For the Ann Coulter Fans Here

[Guest web_norah]

THE UN-AMERICANISM OF ANN COULTER

By Joseph Honick

An appalling reality is that someone being released from jail—Paris Hilton—will get greater media coverage than the call by a licensed lawyer—Ann Coulter—for the death of John Edwards, a political candidate for the presidency of the United States.

The political atmosphere during election years is always filled with rhetoric that is hardly of any major intellectual level. Usually comments are either specific character attacks, demeaning the stands of opponents on issues of relative importance, and so on. What is unusual is the kind of un-American commentary by the rancid tongue of Ann Coulter, who makes a living pouring out some of the most offensive vitriol that is not equaled by other campaigns.

Elizabeth Edwards discusses Coulter with Chris Matthews this week. Photo: Newsbusters

In the last couple of days, Coulter used her constitutionally guaranteed right of free speech to express her wish that presidential candidate and former Senator John Edwards had been killed by terrorists. When the candidate’s wife, in reasoned commentary, urged the end of hate talk, the best Coulter could muster was a loud: “She [referring to Mrs Edwards] wants me to stop talking. No!â€

Actually, I agree with Coulter on this one as it applies to whether she should keep talking. The more she talks with her dripping hate messages, the more people will come to understand who and what she is and represents. It reeks of the kind of oratory in the days of the late Father Coughlin, who had millions of listeners to his preaching over the radio in the 30’s, or Ku Klux Klan rantings over the years.

The wonder is not what makes up a person of the Coulter ilk so much as it is what makes her so attractive to some people—willing to sign on to her smear tactics and even pay to listen to her—and what that says about the rest of us.

Most of us, in calculating the character of public spectacles which Coulter has made herself, often try to go back to how such character was formed; what causes anyone to spew hatred and demeaning rhetoric in all directions in ways that exceed the bounds of impoliteness or even the usually vague lines of political combat.

With Coulter and her array of supporters, if online comments are included, we are witnessing a new meaning of Un-American activities that cry out for review. Comments that call for the death of another come close to the kind of rhetoric removed from constitutionally protected areas and represent something close to incitement to dangerous actions against others.

Where is the outrage?

But why is there no loud expression of outrage? Where are the other Democratic candidates to condemn such language? Why are not conservatives doing the same as citing Coulter’s obscene language as totally contrary American values, forgetting the law? Where are the major religious organizations who should be in the forefront to nail her words as disgraceful?

The answer is that almost all of those mentioned have responded with something just above wimpy reactions. It is this kind of irresponsible acquiescence that is contributing to the continuous falloff of citizen confidence in our electoral system at a time when the nation is suffering reputationally around the world.

It behooves anyone reading this article to renounce the kind of unpatriotic Coulter comments that might contribute to the physical harm of any candidate of any party. It can be done by flooding your news media with letters and phone calls and doing the same to your representative in Congress.

In the end, it is all the more shameful that the release of Paris Hilton from prison can gather more public attention than a person who would incite the killing of a candidate for public office.

[ryan2772]

she should be checked for the mark of the beast...it's gotta be there...

[Guest web_norah]

the things people do for attention ...i wonder what she was like as a teenager

???

[Guest pod]

Probably let the football team run a train on her.

[Guest JMT]

i try to avoid getting my news from editorials so i looked up the direct quote.

"I was denounced all over. All over. I think the one that hurt the most was, was from I'mALittleGirlInAPinkPartyDress.com… Very upsetting…Though about the same time Bill Maher said - and by the way, I did not call John Edwards the F-word. I said I couldn't talk about him because you go into rehab for using that word. But about the same time, you know, Bill Maher was not joking and saying he wished Dick Cheney had been killed in a terrorist attack. So I've learned my lesson. If I'm gonna say anything about John Edwards in the future, I'll just wish he had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot."

[Guest web_norah]

....If I'm gonna say anything about John Edwards in the future, I'll just wish he had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot

i suppose that's being 'diplomatic' in Ann Coulter language.

[Guest endymion]

Thanks for looking up the actual quote.

And that's pretty harsh.

