David notes Ann Coulter’s unsurprising childish viciousness below; John Edwards’ campaign has responded (in the voice of his campaign manager David Bonior):
Dear Friend,
Did you hear about Anne Coulter’s speech this afternoon attacking John? A friend just forwarded me the video and it’s one of the worst moments in American politics I’ve seen.
I can’t bring myself to even repeat her comments. Her shameless display of bigotry is so outrageous you actually have to see for yourself to believe it.
This is just a taste of the filth that the right-wing machine is gearing up to throw at us. And now that it’s begun, we have a choice: Do we sit back, or do we fight back?
I say we fight. Help us raise $100,000 in “Coulter Cash” this week to show every would-be Republican mouthpiece that their bigoted attacks will not intimidate this campaign. I just threw in 100 bucks. Will you join me? Just click here.
Coulter’s attack was no accident. It happened on national television at one of the year’s biggest conservative conferences. Dick Cheney and most of the Republican candidates were in the audience. She was even introduced by Mitt Romney.
Hey Ann, do it again!
(Yeah, I kept the link from the email. I’m not anywhere near endorsing Edwards, but if you are, by all means send him some flow.)
…but what I would be interested in doing is being involved in a boycott of Andy Coulter’s sponsors and advertisers.
<
p>
There’s a difference.
on Saturday morning, but if you’re inspired you can still kick in at ActBlue.
Let’s be sure to note that Ms. Coulter was preceded at the podium by Willard Mitt Romney. Just wondering if the candidate has any comments on the incident.
If he had SUCEEDED her at the podium, and failed to repudiate her remarks, THAT would be a bona fide scandal.
<
p>
Since he spoke BEFORE her, let’s see what he does. I would strongly recommend it. I head when asked that he said that while he appreciated her support, her remarks were over the top, but I think he needs to be a little more expicit than that.
And she’s endorsed his candidacy.
<
p>
This comment is just a blip on the screen from a Coulter perspective.
<
p>
Please remember that Ann has advocated locking liberals up for treason. Romney knew who who he was dealing with.
<
p>
What I don’t get is why David, et al. find this so shocking. This site regularly plays host to much greater displays of homophobia.
off the bad deeds of bigots. But I do think Edwards has missed an opportunity to show some solidarity with his gay constituents. Instead of disarming her comment with a brief gay-positive one, he left the implication intact that any comparison with gayness is, for a straight person, the grossest of insults. He eschews bigotry in his email, yet he prefers to use it for gain rather than deflate it with reason. He could have done both.
I think the message Edwards sent — that this is a great opportunity to raise some quick cash for his campaign — is actually not a very good one. Why not, among other things, explicitly call on Romney & Co. to repudiate Coulter’s use of such bigoted language?
and disarm her language by saying something like this poster at PamsHouseBlend said
If I were gay, I would certainly be proud to say so. But, I take offense at your implication that I am a liar and misrepresenting who I really am.
I’d prefer the version Laurel ported from Pam’s House Blend. The first sentence of your suggestion reads a little too close to “I’m not gay… not that there’s anything wrong with that” for me.
He is not Gay, and there is nothing wrong with being gay, so what is wrong with his saying that. If he said some of his best friends were gay that would be a diffeent story.
This was fundamentally an opportunity missed by Edwards.
Coulter shouldn’t have been the issue — the conventon itself should have been. It was like a wingnut wet dream.
<
p>
Just to name a few highlights:
<
p>
– The Swift Boat Veterans lead a panel discussion on “The Left’s Repeated Campaign Against the American Soldier”
<
p>
– Oliver North presented the “Defender of the Constitution Award”
<
p>
– Michelle Malkin received an “Accuracy in Media Award”
<
p>
And yet, Dick Cheney, Tony Snow, Mike Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani, Sam Brownback, Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney all spoke.
<
p>
Is there any other evidence needed that the Republican Party has completely lost touch with reality?
Elizabeth Edward’s comment on the JE08 blog in re Coulter.
<
p>
The site now seems to be back working, but there is not yet any evidence of a rush of contributions…
I think it’s nice she is supporting her spouse’s campaign, but he should be the one responding, an not on some obscure blog. She says Although her [Coulter’s] words did not hurt us, they may have hurt some in the gay community. This is really sad to me, but it does explain a lot. Coulter’s words should hurt all people who revile inequality and prejudice. That they didn’t hurt the Edwards’s says to me that they feel no solidarity with gay people.
<
p>
I do like this recommendation she made: John gave a graduation speech at NC State several years ago, and in it he said that none of us can stand by when words of bigotry and division are used. It is only when the rest of us stand up and say that this is not acceptable that we drum out the hate-mongers from amongst us. I will wait for John and other Dems to follow his own advice. Will I wait forever?
There is a good argument that Edwards shouldn’t dignify this crap with a personal reponse at all, as long as his surrogates respond. I thought Elizabeth had more or less the right tone, and I think you’re sort of misinterpreting “this didn’t hurt us”. She meant, I’d say, “as an attempt to hurt us, this failed, it only shows her desire to hurt gay people, the norms of civilized discourse, etc.”
OMG could you guys freak out any more violently about Coulter’s single use of the word “faggot”? This is Ann Coulter for pete’s sake, get a grip! Of course she is going to say things like that!
<
p>
So I wonder though, is it the derogatory term itself that upsets you, or the implication that Edwards, as a gay-seeming individual, is an insult?
<
p>
Seems to me that neither the word faggot nor references to gay-seemingness, effeminateness, etc etc are at all verboten among gay and gay friendly populations. The most recent gay person that I met introduced himself as “a fag”.
<
p>
Maybe because she means ill by her use of the term then?
<
p>
You guys are so over the top sometime, its like the candlelight vigil for the person who got “pushed down” recently. Is this reality-based or what?
<
p>
Anyway you all may need a new graphic to go along with the Romney campaign if this is worth any credence:
<
p>
http://seattlepi.nws…
<
p>
Please write up as a post if you have time.
They’re living parodies. Like ’em, hate ’em, but if you believe them, it’s like believing professional wrestling is real. The Edwards response, here.
……someone right of center says or does something worthy of criticism you show up here with the:
<
p>
“I can’t believe you guys care about this!!!” angle.
<
p>
You’re like a cute little predictable puppy!!! It’s just so damned adorable.
<
p>
…So I wonder though, is it the derogatory term itself that upsets you, or the implication that Edwards, as a gay-seeming individual…
<
p>
or do you just work at it?
was introduced to me by my black friend as “his nigga.”
<
p>
Doesn’t mean I would say it, nor does it mean that I would say it in a prepared speech in front of a group that I knew consisted largely of racists.*
<
p>
Yes, it matters. Yes, it’s inappropriate. How much do you think FOX News and the cabal would howl if a liberal pundit proclaimed a white guy as “cracker”?
<
p> * It’s a comparison. She was speaking to a room full of homophobes.
…(or at least a character playing a homophobe) whereas your black friend was obviously making a light-hearted off-the-cuff remark.
<
p>
One thing that people tend to ignore is that context matters.
<
p>
A couple of days ago, over at Pam’s House Blend, a gay-oriented web site, some people got all up in arms about the fact that a 55 year old lesbian financial guru (forget her name) had quipped to the NYTimes that she was a “virgin”. I mean, give me a break. Some people apparently can’t tell the difference between a remark that is obviously intended to offend–such as Coulter’s–from a remark that is obviously intended to be off-the-cuff humorous.