By froggermarch
I was sticking with John Edwards as long as I could. I’ve been angry with what the Republican Party has done to our nation and I didn’t really feel like making nice with everybody, or of backing a senator who had not, at the least, completely renounced a vote to authorize George W. Bush to use military force in Iraq. I also felt that Edwards had the best chance to ensure the Democrats recaptured the White House, with a real chance at making inroads in the Deep South that could be significant in the long term.
Then came the endorsements, and I started to waver. Surprisingly, to me given that I have yet to watch a complete edition of her show, Oprah first got my attention. She seemed to both capture and catapult the inspirational quality of a man we were all inspired by at the Democratic Convention. Kerry jumped in, but that didn’t mean a whole lot to me. As I received his fundraising letter on Obama’s behalf, however (made ironically possible by my donation to the Kerry/Edwards campaign) I realized the significance that such a mailing list would have on the financial viability of the Obama campaign. I began to cry “Uncle” at the same time Caroline followed the word with “Teddy” as she invoked her father’s memory and spirit. The only record album I can recall my mother ever buying was a commemorative edition of JFK’s speeches in 1963, and the words of the Kennedy’s and the candidate they endorsed reminded me of how those words—and more importantly the ideas behind them—had shaped my family’s and my country’s path.
But, in the wake of the Edwards withdrawal the endorsement that has put me over the top and cleanly into the Obama camp was this one from Ann Coulter.
Showing posts with label Ann Coulter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ann Coulter. Show all posts
Friday, February 01, 2008
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Ohio's Xavier University: Ann Coulter's $20,000 Fee Eclipsed By Foes Fundraising
CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Xavier University said today that opponents have already raised more money for progressive causes scorned by Ann Coulter than it cost the college Republican chapter to bring her to the school. Coulter is scheduled for a speaking engagement this week.
XU said Coulter's fee was $20,000, and pointed out that gay and feminist rights groups have raked a larger amount through a Web campaign called "Counter Coulter."
In effect, Coulter has become an effective fundraiser for the left. But she costs the right money to sponsor. Is that the law of diminished returns?
The school's official news site reported:
"Coulter, known for her particular brand of anti-liberal, often rancorous commentary, speaks at 7:00 p.m. (Thursday Sept. 6). At the same time, a 'Thank You Ann' rally organized by Equality Ohio and other progressive organizations, such as the National Organization for Women, is taking place on the campus green space. The rally is being billed not as a protest but as a celebration of other viewpoints, and the money raised, which now exceeds Coulter's $20,000 speaker's fee, will be given to humanitarian-focused student groups."
XU said Coulter's fee includes cash from the College Republicans, who collected donations, along with funds from the Young America's Foundation and the college's student government association.
XU said Coulter's fee was $20,000, and pointed out that gay and feminist rights groups have raked a larger amount through a Web campaign called "Counter Coulter."
In effect, Coulter has become an effective fundraiser for the left. But she costs the right money to sponsor. Is that the law of diminished returns?
The school's official news site reported:
"Coulter, known for her particular brand of anti-liberal, often rancorous commentary, speaks at 7:00 p.m. (Thursday Sept. 6). At the same time, a 'Thank You Ann' rally organized by Equality Ohio and other progressive organizations, such as the National Organization for Women, is taking place on the campus green space. The rally is being billed not as a protest but as a celebration of other viewpoints, and the money raised, which now exceeds Coulter's $20,000 speaker's fee, will be given to humanitarian-focused student groups."
XU said Coulter's fee includes cash from the College Republicans, who collected donations, along with funds from the Young America's Foundation and the college's student government association.
Monday, September 03, 2007
Ohioans Countering Coulter Rake In $$$: But Annie's Xavier U Ticket Sales Slumping
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.
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.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Ohio's Paul Hackett: Ann Coulter Targets Iraq Vet As Loon
CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Somehow, the last person that comes to mind in the same breath as Marine Corps Reserve Maj. Paul Hackett is the late British playwright Noel Coward. He was a dissolute playboy, a trendsetter in men's fashion, an actor and songwriter, master of the quip and, as everyone now knows, a male who preferred other men as lovers. Hackett practices law in Cincinnati, is married with kids, served in Iraq, dabbled in Democratic politics and has never written a musical or performed on the British stage.
But Ann Coulter -- the rightwing's disagreeable blunder -- has pegged him as the Democrat's Coward. As the Brit might have quipped about Coulter,
"Sharp wits, like sharp knives, do often cut their owner's fingers."
She cut her fingers by writing in her most recent column that Hackett is in the Teresa Heinz Kerry wing of the Democratic party, which she proclaims a far left nut-house.
"The congressional campaign of anti-war Iraq War veteran Paul Hackett was treated in the media as if it were the Second Coming. The New York Times described Hackett adoringly as a 'lean 6-foot-4, he is garrulous, profane and quick with a barbed retort or a mischievous joke.' The Times even produced the obligatory quote-ready Republican who said that 'Mr. Hackett's service had caused him to consider voting Democratic.'"
"Then we found out with a little more specificity what some of those quick-witted barbs were. Hackett called the president a 'chickenhawk,' referred to Bush's 'Bring it on' statement as 'the most incredibly stupid comment,' and called Bush 'the biggest threat to America.' Yes, he was a veritable Noel Coward, that Hackett."
