducks in a row. Perhaps I am completely wrong about Ann Coulter and she is just a great businesswoman, playing to her base while selling books by the millions. Maybe these aren’t lies but subtle untruths meant to enhance her persona. Maybe she’s just being the best Christian she knows how to be. The only other possibility is that she truly believes what she is saying which would mean that she is extremely narrow minded and unwilling to compromise on issues or to acknowledge reality, which is a bit hard to rationalize since I, as I stated before, believe she is not an ignoramus. Even if I give Ann Coulter the benefit of the doubt I still would not be able to rally behind the venom with which she destroys her opponents. Ann Coulter is as free as anyone in this country to speak her mind and write whatever she thinks, but I don’t feel she does anything to enhance the all too fragile and important discourse in this country. Yet, this week brought an unforeseen event and perhaps the only realistic way to silence Coulter; she broke her jaw and had to have her mouth wired shut. |
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"she tells it like it is and thats why liberals hate her." Sometimes, I suppose...I think it would be more correct to say that she tells it like SHE THINKS it is.
I love Ann, I have all her books, and I think she is an amazing woman. Not only is she a breast cancer surviver, she tells it like it is and thats why liberals hate her.
Thanks!
Here, here very well said. Nice to see someone here that actually thinks.
I couldn't agree more. "Right-wing Web sites: Most of these seem as if they were designed in the early 90s and best viewed using Netscape Navigator." I thought I was the only one that thought those websites looked dated!
Is it just me, or does it seem like right-wing ideological pushes are simply less detailed, completely subjective, and target those inclined to group-think mentality? My problem has always been the lack of substance the right-wing agenda supplies. Good 'ole boy comradery is the last thing on earth I need to give me confidence in my political view.
I'm used to reading dense material (e.g., New York Review of Books or Kevin Phillips), and I can honestly say that every right-wing publication I've dove into was chintzy, including TV and radio broadcasts. Here are the first examples that come to mind:
Swift Boat Veterans: This book was written at the 4th grade level and more of a laughing matter.
News Max: I've never browsed an issue without find blatant grammatical flaws.
Right-wing Web sites: Most of these seem as if they were designed in the early 90s and best viewed using Netscape Navigator. There is also a deep sense of incoherence present in them, especially Fox news.
Anyways, this is my brief conjecture towards right-wing zealots. After reading this article, how could anyone that thinks independently think people like Coulter possess any merit? In contrast, people like Coulter continue to lower our nation's stock of intelligence. Some Canadian should show her how to research via Google!
p.s. I will agree that perhaps she is a greedy business woman; but, two points follow: 1) Sh*t sells 2) A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many bad measures. – Daniel Webster
She is a brilliant business woman. She knows exactly what buttons to push for the niche group she is pandering too. The thing is, I think she really does believe what she talks about, same with Rush. Scary!
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References
Visit (http://www.time.com)
Ann on YouTube...
Visit (http://www.youtube.com)
Coulter gets her mouth wired shut...
Visit (http://www.huffingtonpost.com)
I agree CBRADIO. But then the same thing can be said for all of us.
-Todd