CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The counter-Coulter protesters have been so successful they've set a new goal of $30,000. Meanwhile, word is seeping through circles at Xavier University in Cincinnati that tickets sales for an appearance by the blond bombastress at Cintas Center this week are bombing. So far, The Bellwether hears it has been dismally slow. Students get in free with their ID cards. But the public has to pay $5 to see Ann Coulter -- and it now looks like people plan to stay away in droves.
She speaks at 7 p.m. Thursday, a half hour before the University of Cincinnati kicks off against Oregon State in a football stadium across town from the XU campus. Many Cincinnatians seem to have decided that watching Bengals receiver Chad Johnson's alma mater take on the Bearcats will be more interesting than Coulter. The U.C. game, which is being carried by ESPN, is reportedly near a sellout -- a rare event at Nippert Stadium. Still, there has been some interest on the XU campus about the conservative huss-mistress, but it is described as meager at best.
Meanwhile, Coulter's being used as a fundraising prop by groups she has targeted with dragon-breath rhetoric. A link to give money as a way to get back at Coulter is here. Her visit is sponsored by the XU college Republicans, who seem to have come up with a $20,000 speaker's fee. If they hope to recoup the cost via ticket sales, they may take a bath. The kids -- even Republicans -- don't deserve to suffer. Coulter's become rich by lighting ideological fires across the land from her overheated mouth. She could write them a check.
Comparing a speech by a political columnist to a college football game is less than a fair fight. If UC has a full house I'd rather attribute that to a big win last week than the other events scheduled locally.
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