Nope, Hackett isn't Noel Coward. He is a Marine officer who used unvarnished language and told what he considered the truth. On the other hand, consider the words of Sir James Matthew Barrie, a Scottish novelist and dramatist who died in 1937 when Noel Coward was reaching his prime. He seems to have penned the perfect put down of Coulter:
"You see, dear, it is not true that woman was made from man's rib; she was really made from his funny bone."
But Ann Coulter -- the rightwing's disagreeable blunder -- has pegged him as the Democrat's Coward. As the Brit might have quipped about Coulter,
"Sharp wits, like sharp knives, do often cut their owner's fingers."
She cut her fingers by writing in her most recent column that Hackett is in the Teresa Heinz Kerry wing of the Democratic party, which she proclaims a far left nut-house.
"The congressional campaign of anti-war Iraq War veteran Paul Hackett was treated in the media as if it were the Second Coming. The New York Times described Hackett adoringly as a 'lean 6-foot-4, he is garrulous, profane and quick with a barbed retort or a mischievous joke.' The Times even produced the obligatory quote-ready Republican who said that 'Mr. Hackett's service had caused him to consider voting Democratic.'"
"Then we found out with a little more specificity what some of those quick-witted barbs were. Hackett called the president a 'chickenhawk,' referred to Bush's 'Bring it on' statement as 'the most incredibly stupid comment,' and called Bush 'the biggest threat to America.' Yes, he was a veritable Noel Coward, that Hackett."
Nope, Hackett isn't Noel Coward. He is a Marine officer who used unvarnished language and told what he considered the truth. On the other hand, consider the words of Sir James Matthew Barrie, a Scottish novelist and dramatist who died in 1937 when Noel Coward was reaching his prime. He seems to have penned the perfect put down of Coulter:
"You see, dear, it is not true that woman was made from man's rib; she was really made from his funny bone."
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Coming To Ohio: Ann Coulter Booked At Xavier University
CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The Xavier newswire says the shoot-from-the-lip conservative columnist with Kalashnikovs where others have tonsils is due on the Jesuit school's Cincinnati campus in early September. Ann Coulter is being brought in by the college Republican chapter, and the booking has been portrayed as quite controversial. No kidding.
Andrew Chestnut, who sits on the student-run newswire's editorial board, is not enthusiastic about Coulter's coming, nor does he think much of her ability to engage in intellectual debate.
"For those of you who don't know, Coulter is like the Michael Moore of the other side. Every stance she takes on an issue is pro-Republican and anti-Democrat, without exception. You would think this would destroy her credibility -- knowing in advance what side she will take on an issue sort of removes the element of logic from the equation -- but then again, you would also think that no one would buy supermarket tabloids. And yet they're still there."
Coulter, of course, called Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards a "faggot" earlier this year, then tried to claim she was only joking and that the word is not an anti-gay slur. Many people recoiled, some including Republicans who saw Coulter's Kalishnikovs as firing wanton shots that damaged their conservative philosophy and cause. Final note: Xavier hosted Michael Moore in 2003.
Andrew Chestnut, who sits on the student-run newswire's editorial board, is not enthusiastic about Coulter's coming, nor does he think much of her ability to engage in intellectual debate.
"For those of you who don't know, Coulter is like the Michael Moore of the other side. Every stance she takes on an issue is pro-Republican and anti-Democrat, without exception. You would think this would destroy her credibility -- knowing in advance what side she will take on an issue sort of removes the element of logic from the equation -- but then again, you would also think that no one would buy supermarket tabloids. And yet they're still there."
Coulter, of course, called Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards a "faggot" earlier this year, then tried to claim she was only joking and that the word is not an anti-gay slur. Many people recoiled, some including Republicans who saw Coulter's Kalishnikovs as firing wanton shots that damaged their conservative philosophy and cause. Final note: Xavier hosted Michael Moore in 2003.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Bellwether Nabs Ann Coulter Lying To Her Readers About Terror Threat
CINCINNATI (TDB) --Today's terrorist threat advisory from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security clearly states that the government knows of nothing that is just around the corner. The threat level is yellow, or elevated, exactly as it has been for days now this summer.
"The department is mindful of patterns of terrorist activity in the spring and summer months over the past few years in London and Madrid, as well as the recent plot disruption in the United Kingdom. However, there continues to be no credible, specific intelligence to suggest an imminent threat to the homeland at this time."
But what does right wing doyenne Ann Coulter say? She's warning to hide under the bed, duck under the desk, grab the gas masks. The grand duchess of dork is attacking the Democrats with this Big Lie: That the government has told Americans an attack is on the way this summer.
"But now with the U.S. government -- as well as the British and German governments -- warning of major terrorist attacks this summer, the Treason Lobby is facing the possibility that the 'bumper sticker' could blow up in their faces."
Coulter's claim that the Washington is "warning of major terrorist attacks this summer" appears in her current column. But there is no such warning. She must have had a gut reaction. Or made the whole thing up.
Ohio officials appear to be as in the dark as the rest of the nation about the summer warning Coulter cites. They have not changed anything since last year, and seem to think it is more important at the moment to remind Ohioans of the hazards of summer storms and lightning strikes. Perhaps they should call Coulter for advice.