[Guest slamminshaun]

I didn't know Ann Coulter had any fans here....??

But you're right JMT, as harsh as her quote is on the surface, it's no more harsh than what Bill Maher said about Cheney. And it's pretty obvious she was simply making a point. I don't recall Norah posting Maher's comments, and it was pretty obvious he was NOT simply trying to make a point.....

[Guest endymion]

Bill Maher was commenting on a blog post that somebody else wrote. The post was:

"I have zero doubt that if Dick Cheney was not in power, people wouldn’t be dying needlessly tomorrow."

Asked by Frank if Maher believed that sentiment, the host replied, "I’m just saying if he did die, other people, more people would live. That’s a fact."

source: Fox News

Bill Maher didn't say, "I wish Dick Cheney would get killed by terrorists". Coulter wins this round for sure: "I wish [John Edwards] had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot." Wow that's harsh.

[ryan2772]

Bill Maher was commenting on a blog post that somebody else wrote. The post was:

"I have zero doubt that if Dick Cheney was not in power, people wouldn’t be dying needlessly tomorrow."

Asked by Frank if Maher believed that sentiment, the host replied, "I’m just saying if he did die, other people, more people would live. That’s a fact."

source: Fox News

Bill Maher didn't say, "I wish Dick Cheney would get killed by terrorists". Coulter wins this round for sure: "I wish [John Edwards] had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot." Wow that's harsh.

i wish bill maher ran for president.

[Guest web_norah]

I am no Mother Teresa but even I wouldn't choose then wise words of Ann Coulter ...that's already stirring more animosity and HATE which is the reason why I posted the commentary, it is anti-American and she should be ashamed of herself.

At this stage in the game, I also wouldn't say, we wouldn't be here if Dick Cheney had _______ ---and agreed, Bill Maher is a cool cat.

[Guest slamminshaun]

I am no Mother Teresa but even I wouldn't choose then wise words of Ann Coulter ...that's already stirring more animosity and HATE which is the reason why I posted the commentary, it is anti-American and she should be ashamed of herself.

Do comments like this help the cause? We can go "tit for tat" all day long if you'd like...

[Guest web_norah]

I am no Mother Teresa but even I wouldn't choose then wise words of Ann Coulter ...that's already stirring more animosity and HATE which is the reason why I posted the commentary' date=' it is anti-American and she should be ashamed of herself.

[/quote']

Do comments like this help the cause? We can go "tit for tat" all day long if you'd like...

i don't know

that's apples to oranges to me.

Ann Coulter is a well-known published author and journalist, much like Rush Limbaugh, people in this country listen to her / him and they make headlines constantly.

i have no idea who that other guy is --his relevance is insignificant, just by reading the comparison 'Bush to Hitler' is a ridiculous statement and "i" wouldn't even give him the time a day, maybe other people do .. i guess.

Ann Coulter is far more scary, imo.

[Guest endymion]

Do comments like this help the cause? We can go "tit for tat" all day long if you'd like...

For years' date=' I have been making the same comparison, and every time I have backed up the comparison with my reasoning. For example, this post, or this post, pointing out documentaries about the Nazis that illustrate clear parallels between the Bush Administration's foreign policy and the Nazi scapegoating of the communists and the Jews. The documentaries are solely about the Nazis, they never mention Bush, but you can't watch the one about the Nazi occupation of Poland without seeing the parallels for yourself. The Nazis dehumanized the Poles, the Russians, and the Jews and thought of them as less-than-human, and every Nazi atrocity sprouted from that single poison seed. Americans dehumanize anybody with brown skin or anybody who reads the Koran, and history shows that there are inevitable consequences of dehumanizing entire groups of people.

The knee-jerk reaction from Bushies is to automatically get offended when somebody mentions the words "Bush" and "Hitler" in the same sentence, without giving any thought to whether there may be some basis in the comparison. If Hitler and all that he stood for is so offensive to us now, then we should be vigilant in preventing history from repeating itself with the same atrocities. Did anybody watch any of the documentaries, or even glance at the Wikipedia articles that I posted about the occupation of Poland? No, absolutely not! Bushies take it on faith that Bush could never parallel Hitler in any way and that's the end of the story to them. They revile Hiltler because they were taught from birth to revile Hitler but they have little concept of what Hitler actually did that was so wrong. Ignorance is bliss, because without understanding the history of the Nazis, you will never see parallels between the Bush Administration and 1930s Nazi Germany.

