News Blackout After Ann Coulter Calls John Edwards a "Faggot"

There's been a marked lack of accountability after right-wing harpy Ann Coulter's hateful channeling of Isaiah Washington at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

The nation's largest and most prominent conservative summit was attended by 2008 Republican Presidential candidates Sen. Sam Brownback (KS), former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Reps. Duncan Hunter (CA) and Tom Tancredo (CO), former liberal pro-choice Gov. Mitt Romney (MA) as well as Vice President Dick Cheney. (Sen. John McCain did not attend, preferring to pander in private.) Ann Coulter suggested that Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards is a "faggot". Think Progress has video HERE.

Speaking to an overflow room of activists, Romney enthusiastically introduced the bigoted pundit: "I am happy to hear that after you hear from me, you will hear from Ann Coulter. That is a good thing. Oh yeah!"

The right-wing hack—wearing one of her trademark slinky black cocktail dresses—took the stage to spew her venom. “I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word ‘faggot,’ so I—so kind of an impasse, can’t really talk about Edwards."

The crowd turned silent, then cheered and applauded Coulter's hate speech. If you listen to the video, numerous laughs from men and women are audible. There is nothing funny here—this is pathetic.

Unfortunately, it's not the first time Ann has gay-bashed to taunt progressives and Democrats.

March: Coulter implies George Clooney is gay and HIV positive. July: Al Gore is a "total fag" and Bill Clinton has the "whiff of a bath house" around him. August: Coulter implies Sen. Hillary Clinton is lesbian.

Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean immediately blasted Coulter and demanded she apologize, and, the GOP presidential candidates and VP Cheney rebuke her remarks. "The comments were wildly inappropriate,” said a spokesman for Senator John McCain—who did not attend the event—to "The Caucus", The New York Times' political blog. McCain has equivocated on almost everything from the Iraq War to choice and gay rights, but, at least he stood up to Coulter's hateful message. The Romney campaign also criticized Coulter for the "It was an offensive remark." The other Republican candidates and Cheney have remained silent. At the very least, you'd think that Mary Cheney could call up her dad and complain and ask him or Lynne to make a statement. That demonstrates her influence and the White House and Republican National Committee's priorities.

The Times blogger, Adam Nagourney, also used the opportunity to remark that Coulter "is about as popular in liberal Democratic circles as Hillary Rodham Clinton is in Republican circles." The analogy was ridiculous especially because Clinton is unpopular among many progressives—albeit for totally different reasons—and, to our knowledge, has never publicly called her critics a "faggot" or advocated executing editors and reporters at The New York Times.

The Times' blog post was even more troubling because Coulter's remarks were not reported in the main political pages of the Times, the Washington Post or the Associated Press. Democrats point out that lesbian Mary Cheney is a lesbian and all hell breaks lose. Ann Coulter calls straight boy John Edwards a fag and there is a news blackout. So much for the vast, left-wing media conspiracy.

UPI and FOX Cover Coulter, AP, WaPo and NYT Nowhere to Be Found (AmericaBlog)

Coulter: I Would Talk About Edwards But “You Have To Go Into Rehab If You Use The Word ‘Faggot’” (Video @ Think Progress)

Fallout Over Coulter’s Anti-Gay Remark (NYT Blog)

Some Background ...

News: Ann Coulter's Jockstrap (Rod 2.0) Political Briefs: Only on Fox (Rod 2.0) (Same) Sex Sells (Rod 2.0) Coulter Calls Gore a "Fag" (Rod 2.0) "You're Getting Testy with Me!" (Rod 2.0) More in the Ann Coulter Index

Comments

[Samuel I]

Ann Coulter is a racist, hate mongering bitch. She needs to be shut down.

[rob a]

people try to pretend that Ann is irrelevant but she's just irreverent. That doesn't make her any less dangerous.

[Jim]

Rod,

Have you seen the video yet of John Amaechi, as an HRC spokesman, denouncing Coulter’s words? Excellent.

[anon]

It used to be funny when she was pie'd. No, it seems like Coulter is getting off too easy.

[ATL Kid]

Now she has apologized but not really. She says that she wouldn't insult gays by including John Edwards with us. Ann Coulter never saw a camera she didn't love.

[Andy in Seattle]

Does she deserve to be called to account for her rants? Sure, and God bless Amaechi for his response.

Should she be silenced? No--for two reasons:

1) if one truly believes in free speech and expression, that means even stupid mean-spirited and ugly comments are allowed--and responded to swiftly and directly with articulate class and clarity and wit (and not counter-name-calling), because...

2) it turns a vicious outburst on the Right into a victory for the Left, and shows that the "faggots" are the rational ones, not the discriminatory dolts. Allowing her and her ilk to give voice to their ugly rhetoric unmasks the myth of "compassionate conservatism" and reveals the enemies of equal rights and diversity to be the mean-spirited ignorant folk they are, and unworthy of being in power.

What is more dangerous is silence, which as Rod points out often happens when the Mainstream Media finds itself forced to confront a subject that makes news editors (so often older straight white men) uncomfortable.

But when we respond, it is important we do so with the objective in mind--to open people's minds, to reveal the hatred behind our enemies' rhetoric, and to gain political support (and hence win).

So go ahead, Ann, if you want to keep making your little "fag" remarks and be a sort of George Wallace in heels, and we'll respond and make you look like the fool you are. Progress--and forward movement--is with our side right now, and your frightenend little jackboot-rally speech won't stop that political inertia. It only makes us look classier.

[Hot Club Head]

Why do the lyrics to an old house music classic keep running through my head... Beat that bitch with a bat, Beat that bitch with a bat, Beat that bitch with a bat.