In fact, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said the Glasgow Airport attacks in June did not signal that the U.S. faced a more serious threat level this summer. Secretary Michael Chertoff's remarks on June 30 after the Glasgow incident again contradicts Coulter that the government is warning of major terrorist attacks this summer. "We have no plans to change the national threat level, although we remind everyone that the aviation threat level has been raised to orange since last fall."
Last fall? That's right, America. Nothing has changed since last fall.
"The department is mindful of patterns of terrorist activity in the spring and summer months over the past few years in London and Madrid, as well as the recent plot disruption in the United Kingdom. However, there continues to be no credible, specific intelligence to suggest an imminent threat to the homeland at this time."
But what does right wing doyenne Ann Coulter say? She's warning to hide under the bed, duck under the desk, grab the gas masks. The grand duchess of dork is attacking the Democrats with this Big Lie: That the government has told Americans an attack is on the way this summer.
"But now with the U.S. government -- as well as the British and German governments -- warning of major terrorist attacks this summer, the Treason Lobby is facing the possibility that the 'bumper sticker' could blow up in their faces."
Coulter's claim that the Washington is "warning of major terrorist attacks this summer" appears in her current column. But there is no such warning. She must have had a gut reaction. Or made the whole thing up.
Ohio officials appear to be as in the dark as the rest of the nation about the summer warning Coulter cites. They have not changed anything since last year, and seem to think it is more important at the moment to remind Ohioans of the hazards of summer storms and lightning strikes. Perhaps they should call Coulter for advice.
In fact, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said the Glasgow Airport attacks in June did not signal that the U.S. faced a more serious threat level this summer. Secretary Michael Chertoff's remarks on June 30 after the Glasgow incident again contradicts Coulter that the government is warning of major terrorist attacks this summer. "We have no plans to change the national threat level, although we remind everyone that the aviation threat level has been raised to orange since last fall."
Last fall? That's right, America. Nothing has changed since last fall.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
New Poll: Rush Limbaugh Is The Limburger Cheese Of Journalism
CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Limburger cheese is so pungent and overpowering to the olfactory senses that there have long been gags and cartoons about the necessity for gas masks when a package is opened. And everybody knows the old nursery rhyme that ends when the ''cheese stands alone." Now talkmeister Rush Limbaugh -- a big cheese as a radio pundit -- stands alone as the most disliked person among the nation's most recognizable media and journalistic figures.
He owns the highest unfavorable rating in a field of 15 pundits and network broadcasters. Still, he manages to draw big audiences. There seems to be a disconnect -- he's unpopular yet Americans tune in.
In fact, broadcaster Limbaugh wins the the dislike derby by several wavelenghts. The caustic, conservative, pudgy, rich and extremely opinionated broadcaster has a "very unfavorable" number, 41%, that makes FOX News Channel's Bill O'Reilly, 23%, look like a saint. Ann Coulter's "very unfavorable" is 24% -- the conservative potty-mouth polemicist doesn't get anywhere near Big Cheese Limbaugh. Coulter raised a big stink by using an anti-gay slur against former North Carolina Senator John Edwards, a slur that has cost Coulter newspaper clients and made her a pariah in some rightwing circles. Looks like the stink couldn't overpower the limburger effect.
Limbaugh's overall unpopularity rating stands at 62%, which is a Mt. Everest peak that no one else among the media's Big Feet come anywhere near scaling.
The polling on Media Favorables/Unfavorables was conducted by Rasmussen Reports and released last week as part of its routine tracking of the 2008 U.S. presidential race. Rasmussen found that politicians as a rule were better liked than so-called journalists, and that Limbaugh stunk up the numbers.
"Ideology doesn't appear to be the determining factor when it comes to ratings for reporters. While (Katie) Couric tops the list of favorables, Bill O'Reilly is in second place at 44%. The highest unfavorables are earned by Rush Limbaugh (62%) and Larry King (46%)."
Couric also had the highest favorable (48%) but was way lower than former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who led all with a 70% rating. Limbaugh is heard by some 20 million Americans each weekday and the reach of his show is said to have saved AM radio. Limbaugh has a big Web site, too, that is HERE.
He owns the highest unfavorable rating in a field of 15 pundits and network broadcasters. Still, he manages to draw big audiences. There seems to be a disconnect -- he's unpopular yet Americans tune in.
In fact, broadcaster Limbaugh wins the the dislike derby by several wavelenghts. The caustic, conservative, pudgy, rich and extremely opinionated broadcaster has a "very unfavorable" number, 41%, that makes FOX News Channel's Bill O'Reilly, 23%, look like a saint. Ann Coulter's "very unfavorable" is 24% -- the conservative potty-mouth polemicist doesn't get anywhere near Big Cheese Limbaugh. Coulter raised a big stink by using an anti-gay slur against former North Carolina Senator John Edwards, a slur that has cost Coulter newspaper clients and made her a pariah in some rightwing circles. Looks like the stink couldn't overpower the limburger effect.
Limbaugh's overall unpopularity rating stands at 62%, which is a Mt. Everest peak that no one else among the media's Big Feet come anywhere near scaling.
The polling on Media Favorables/Unfavorables was conducted by Rasmussen Reports and released last week as part of its routine tracking of the 2008 U.S. presidential race. Rasmussen found that politicians as a rule were better liked than so-called journalists, and that Limbaugh stunk up the numbers.
