Defying Ann Coulter

http://www.intellectualconservative.com ^ | Thursday, 19 September 2002 | Brian S. Wise

[BrianS.Wise]

Every once in awhile, someone says “no” to Ann Coulter, and a light-duty controversy ensues; typically you’ll see debate whenever some odd person or organization has the nerve to refuse a prominent woman’s desires, demands and / or opinions (e.g. the recent controversy over female memberships at Augusta National), but things are always different when Ann Coulter is the woman in question. The newest controversy began with a column, “Battered Republican Syndrome,” in which she fired off the following salvo:

“This [the Kennedy family badmouthing the Bush family out of turn] is as we have come to expect from a family of heroin addicts, statutory rapists, convicted and unconvicted female-killers, cheaters, bootleggers and dissolute drunks known as ‘Camelot.’ Why would anyone want such people as ‘good friends’?” (Well then! Let it be said here that some of debate’s most unbelievable battles have been drawn around the bodies of the Kennedy boys; the most savagely your author has ever been handled in a debate was the night it came from the conservative podium, “Am I supposed to respect them [JFK and RFK] because they each used Marilyn Monroe as a spittoon?”)

The Centre Daily Times, a State College, Pennsylvania newspaper, took that as the last straw and dropped Coulter’s column from its pages, having previously informed its readers that the column was on probation (as it were) due to the frankness of her views and the manner in which they were conveyed. On The O’Reilly Factor, Times editor Bob Unger went to reasonable lengths to say 1) that his paper is basically a moderate paper in a largely Right-wing town, 2) that Coulter is a hater of Democrats, liberals, environmentalists and “most Muslims,” and that, 3) a majority of mail sent to his paper plainly stated they were okay with the column’s removal because people are “tired of hate.” Safe to say no vote was needed on whether or not people are tired of hate.

In defense of Ann Coulter: she is an asset to a movement (conservatism) that is, generally speaking, much too plaintive and soft spoken for its own good, that refuses to recognize the rest of the world has modernized while it hasn’t, that will not face its opposition (liberalism) in the same manner in which it is continuously treated. Coulter’s tendency is to respond to liberalism as it has responded to conservatism over the years, with open contempt. In terms of tone, she has said nothing here of the Kennedy’s that hasn’t been said of President Bush’s family, by the Left, with the accusations changed to retain relevance.

It also bares mentioning, though it should seem obvious, that Coulter gets as good as she gives; the difference between “Battered Republican Syndrome” and Thor Helsa’s old “Ann of a Thousand Lays” column for salon.com (in which it is suggested Coulter injects herself with her own urine to stay thin) is that Helsa’s piece is considered high comedy by its primary audience, while Coulter’s blasts are considered hate speech. (One cannot help but wonder if this is because Coulter’s work is actually being read by enough people to register an impact. How many bestsellers has Thor Helsa had?)

Now to the other side: The more often someone is dumped, the less likely it becomes the person being dumped is simply misunderstood (cf. Coulter’s previous problems with National Review Online). A certain act can play itself out in a column distributed, say, to Internet-only audiences, but when it comes to newspaper syndication, one should probably exercise a little more decorum. (Your author wouldn’t, for example, refer to Marilyn Monroe’s being used as a spittoon had this column been written for the Wall Street Journal.)

Those who appreciate Coulter (I am one) cannot help but wonder whether or not she consistently stacks the deck against herself because she enjoys the challenge (“I Stand Alone Against the World”) or because she is a keener public relations maven than originally suspected. No matter the overall truth of the Kennedy statement (and there’s nothing but truth in it), Coulter’s thought pattern doesn’t always translate well to those not as vehement in their objections, especially over breakfast.

Anyone who openly defies or opposes Ann Coulter is her enemy; whether or not this is inherently healthy as a personal philosophy can be debated (though one suspects not), even if on a base level people appreciate protectionism of one’s allies and beliefs. Problem is, the more managing editors she alienates, the less likely it is Coulter will be taken seriously, and the damage done then is not only to her reputation, but to conservatism in general, which her fans hope she comes to consider.

[habs4ever]

A little of her goes a long way.

[Rockitz]

Unfortunately, conservatism has relied a bit too much on the back-handed complimentary, tongue-in-cheek, jesting style of character assasination for treating those on the Left and only intellectual conervatives understand what was really being said. Ann is more direct and mainstream America understands exactly what she's saying. While it may cause conservatives to bite their tongues and offend their sense of dignity, I'm afraid I'll have to agree that it's necessary to call a spade a spade because, let's face it, mainstream America does not have the IQ points that conservatives do. Maybe it's because Ann's all woman that it's hard to watch sometimes. To that I say, YOU GO GIRL!