One of my first posts ever to compare the Bush Administration and Nazi Germany was eight months after the invasion, in February of 2004. I wrote a post about the dangers of dehumanizing a group of people, as the Nazis did to the Jews and to communists. My post was written well before the effects of our dehumanization of all Muslims were visible in the Abu Ghraib abuse photos, and later in the Haditha massacre. My comparisons between the Nazi Enabling Act of 1933, which Rep Ellison was referring to with his comments, comparing it to the Patriot Act, were dismissed by Bushies on this forum as baseless and ridiculous. Torture of detainees, secret CIA prisons in Eastern Europe, and the Bush Administration's use of extraordinary rendition, were all revelations that came after my comparison to the Nazis.

History has shown that comparisons between the Bush Administration and Nazi Germany are not just extreme rhetoric. There really truly are parallels. Bushies respond to the comparisons by sticking their fingers in their ears and going, "NYA NYA NYA I CAN'T HEAR YOU NYA NYA NYA", so they still have yet to realize that the Hitler comparisons are serious issues that people are trying to draw attention to, not simply the left-wing "tit for tat" equivalent of calling John Edwards a faggot or wishing out loud that he be assassinated by terrorists.

Stop treating comparisons between Nazi Germany and the Bush Administration as baseless rhetoric. Learn about the Nazis and why they were evil, and why so many people make the comparison.

[Guest musicalmissionary]

He has also compared George Bush to Adolph Hitler on numerous occasions and makes no apologies for it...

Nor should he.

[Guest slamminshaun]

so they still have yet to realize that the Hitler comparisons are serious issues that people are trying to draw attention to, not simply the left-wing "tit for tat" equivalent of calling John Edwards a faggot or wishing out loud that he be assassinated by terrorists.

There are "thought-provoking" books out there promoting the assassination of Bush, there's a movie out there promoting the assassination of Bush, Rhandi Rhodes said on her show that Bush should be killed off like Fredo in the Godfather....and how about these winners...?? You call this free speech, but anything Coulter says is "harsh", while Norah calls it dangerous....

[Guest JMT]

i'm not a Coulter fan, nor do i follow her career as much as her other non-fans on here apparently do, but it's as obvious as day that her comment was a joke played off the remarks by Maher, portrayed accurately or not. both comments were effectively saying the same thing. anyone who tries to argue otherwise is just being biased.

[BobbyTrendy]

this ann coulter sounds like a real cunt....

[Guest Marina22]

I had never heard of her before till I saw her on Maher. She is infuriating as Maher is to other people too. That's why he's had her on his show since she is controversial, harsh, and on the opposite team.

[Guest web_norah]

I had never heard of her before till I saw her on Maher. She is infuriating as Maher is to other people too. That's why he's had her on his show since she is controversial, harsh, and on the opposite team.

Maher can be very recalcitrant --but i've yet to hear him make statements the way Coulter does, wishing people do 'die of a terrorist attack' and defending the likes of Jerry Falwell ...she is good tv for some, unfortunately.

i think there is a slightly take on both.

[Guest slamminshaun]

I had never heard of her before till I saw her on Maher. She is infuriating as Maher is to other people too. That's why he's had her on his show since she is controversial, harsh, and on the opposite team.

Maher can be very recalcitrant --but i've yet to hear him make statements the way Coulter does, wishing people do 'die of a terrorist attack' and defending the likes of Jerry Falwell ...she is good tv for some, unfortunately.

i think there is a slightly take on both.

Bill Maher just a few days after 9/11: "But also, we should -- we have been the cowards lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That's cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building, say what you want about it, it's not cowardly."

[Guest endymion]

Bill Maher was commenting on a blog post that somebody else wrote. The post was:

"I have zero doubt that if Dick Cheney was not in power, people wouldn’t be dying needlessly tomorrow."