"Ideology doesn't appear to be the determining factor when it comes to ratings for reporters. While (Katie) Couric tops the list of favorables, Bill O'Reilly is in second place at 44%. The highest unfavorables are earned by Rush Limbaugh (62%) and Larry King (46%)."
Couric also had the highest favorable (48%) but was way lower than former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who led all with a 70% rating. Limbaugh is heard by some 20 million Americans each weekday and the reach of his show is said to have saved AM radio. Limbaugh has a big Web site, too, that is HERE.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Ann Coulter's Website Boasts She 'Rear-Ended' Edwards
CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Ann Coulter told Fox News' Hannity & Colmes March 5 that her faggot remark used to disparage Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards at CPAC last week had "nothing to do with gays." But her Web site has a headline that says she "rear-ended" a lawyer.
The exact words are, "Ambulance chaser gets rear-ended by Ann Coulter." From there, a link leads to John Edwards 2008 and a video. Her Web site adds, "I'm so ashamed I can't stop laughing!"
(Coulter's site http://www.anncoulter.com/ is difficult to reach at the moment. The links do not want to work reliably. Perhaps somebody can grab her page before the rear-ending stuff gets erased.)
Question: If Coulter is seriously contending that that faggot has nothing to do with gays, then why a reference to rear-ended? Hmmmmm.
Edwards, a former U.S. Senator from North Carolina, was a plaintiff's attorney before turning to politics. He also lost a 16-year-old son in a 1996 traffic accident.
Coulter said on Hannity & Colmes that her faggot remark was not an anti-gay slur. "It has nothing to do with gays. It's a schoolyard taunt meaning wuss. And unless you are telling me John Edwards is gay, it was not applied to a gay person."
The exact words are, "Ambulance chaser gets rear-ended by Ann Coulter." From there, a link leads to John Edwards 2008 and a video. Her Web site adds, "I'm so ashamed I can't stop laughing!"
(Coulter's site http://www.anncoulter.com/ is difficult to reach at the moment. The links do not want to work reliably. Perhaps somebody can grab her page before the rear-ending stuff gets erased.)
Question: If Coulter is seriously contending that that faggot has nothing to do with gays, then why a reference to rear-ended? Hmmmmm.
Edwards, a former U.S. Senator from North Carolina, was a plaintiff's attorney before turning to politics. He also lost a 16-year-old son in a 1996 traffic accident.
Coulter said on Hannity & Colmes that her faggot remark was not an anti-gay slur. "It has nothing to do with gays. It's a schoolyard taunt meaning wuss. And unless you are telling me John Edwards is gay, it was not applied to a gay person."
Conservative Media Watchdog Group: Ann Coulter Is A Wasteland
CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Accuracy in Media has long scored the media's liberal biases, and has built a reputation as a conservative critic of journalists who elevate left-leaning ideology over straight reporting in their stories. Now AIM is turning on Ann Coulter, and says the once-golden gal who aced the limelight has turned sophomoric. It seems the right is closing in on her like the jars that capture and extinguish fireflies.
[UPDATE: Bizzyblog's Tom Blumer offers a textured portrait of the Coulter controversy. He also delves into the use of a certain F****T-word in rock music. That note reminded me of Madonna and blonde hair. True Blue, Madonna's first album as a blonde, reportedly sold some 20 million copies worldwide. But her previous albums, in which she was a brunette, sold about five mllion each. I guess we need a word for the Coulter flap. How about Blondealia, which comes from Joana Pitman's 2003 book, On Blondes, What Exactly Is It About Blonde Hair?]
[UPDATE: Bizzyblog's Tom Blumer offers a textured portrait of the Coulter controversy. He also delves into the use of a certain F****T-word in rock music. That note reminded me of Madonna and blonde hair. True Blue, Madonna's first album as a blonde, reportedly sold some 20 million copies worldwide. But her previous albums, in which she was a brunette, sold about five mllion each. I guess we need a word for the Coulter flap. How about Blondealia, which comes from Joana Pitman's 2003 book, On Blondes, What Exactly Is It About Blonde Hair?]
[UPDATE 2: Pho's Norka Pages from Akron has a long take on Blondealia and Coulter's blazing remark, a story rich in drama and, perhaps, disaster as he pores through the cascade of commentary. And JMZ of Writes Like She Talks brings the important news that the Human Rights Campaign wants to wax Coulter by making her advertisers wane. I guess they want to make those companies feel like they are spending money for nothing. Apologies to Dire Straits.]
Cliff Kincaid, an AIM columnist, says Coulter isn't worth reading anymore. In his view, she has flickered into irrelevance after a high-wattage start. "But somehow, somewhere, something went wrong. Coulter decided that she had to stop being a serious analyst and commenter," Kincaid said. His Coulter column also notes that there is no equivalence between Coulter's performance at CPAC, where she used the word "faggot," and comedian Bill Maher, who made some ill-advised comments about whether Vice President Dick Cheney deserves a longer lifespan. Kincaid's take: Nobody cares about Maher because nobody watches his show.
"The practice of defending Coulter by pointing the finger at liberals who say or do similar things begs the question of what Fox News has become, and whether it, too, is serving the interests of conservatives it claims to represent." That is Kincaid's point -- and it is made with considerable energy, charm and insight about the limitations of Coulter as an advocate for conservative views. In a previous COLUMN , AIM described Coulter as the "Britney Spears of the Right," a classic putdown.