[marron]

And anyway, I am so tired of the Kennedy's ripping into Repubs, who are afraid to answer back to America's royalty.

And I am tired of Repubs complimenting the Kennedys, and trying to gain legitimacy by quoting JFK.

I am tired of people going on about all the good the Kennedys have done for the country, and everyone just knods their heads approvingly. Gee.

What Ann said about them is true, needs to be said, and is only the half of it. JFK's war time record, his private life, his betrayal of the Tibetans, and the Cubans, and the VietNamese, and his family's dalliances with NAZIs and Mafiosos, and so on down the line could fill a movie that will never be made.

[BrianS.Wise]

I agree, on all points.

[brat]

"In defense of Ann Coulter: she is an asset to a movement (conservatism) that is, generally speaking, much too plaintive and soft spoken for its own good, that refuses to recognize the rest of the world has modernized while it hasn’t, that will not face its opposition (liberalism) in the same manner in which it is continuously treated. Coulter’s tendency is to respond to liberalism as it has responded to conservatism over the years, with open contempt."

Although she occasionally could soften her rhetoric with equal effect, I agree that it's past time we learned how to communicate on a street level.

I applaud her for that...she makes a great role model for kids faced with the malevolent drivel constantly spewed from the mouths of trusted mentors like teachers and professors.

This move is also mirrored in todays Christian Youth Movement. They don't lie down and take it anymore. They stand up for their rights and are winning battles because of it. No more sheep led to the slaughter.

[gcruse]

I learned years ago that I could not proof read my
own stuff until the instant at which it is impossible
to make any corrections. Then the mistake shine out
like searchlights. It is an amazing transformation.

[BrianS.Wise]

And a maddening one ...

[A CA Guy]

Ann has no worries. She says what many think, so she will always have an audiance. But unlike Democrats, Ann's audiance has MONEY to pay for her books and other intellectual property.

[marron]

By the way, good column. Is this your habit, to vet your columns here?

[BrianS.Wise]

Have been giving a lot of thought to writing a book about what the new Right would look like if, five years from now, it consisted of more Ann Coulters than not ... maybe next year.

[beckett]

I've made similar remarks about Coulter for several years, though I haven't said them as well nor have they been as comprehensive.

Coulter's got a steel trap mind and a solid grasp of the important arguments upon which conservatism rests, and she writes very well, but the mean streak a mile wide running down her back frequently sabotages her. The uncalled for 'girly boy' crack about Rich Lowry is a case in point. Coulter needs a few lessons from Emily Post on playing well with others.

[BrianS.Wise]

Thanks. Yes, the columns are mailed to those on my mailing list as soon as they are completed, then my affiliates, then here at Free Republic.

[BrianS.Wise]

Exactly ...

[BrianS.Wise]

And I adore her, I just don't want to see her self-destruct somewhere down the road.

[brat]

Yes...PC has saturated the Republicans too. It will be the death of this nation.

[John Lenin]

The more the media hates Ann ,the more I like her.

[sweetliberty]

"The fact many conservatives defend her scorched earth style would I assume mean that these same folks think it's fine when James Carville & Crew do the same thing."

If you're speaking English to someone who only understands German, you can talk until you're blue in the face and you will not make yourself understood. Communication requires a common language. Ann speaks the language of liberals. They may not like it, but they get it.

[BrianS.Wise]

There is no better reason to like someone, I suppose ... remember, to whatever degree the media dislikes something, the greater the benefit that thing is to conservatism.

[TLBSHOW]

CHECK OUT THIS SITE........

http://www.richardpoe.com/

[sarasmom]

"the quiet bigotry of low expectations"

There is also "shut that woman up, she is too, well, "unladylike" and should learn her place.

Give me a break.Ann Coulters popularity has spread by word of mouth, grass roots conservatives.I read George Will, I read Ann Coulter.I am #177 on the local library waiting list for Scandal. I just finished "High Crimes and Misdemeaners".

Dare I detect a hint of writer envy for her popularity in your "thoughtfull" reasoning on her written works?

Conservative women are not now, nor have they ever been, weak subserviant citizens.If it takes a loud female voice to remind conservative men of the stakes, so be it. Go Ann!