Asked by Frank if Maher believed that sentiment, the host replied, "I’m just saying if he did die, other people, more people would live. That’s a fact."

source: Fox News

Bill Maher didn't say, "I wish Dick Cheney would get killed by terrorists". Coulter wins this round for sure: "I wish [John Edwards] had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot." Wow that's harsh.

I also agree with the assertion, "if Dick Cheney was not in power, people wouldn’t be dying needlessly tomorrow".

The previous paragraph was NOT the equivalent of calling Dick Cheney a faggot and saying that I wish that he would be assassinated by terrorists.

[Guest web_norah]

Bill Maher was commenting on a blog post that somebody else wrote. The post was:

"I have zero doubt that if Dick Cheney was not in power, people wouldn’t be dying needlessly tomorrow."

Asked by Frank if Maher believed that sentiment, the host replied, "I’m just saying if he did die, other people, more people would live. That’s a fact."

source: Fox News

Bill Maher didn't say, "I wish Dick Cheney would get killed by terrorists". Coulter wins this round for sure: "I wish [John Edwards] had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot." Wow that's harsh.

I also agree with the assertion, "if Dick Cheney was not in power, people wouldn’t be dying needlessly tomorrow".

The previous paragraph was NOT the equivalent of calling Dick Cheney a faggot and saying that I wish that he would be assassinated by terrorists.

I agree and stress thats the point I've been making, having an opinion vs actually wishing someone'd die in the hands of a terrorist ...

[Guest slamminshaun]

Bill Maher was commenting on a blog post that somebody else wrote. The post was:

"I have zero doubt that if Dick Cheney was not in power, people wouldn’t be dying needlessly tomorrow."

Asked by Frank if Maher believed that sentiment, the host replied, "I’m just saying if he did die, other people, more people would live. That’s a fact."

source: Fox News

Bill Maher didn't say, "I wish Dick Cheney would get killed by terrorists". Coulter wins this round for sure: "I wish [John Edwards] had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot." Wow that's harsh.

I also agree with the assertion, "if Dick Cheney was not in power, people wouldn’t be dying needlessly tomorrow".

The previous paragraph was NOT the equivalent of calling Dick Cheney a faggot and saying that I wish that he would be assassinated by terrorists.

I agree and stress thats the point I've been making, having an opinion vs actually wishing someone'd die in the hands of a terrorist ...

It's wrong for BOTH sides to do it. Unlike you and Tech, I realize that BOTH sides say stupid things and wish stupid things. I don't recall either of you posting anything derogatory about the Bush assassination movie, Bush assassination books, or Randi Rhodes calling for Bush to be killed....face it, it's a liberal wet dream and fantasizing about such things is as sick and twisted as openly tap-dancing on Falwell's grave.

[Guest endymion]

...face it' date=' it's a liberal wet dream and fantasizing about such things is as sick and twisted as openly tap-dancing on Falwell's grave.

[/quote']

Nope, sorry. I do not either secretly or openly wish that my president or vice president be assassinated by terrorists, even if the my president at the time is Bush and my vice president at the time is Cheney. Yet I still agree with the assertion, "if Dick Cheney was not in power, people wouldn’t be dying needlessly tomorrow". Twisting that into, "I wish that Dick Cheney would be assasinated", is mega-spin.

...face it, Ann Coulter's comments on John Edwards were wildly inappropriate and totally unproductive.

I really truly worry about people who equate, "If this guy were not in power then things would be better", with "I wish this guy were dead." What kind of sociopath blindly assumes that because I disagree with a leader's policies, that I wish to see him assassinated? That kind of thinking really reveals a lot about the thought processes of some of the warmongers who were blind to all non-military options for dealing with Saddam, or who are currently blind to all non-military options for dealing with Iran and Syria.

Where is Osama, BTW? Ann Coulter would rather see John Edwards assassinated than Osama bin Laden? That's a real patriot, wow I'm proud to be in a country run by people who think like that. No wonder we're losing the War On Terror!