Bottomline: Thoughtful conservatives are saying Coulter does not know what is proper and what is not. She is baffling, not captivating. And Coulter could be on the verge of being tossed into the great cultural Cuisinart. Chopped liver.
Monday, March 05, 2007
How Soon We Forget: Conservatives Slammed Edwards Over Gay Remark
CLEVELAND (TDB) -- When former Sen. John Edwards was the Democratic vice presidential candidate in 2004, Republicans were in high dudgeon accusing him of taking a cheap shot at Dick Cheney's daughter, who is a lesbian. By comparison, Ann Coulter's ''faggot" remark is radiocative.
Edwards mentioned Mary Cheney's sexual-orientation during a Cleveland debate at Case Western Reserve University. It touched off a hurricane of condemnation that nearly rivals the Category 5 storm now battering Ann Coulter, who dismissed Edwards as a "faggot" last week.
This Meet the Press transcript has former RNC chair Ken Mehlman firing flak at both Edwards, and Sen. John Kerry, for even discussing Mary Cheney, an official in the Bush campaign at the time, and using the word "gay." Mehlman said her lifestyle was a personal issue and off-limits. Neither Edwards nor Kerry used a slur to point out her sexual orientation.
MR. MEHLMAN: Well, Tim, I think it's pretty simple and I think that, as you pointed out, most of the American people understand it, and that is, it's wrong to bring up the private life of a member of the vice president or president's family to make a political point. It's that simple.
MR. MEHLMAN: Tim, I think fundamentally it's pretty simple. Again, you don't use the private lives of the member of the family for political purposes.
MR. MEHLMAN: Remember the famous Dean scream? The famous Dean scream was seen as relevant because it was a window into something that people thought was bigger. And I think what you saw when John Kerry--when he brought that inappropriate point up in the debate, it was part of a larger pattern here, a pattern of someone who is literally willing to say anything--anything--in order to win.
Mehlman's larger point is clear -- there are inappropriate topics that should be off-limits. By the standard he laid down in 2004 over the Edwards incident, Coulter's ''faggot" remark was nuclear by comparison. She's radioactive.
A portion of the exchange between Dick Cheney, John Edwards and moderator Gwen Ifill at the Cleveland debate that kept the row going is as follows:
IFILL: Senator Edwards, 90 seconds.
EDWARDS: . . . Now, as to this question, let me say first that I think the vice president and his wife love their daughter. I think they love her very much. And you can't have anything but respect for the fact that they're willing to talk about the fact that they have a gay daughter, the fact that they embrace her. It's a wonderful thing. And there are millions of parents like that who love their children, who want their children to be happy.
And I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman, and so does John Kerry.
I also believe that there should be partnership benefits for gay and lesbian couples in long-term, committed relationships.
But we should not use the Constitution to divide this country.
No state for the last 200 years has ever had to recognize another state's marriage.
This is using the Constitution as a political tool, and it's wrong.
IFILL: New question, but same subject.
As the vice president mentioned, John Kerry comes from the state of Massachusetts, which has taken as big a step as any state in the union to legalize gay marriage. Yet both you and Senator Kerry say you oppose it.
Are you trying to have it both ways?
EDWARDS: No. I think we've both said the same thing all along.
We both believe that -- and this goes onto the end of what I just talked about -- we both believe that marriage is between a man and a woman.
But we also believe that gay and lesbians and gay and lesbian couples, those who have been in long-term relationships, deserve to be treated respectfully, they deserve to have benefits.
For example, a gay couple now has a very difficult time, one, visiting the other when they're in the hospital, or, for example, if, heaven forbid, one of them were to pass away, they have trouble even arranging the funeral.
I mean, those are not the kind of things that John Kerry and I believe in. I suspect the vice president himself does not believe in that.
But we don't -- we do believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman.
And I want to go back, if I can, to the question you just asked, which is this constitutional amendment.
I want to make sure people understand that the president is proposing a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage that is completely unnecessary.
Under the law of this country for the last 200 years, no state has been required to recognize another state's marriage.
Let me just be simple about this. My state of North Carolina would not be required to recognize a marriage from Massachusetts, which you just asked about.
There is absolutely no purpose in the law and in reality for this amendment. It's nothing but a political tool. And it's being used in an effort to divide this country on an issue that we should not be dividing America on.
We ought to be talking about issues like health care and jobs and what's happening in Iraq, not using an issue to divide this country in a way that's solely for political purposes. It's wrong.
IFILL: Mr. Vice President, you have 90 seconds.
CHENEY: Well, Gwen, let me simply thank the senator for the kind words he said about my family and our daughter. I appreciate that very much.
Edwards mentioned Mary Cheney's sexual-orientation during a Cleveland debate at Case Western Reserve University. It touched off a hurricane of condemnation that nearly rivals the Category 5 storm now battering Ann Coulter, who dismissed Edwards as a "faggot" last week.
This Meet the Press transcript has former RNC chair Ken Mehlman firing flak at both Edwards, and Sen. John Kerry, for even discussing Mary Cheney, an official in the Bush campaign at the time, and using the word "gay." Mehlman said her lifestyle was a personal issue and off-limits. Neither Edwards nor Kerry used a slur to point out her sexual orientation.
