Question about Conservatism/Ann Coulter
 

Hello:

I was up late a few nights ago watching CSPAN2's Book TV. Ann Koulter was speaking. She also took questions from her very conservative audience.

Let me state: I am a Moderate. I'm neither a liberal nor a conservative. I am a Christian, but most of all I am a mixture of things. As Chris Rock says: somethings I'm liberal about, somethings I'm conservative about.

So I listened to Ann Koulter, mostly trying to understand what exactly it is that she had to say. I left really confused. I get that she is conservative, I even get that she is Christian, and that governs a lot of her beliefs (or at least enough to promote her book Godless: the Church of Liberalism or whatever its called.) But what I didn't get is that she seemed really angry and full of hate. Can someone explain this to me?

I understand that Conservatives love God and America because they believe their freedom came from God (this is what she said) and I get that- as a descendant of slaves I REALLY get that (no I don't believe Lincoln freed my ancestors). But I don't get why that requires such anger, such hate. She didn't seem to exhibit any of the love that Christ spoke taught- she seems to have utter contempt for those who disagree with her, not a loving spirit with regard to their differences and/or saving souls.

Is this all an act? If not, how does she (if you've read the book and know) reconcile this? She seems to be widely accepted by Christian conservatives- why? She just seemed so full of unnecessary hate to me.

I genuinely want to understand, but she just seemed to generally not exhibit Christ's love and I am at a lost as to how Christians have so wholly accepted her-- or have they not and I am just misinformed?

It's more of a conservative acceptance of her. And really only the far right. The rest... well lets just say I can't really categorize myself, but I"m conservative on quite a few issues. Ann Coulter disgusts me. She has no skills beyond insulting someone in response to a challenging statement.

And she's not good at that either, called someone "miss smarty-pants" once :rolleyes:

She's incredibly unChrist-like imo and is better ignored. She's a plagerist and has admitted to writing/speaking for attention.

She's a joke to many Christians and conservatives.

Don't let her tell you she's popular - she's kinda like one of those wannabe girls in high school that would take every chance to tell you that she's popular, but in reality most people couldn't stand her.

Don't you know people love me?

HELLO!?! ARE YOU LISTENING?

I'm SMART and PRETTY and THEY LIKE ME!

I'll readily admit that she displays a sarcasm reserved for those who are genuinely angry and fed up with something. And she has the razor sharp tongue and intelligence to shred the opposition.

I see her as not too different than a Paul Begala or a James Carville. I think they have Adam's Apples, but hers is because she is so downright bony. I'll have to remember to look at other women's Adams Apples in the future as an important tool to use in judging them. Apparently that is important, or so it would seem.

And, she is a sorority sister (DG - Chi Chapter, Cornell), so that's a pretty effing good reason to get a kick out of her ability to slash and burn her way through an interview with whatever talking head has her booked. After all, if the left can try to kick ass and take names with their little bitch boys, I guess the women on the right can do it too.

:cool:

And the name calling starts, and for the first time, it wasn't Coulter, it was a clone!

I never trust anyone who can't spell my name.

Let me state: Moderate means "nothing" and hopefully you do nothing on election day.

Maybe she just needs to get laid

The point is there was no talking head for her argue with. It was Book TV! She was simply delivered a lecture to a room full of people who AGREED with her, and had even paid her to come speak to them. There was no interview. She spoke and then her supporters asked questions- she was even mean to one of them. I just didn't get it.

Why would one get a kick out of seeing a woman demean and belittle those who are on her side?

that made me chuckle

I love Ann Coulter. She's brilliant, and she's mean. Good for her, sometimes stupid people need to be told they're stupid. I like her because she believes in things like personal responsibility and giving her opinion regardless of political correctness. Thus, it doesnt surprise me that many on this site dislike her...

As to her avoiding issues and rather simply insulting people, she rarely does that. There is a name for people who avoid the actual conflict and simply throw around blame and insults...Democrats.

^exalt.

