The blogosphere and mediots are abuzz today over the confrontation that took place between Ann Coulter and Elizabeth Edwards yesterday on Chris Matthews’ MSNBC show Hardball. Coulter was in the studio, and Mrs. Edwards made a supposedly impromptu phone call over Coulter saying she wished John Edwards would die in a terrorist attack.
My thoughts on Ann Coulter are well-known by my readers (see here and here for examples) so ’nuff said on that.
But isn’t it mildly ironic that Mrs. Edwards chides Coulter for her inflammatory rhetoric in spite of the fact that her husband’s campaign hired some of the most foul-mouthed inflammatory bloggers in the leftosphere, and wanted to keep them even after supposedly ‘just finding out’ through other bloggers and pundits just how crude and offensive they were, using terminology that makes Coulter look like Mary Poppins? He demanded ‘assurances’ from them, of course, that they would keep it clean on his blog but that said nothing about their continued insults and highly inflammatory and crude language used on their own.
Hey, it’s a free country, right? At least that’s what the left told us during Bloggergate …
Bottom line is: Here we go again - the left is foaming at the mouth over Ann Coulter, while they continue to refuse to police themselves, just as they have always done.
Hey Nutroots: Your wails of indignation over Ann’s comments and high-fiving each other over Mrs. Edwards’ ’slam’ aren’t fooling anyone. Wanna convince the right you’re really interested in civilized spirited dialogue? Then start demanding of your own side what you demand of the other.
Update I: I should have known. Check out the real reason Elizabeth Edwards called in to challenge Coulter: to raise money for her husband’s failing campaign. In other words, this was just a publicity stunt. Just like the time they tried to raise money after Ann’s controversial comments at CPAC in March, and just like John Edwards shamelessly used his wife’s cancer to get donations to his campaign.
Update II: Check out this video, which shows Coulter’s comments in context, which is very important here. She was making a point about how Bill Maher got away with calling for Dick Cheney’s assassination right around the time she was criticized about her CPAC comments, and said that the next time she said something negative about Edwards it would be that she wished he were to be killed in a terrorist attack because if Bill Maher could get away with making similar comments, then so should she. These comments have been presented in the MSM out of context, making it look as though Coulter came on the show specifically to say that. Now, I’m by no means a defender of Ann Coulter, but the media is guilty of a major deliberate dereliction of duty by not reporting what was said in context.
Once again, shame on the MSM.
I saw this on the Today Show this morning. I will give Ann this, she let Elizabeth go on and on and on and on…. blah, blah, blah. Knowing what I know about her husband, it really helps me to realize that she is just as delusional as her husband. Good Luck Elizabeth. - Lorica
Comment by Lorica @ 6/27/2007 - 1:42 pm
Ann Coulter could make mince-meat out of John Edwards; why didn’t HE call?
Comment by Tom TB @ 6/27/2007 - 6:37 pm
Cuz Tom, the issues are hiding behind Elizabeth’s skirt, or is that just John??
This for a woman who called her neighbor a rapid rapid Republican. A little late to start raising the bar there Elizabeth. - Lorica
Comment by Lorica @ 6/27/2007 - 7:48 pm
Context is always important, and in this case, extremely so. My opinion about the whole thing shifted once I saw all her words in context.
Comment by Little Miss Chatterbox @ 6/28/2007 - 12:47 am
The thing I noticed about Ann’s jjhad comment is how unremarkable it was. The host paid no particular attention to it and just went on with the interview.
Comment by David L @ 6/28/2007 - 9:54 am
Coulter has more brains in her little toenail than Matthews, Elizabeth, and Silky, AND ALL THEIR DESCENDANTS, will EVER have.
She is a very careful speaker, and writer.
A good red-baiter. The real entertainment is watching the heads of idiots explode.
ROFLMAO.
Comment by Layer Seven @ 6/28/2007 - 10:06 am