MR. MEHLMAN: Well, Tim, I think it's pretty simple and I think that, as you pointed out, most of the American people understand it, and that is, it's wrong to bring up the private life of a member of the vice president or president's family to make a political point. It's that simple.
MR. MEHLMAN: Tim, I think fundamentally it's pretty simple. Again, you don't use the private lives of the member of the family for political purposes.
MR. MEHLMAN: Remember the famous Dean scream? The famous Dean scream was seen as relevant because it was a window into something that people thought was bigger. And I think what you saw when John Kerry--when he brought that inappropriate point up in the debate, it was part of a larger pattern here, a pattern of someone who is literally willing to say anything--anything--in order to win.
Mehlman's larger point is clear -- there are inappropriate topics that should be off-limits. By the standard he laid down in 2004 over the Edwards incident, Coulter's ''faggot" remark was nuclear by comparison. She's radioactive.
A portion of the exchange between Dick Cheney, John Edwards and moderator Gwen Ifill at the Cleveland debate that kept the row going is as follows:
IFILL: Senator Edwards, 90 seconds.
EDWARDS: . . . Now, as to this question, let me say first that I think the vice president and his wife love their daughter. I think they love her very much. And you can't have anything but respect for the fact that they're willing to talk about the fact that they have a gay daughter, the fact that they embrace her. It's a wonderful thing. And there are millions of parents like that who love their children, who want their children to be happy.
And I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman, and so does John Kerry.
I also believe that there should be partnership benefits for gay and lesbian couples in long-term, committed relationships.
But we should not use the Constitution to divide this country.
No state for the last 200 years has ever had to recognize another state's marriage.
This is using the Constitution as a political tool, and it's wrong.
IFILL: New question, but same subject.
As the vice president mentioned, John Kerry comes from the state of Massachusetts, which has taken as big a step as any state in the union to legalize gay marriage. Yet both you and Senator Kerry say you oppose it.
Are you trying to have it both ways?
EDWARDS: No. I think we've both said the same thing all along.
We both believe that -- and this goes onto the end of what I just talked about -- we both believe that marriage is between a man and a woman.
But we also believe that gay and lesbians and gay and lesbian couples, those who have been in long-term relationships, deserve to be treated respectfully, they deserve to have benefits.
For example, a gay couple now has a very difficult time, one, visiting the other when they're in the hospital, or, for example, if, heaven forbid, one of them were to pass away, they have trouble even arranging the funeral.
I mean, those are not the kind of things that John Kerry and I believe in. I suspect the vice president himself does not believe in that.
But we don't -- we do believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman.
And I want to go back, if I can, to the question you just asked, which is this constitutional amendment.
I want to make sure people understand that the president is proposing a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage that is completely unnecessary.
Under the law of this country for the last 200 years, no state has been required to recognize another state's marriage.
Let me just be simple about this. My state of North Carolina would not be required to recognize a marriage from Massachusetts, which you just asked about.
There is absolutely no purpose in the law and in reality for this amendment. It's nothing but a political tool. And it's being used in an effort to divide this country on an issue that we should not be dividing America on.
We ought to be talking about issues like health care and jobs and what's happening in Iraq, not using an issue to divide this country in a way that's solely for political purposes. It's wrong.
IFILL: Mr. Vice President, you have 90 seconds.
CHENEY: Well, Gwen, let me simply thank the senator for the kind words he said about my family and our daughter. I appreciate that very much.
Elizabeth Edwards On Ann Coulter: Drown Out Her Hate
CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The spouse of former Sen. John Edwards says Americans should not sit silently when bigoted language is used in public. She wants people to keep the heat on conservative columnist Ann Coulter, who used the word "faggot" while speaking to CPAC last Friday.
Elizabeth Edwards is fanning outrage over Coulter's comment, which was directed at Edward's Democratic presidential campaign.
"But please find a way not to sit silent in acceptance. It doesn't change until we say we will not be silent when this happens," Elizabeth Edwards wrote. Coulter is notorious for using charged language. Elizabeth Edwards said a furious negative public reaction could drown out the hate she spews. "Nobody can stand by when words of bigotry and division are used."
Some have counseled ignoring Coulter, contending that reacting to her provocations only builds mystique and popularity.
Elizabeth Edwards blog post on the Edwards for president campaign Web site is HERE. It is now obvious that the campaign is not going to back away from the incident, and will instead use Coulter as a punching bag to generate money and sparks. Coulter's mouth may actually have put some octane in the campaign's tank at a time when it looked to be coasting.
Elizabeth Edwards said the lesson of the Coulter incident is that it is time for everyone to say they are "sick and tired" of hate words being introduced into the national dialogue. On that note, she is probably correct.
Elizabeth Edwards is fanning outrage over Coulter's comment, which was directed at Edward's Democratic presidential campaign.
"But please find a way not to sit silent in acceptance. It doesn't change until we say we will not be silent when this happens," Elizabeth Edwards wrote. Coulter is notorious for using charged language. Elizabeth Edwards said a furious negative public reaction could drown out the hate she spews. "Nobody can stand by when words of bigotry and division are used."
Some have counseled ignoring Coulter, contending that reacting to her provocations only builds mystique and popularity.