I agree with most, although not all, of what Ann Coulter has to say. Honestly, I don't think she's any meaner than the liberal pundits.

She's a breath of fresh air!

I don't really listen to people on either side anymore. She annoys me, but Michael Moore does the same thing. She has said terrible things about Vietnam vets, and as the child of one, I feel like she can go to hell for that--not necessarily because of her politics.

Here's the thing for me. It's not that she's mean, it's that I don't see her able to hold an intelligent debate. Heck, even when it's her fans she's insulting.

And for someone who's all about "personal responsibility" the plagerism accusations, some of which I looked into, are VERY damning. She'll take a quote further out of context than any other well known writer/speaker and then make things up about it.

As for whether she's like the liberal pundits, I don't like them either. The whole Crossfire cast can go to hell and Michael Moore too as well as whoever else is out there.

Jon Stewart made a good point that the media (both sides) are helping to polarize America.

couldnt have said it better myself

Did you miss a couple weeks ago when she was vindicated about the plagerism claims regarding her last book?

Also, you saying she can't debate makes me think you've never actually watched her. Ann is a little brash for me at times, but I've seen her shame quite an array of opponents.

I read her column as it is in our local newspaper and I've seen/read some of the rest of the stuff she's done. Her column is flat out poorly written (and has been preempted more than 10 times by my newspaper because she's promoting her book, they gave her once and then yanked it when she didn't write about anything but the book.) As far as debate, name calling and insults do not a debate winner make. Mocking your opponent and his/her stance and not actually addressing the issue doesn't win you a lot of points.

I haven't seen that actually, last I heard she was still in trouble over it. And dropped from a newspaper or two. Now, I looked at some of the comparison between footnotes and quotes and they don't match up, at least not in my opinion. And for what its worth, when you challenge the integrity of someone's writing and that person says "look I have lots of footnotes, it must be right" it just makes me want to :rolleyes:

She is an extremist in every sense of the word and I dislike her for that. People like her make it hard for people like me to take either the left or the right seriously. Look I'm Christian and I believe in evolution! On NOes!! Apparently that's impossible according to Coulter/Moore types.

I don't really listen to them because they don't represent me.

I'm in the same boat; Coulter is intelligent, but some of the things she has said are way too far over the top for me.

Oh she can definitely dish it out, and her turns of phrase can surely make me laugh. But intelligently debate? No. One can't actually debate if one refuses to even listen to other opinions or relies on dismissive reponses. (And yes, I have watched and read her a fair amount. She can dodge answering a question with the best of them.)

At core she's an entertainer who panders to a specific audience.

Munchkin03 is dead on -- Coulter and Michael Moore are the the shadow images of each other. It may be fun to see what comes out of their mouths next, and we all love hearing our own opinions equated with The Truth, but are either one of them going to convince anyone who doesn't already agree with them? (Remember that the purpose of debate is to persuade, not to annihilate.) Neither of them really advances political discourse in this country -- they lower it to "[choose your politician/party] is (1) the worst thing ever to happen to this country, and (2) is the devil."

Neither conservatives nor liberals, Democrats nor Republicans have a monopoly on avoiding the actual conflict or throwing around blame and insults.

She's a good entertainer. Trying to see who is a better debater between Ann Coulter and Michael Moore is trying to see who has a better street credential, N'Sync or the Backstreet Boys.

I hate her. She is clearly only out to get attention.

Ann Coulter and Michael Moore are both idiots.

As for the fact that she calls herself Christian and seems to be full of hate... well, unfortunately a LOT of "Christians" do not practice the Christian ideals. There are some Christians who think that you're going to Hell if you don't agree with their interpretation of the Bible, religion, politics, etc. It makes me really sad, as someone who is both liberal AND holds Christian ideals.

Wow talk about a hypocritical statement... LMAO.

You can laugh, but the entire basis of the DNC platform is centered around destroying the GOP agenda. Perhaps you've never tuned into Howard Dean when he speaks.

As for comparing Moore to Coulter, that is simply ridiculous. Lets examine, for a moment, the credentials of each.