Elizabeth Edwards blog post on the Edwards for president campaign Web site is HERE. It is now obvious that the campaign is not going to back away from the incident, and will instead use Coulter as a punching bag to generate money and sparks. Coulter's mouth may actually have put some octane in the campaign's tank at a time when it looked to be coasting.
Elizabeth Edwards said the lesson of the Coulter incident is that it is time for everyone to say they are "sick and tired" of hate words being introduced into the national dialogue. On that note, she is probably correct.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Ann Coulter: Edwards Campaign Chief 'Fronts' Terrorists
CINCINNATI (TDB) -- In her quotations from "Chairman Ann," conservative columnist Ann Coulter delivers another calumny. She says that the principle pastime of John Edwards' campaign manager, David Bonior, is to front for Arab terrorists. Arab terrorists? Lame, Ann.
Meanwhile, I have heard that she is a front for the people who own whorehouses in Marseilles, and intend to check this out. I have also heard that she is responsible for Mad Cow Disease, but have not been able to confirm it. I have heard that the 9/11 hijackers all spoke to her the night before the attack, but, again, have not been able to prove this. The NSA reportedly has tapes, but they would never release them, at least not without a lawsuit that I cannot afford to fund. Then, there is word that she has had a sex change operation in Denmark -- again only a rumor. I have also been hearing whispers that she is a member of the Communist Party in the People's Republic of China and favors throwing people who are in favor of free and democratic elections in prison. This rumor might be close to being correct because she does call a portion of her blog "Quotations From Chairman Ann," an obvious play on the Little Red Books that contained the quotations of Chairman Mao. That play on words really looks suspicious, doesn't it?
If any of these are proven to be accurate, I suppose I will report back, at least that is my opinion right now.
Coulter's description of Bonior as a front for Arab terrorists is HERE if you scan down quotations from Chairman Ann. Question: Why Chairman Ann? Does that prove the Danish sex change rumor?
Click here for some of the Bonior Arab stuff.
Meanwhile, I have heard that she is a front for the people who own whorehouses in Marseilles, and intend to check this out. I have also heard that she is responsible for Mad Cow Disease, but have not been able to confirm it. I have heard that the 9/11 hijackers all spoke to her the night before the attack, but, again, have not been able to prove this. The NSA reportedly has tapes, but they would never release them, at least not without a lawsuit that I cannot afford to fund. Then, there is word that she has had a sex change operation in Denmark -- again only a rumor. I have also been hearing whispers that she is a member of the Communist Party in the People's Republic of China and favors throwing people who are in favor of free and democratic elections in prison. This rumor might be close to being correct because she does call a portion of her blog "Quotations From Chairman Ann," an obvious play on the Little Red Books that contained the quotations of Chairman Mao. That play on words really looks suspicious, doesn't it?
If any of these are proven to be accurate, I suppose I will report back, at least that is my opinion right now.
Coulter's description of Bonior as a front for Arab terrorists is HERE if you scan down quotations from Chairman Ann. Question: Why Chairman Ann? Does that prove the Danish sex change rumor?
Click here for some of the Bonior Arab stuff.
Conservative Blog Diva Michelle Malkin: Coulter Spewed 'Garbage'
CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Michelle Malkin says on her blog that Ann Coulter finally went too far by using the word "faggot" at a conservative gathering in Washington last week. Malkin is HERE , and she likened Coulter's pejorative to "gook," a vile expression that is a derogatory and offensive term about Asians. It is the kind of word that makes parents dash for a bar of soap if they hear their child speak it. They want to wash out the offender's mouth.
Malkin said Coulter brought shame to the conservative movement. "With a single word, Coulter sullied the hard work of hundreds of CPAC participants and exhibitors and tarred the collective reputation of thousands of CPAC attendees," Malkin wrote, adding that supporting conservative ideas is serious business, not public performance art.
"You can and should use humor to convey your message. You can enlighten and entertain -- without becoming a tired old schtick. You can joke without becoming the joke."
Michelle Malkin is correct. And Ann Coulter should be looking for a new career outside the punditocracy. She should start by calling Ringling Brothers. Maybe they need a clown. Her newspaper clients should dismiss her forthwith. If they need a female conservative voice, hire Michelle Malkin as a replacement. Malkin is combative, but she has the good sense to recognizes that epithets are off limits.
Malkin said Coulter brought shame to the conservative movement. "With a single word, Coulter sullied the hard work of hundreds of CPAC participants and exhibitors and tarred the collective reputation of thousands of CPAC attendees," Malkin wrote, adding that supporting conservative ideas is serious business, not public performance art.
"You can and should use humor to convey your message. You can enlighten and entertain -- without becoming a tired old schtick. You can joke without becoming the joke."
Michelle Malkin is correct. And Ann Coulter should be looking for a new career outside the punditocracy. She should start by calling Ringling Brothers. Maybe they need a clown. Her newspaper clients should dismiss her forthwith. If they need a female conservative voice, hire Michelle Malkin as a replacement. Malkin is combative, but she has the good sense to recognizes that epithets are off limits.
More Ann Coulter Humor: Al Gore Is 'Total Fag'
CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Ann Coulter works so hard as a public speaker and conservative newspaper columnist that she has apparently strip-mined to bare earth her patch of mental real estate. Turns out she is recycling anti-gay pejoratives. Last year, she called Al Gore a "total fag," and two days ago she used the word "faggot" to describe former Sen. John Edwards.
In other words, Coulter apparently has lost the ability to come up with anything new. Does that mean more sales, more stardom, more power for the fagged out columnist? Or does it mean she lacks creativity -- a development that leaves her only with the hardest-working mouth in show business?
The newspapers that buy her column from the Universal Press Syndicate seem to have an unquenchable thirst for a soiled piece of conservatism. But they probably should start wondering: What is her inspiring moral quality?
Below is a transcript of an MSNBC interview last year, and it shows she called Gore a fag while speaking to Chris Matthews, who sat there and did not upbraid her for using such an offensive word .
MATTHEWS: Let me ask you about your private life. How do you know that Bill Clinton's gay?
COULTER: He may not be gay, but Al Gore, total fag. No, I'm just kidding. As someone, no --
MATTHEWS: That's based on your private life?
COULTER: No, that's a joke.
MATTHEWS: OK.
COULTER: That's what we call in the writing business, a joke. No, I mean, I state a manifestly obvious fact. Someone pointed out on Free Republic, I think a little disgruntled yesterday, Ann's amazing capacity is to state the obvious and make it news. I mean, everyone has always known, widely promiscuous heterosexual men have, as I say, a whiff of the bathhouse about them.
'MATTHEWS: But, you know, you were on -- I was watching you on Deutsch [CNBC's The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch] last night. I watched it because it was all over the blog sites, you can't miss it.
COULTER: Yes!
'MATTHEWS: You were immortal in that interview by the way. And you said it because you were sort of pushed to say it. I just wonder if you believe it.
COULTER This is standard --
MATTHEWS: It's a joke. It's a joke.
COULTER I -- I --
MATTHEWS: It's not a joke.
COULTER It's not only not a joke, it's not even surprising. If feminists were not so in love with Bill Clinton, this is like standard --
H/T Media Matters for the Gore is fag material.
In other words, Coulter apparently has lost the ability to come up with anything new. Does that mean more sales, more stardom, more power for the fagged out columnist? Or does it mean she lacks creativity -- a development that leaves her only with the hardest-working mouth in show business?
The newspapers that buy her column from the Universal Press Syndicate seem to have an unquenchable thirst for a soiled piece of conservatism. But they probably should start wondering: What is her inspiring moral quality?
Below is a transcript of an MSNBC interview last year, and it shows she called Gore a fag while speaking to Chris Matthews, who sat there and did not upbraid her for using such an offensive word .
MATTHEWS: Let me ask you about your private life. How do you know that Bill Clinton's gay?
COULTER: He may not be gay, but Al Gore, total fag. No, I'm just kidding. As someone, no --
MATTHEWS: That's based on your private life?
COULTER: No, that's a joke.
MATTHEWS: OK.
COULTER: That's what we call in the writing business, a joke. No, I mean, I state a manifestly obvious fact. Someone pointed out on Free Republic, I think a little disgruntled yesterday, Ann's amazing capacity is to state the obvious and make it news. I mean, everyone has always known, widely promiscuous heterosexual men have, as I say, a whiff of the bathhouse about them.
'MATTHEWS: But, you know, you were on -- I was watching you on Deutsch [CNBC's The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch] last night. I watched it because it was all over the blog sites, you can't miss it.
COULTER: Yes!
'MATTHEWS: You were immortal in that interview by the way. And you said it because you were sort of pushed to say it. I just wonder if you believe it.
COULTER This is standard --
MATTHEWS: It's a joke. It's a joke.
COULTER I -- I --
MATTHEWS: It's not a joke.
COULTER It's not only not a joke, it's not even surprising. If feminists were not so in love with Bill Clinton, this is like standard --
H/T Media Matters for the Gore is fag material.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Former Cleveland Cav, Toledo H.S. Star Denounces Coulter 'Hate Speech'
CINCINNATI (TDB) -- John Amaechi, a former Ohio prep basketball star who now heads the Human Rights Campaign "coming out" program, says newspaper columnist Ann Coulter's use of the word faggot before a conservative group was hate speech. Amaechi's blog is HERE , and the 6-foot-10 ex-NBAer said Coulter's remark is the kind of language bullies toss around.
Amaechi now lives in London. He scored the first NBA points this Millennium, and started his pro career with the Cavs, where he played 28 games. He went to high school at St. John's Jesuit in Toledo and announced last month he is gay. A British newspaper's story about Amaechi is HERE.
The take right now: Coulter is in the middle of a deepening controversy over her intemperate remark. She got caught gay-bashing, the word is spreading that she used a slur, and Coulter is going to have difficulty wiggling off this time. She has made other provocative comments in the past, but finally stepped over the line.
Amaechi now lives in London. He scored the first NBA points this Millennium, and started his pro career with the Cavs, where he played 28 games. He went to high school at St. John's Jesuit in Toledo and announced last month he is gay. A British newspaper's story about Amaechi is HERE.
The take right now: Coulter is in the middle of a deepening controversy over her intemperate remark. She got caught gay-bashing, the word is spreading that she used a slur, and Coulter is going to have difficulty wiggling off this time. She has made other provocative comments in the past, but finally stepped over the line.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)