Moore- Perhaps a good filmaker with some interesting pieces, Eagle Scout, attended college at UM-Flint before dropping out. He also has written some pieces which have recieved some acclaim from certain communities.

Coulter- Completed her undergrad at Cornell, graduated from UM Law, where she was editor of the law review (quite a big deal, to those not familiar). She did some public interest law and private practice in D.C. and NYC, and also worked for the Senate Judiciary Committee. She also clerked for Judge Bowman the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Moore is a man, perhaps of intellect, perhaps not, who likes to rebel against the conservative faction of American politics, often with little backing. In so doing, he has at times isolated himself from the left. Coulter, while obviously brash and far-right, is also quite the scholar. She has extensive experience in both politics and law, and I would absolutely love to see her debate Moore on national tv.

Yes but their jobs are different. Moore is a filmmaker with a political motivation. Coulter is a political writer/speaker. I wouldn't expect Moore to be more of a scholar than Coulter. Coulter, if she could debate properly, shouldn't debate Moore, but someone equivalent to her in profession.

Moore just gets mentioned because he's visible and extreme.


/dislikes them both

Moore is comparable to Coulter because they're both attention whores. Its stupid to assume that I was comparing every single aspect of them.

Anyway they both suck.

Coulter is, as someone mentioned, a breath of fresh air. Its great to hear someone speak without regard to people's feelings. There are big issues in this world, and we shouldnt fear people's fragile sensibilities when addressing them. UNLIKE Moore, her statements are both direct and rational. She is not only harsh, but intelligent and informed as well. This seems to be a good topic we have going, so why doesn't someone bring up an opinion held by Coulter, and we'll talk about it,

SAY what? Those two words cannot be uttered together. She doesn't debate, she insults. She doesn't rationalize, she emotes. Have you ever actually really listened to her? Most people, people in the middle, who the republican party should be courting, are repulsed and turned away from the conservative side, simply by what she says. She's the best thing to ever happen to the Democratic party. Hell, my grandfather who borders on being a Nazi (he's that far right) thinks Coulter is an extremist.

I actually have heard her debate and listened to her expansively......and I think she holds her own and does very well. People think she only insults because of what they have heard on TV or read in writeups. She is very well informed and extremely educated.

Isn't she from the north?

Once again, present an issue that Coulter projects and you don't agree with, and we'll have at it.

Ms. Coulter has said that anyone with a brain is either a conservative or a liberal, those who claim to be in the middle she referred as being "dumb as a toaster". I don't consider myself a conservative yet I'm far from being a liberal. I don't agree at all with the far left or the far right, I take a more moderate stance on things.

Funny you should mention that since, as a "green dog Democrat" (part yellow dog, part blue dog), I think Howard Dean is an embarassment to the Democratic Party and is one of the DNC's worst mistakes in recent memory. (And there have been quite a few to choose from.)

Coulter is a cheerleader. She can energize and entertain the faithful who already agree with her by saying what they want to say. But I still say that she is far more likely to turn others away from her style of conservatism than to convince others that she is right.

It may be great to hear someone speak without regard to people's feelings, but one better keep in mind that, in political discourse, that speech well may alienate the people one wants to convince.

She's a good entertainer. Nothing more, nothing less.

I want there to be a moderate ticket in '08. I would love to see Gen. Wesley Clark, Rudy Guilliani (spelling? sorry) and Mark Warner on the same ticket as Pres, VP and Sec. of State, in any order, I think would be great. But that would mean that voters would have to look at leadership qualities and personal atributes, and not just buy into something pre-packaged by some "steering commitee" or focus group or something, so it will never happen.

It sounds to me like you need to lighten up.


****In other news****


Ann Coulter writes her fantasy novel "Making Love in the GOP"

Regarding Coulter as a cheerleader, thats true. I don't really think she tries to get people to cross over, and obviously she's too harsh to do that well.

About her comments about people in the middle, I'm not sure exactly what comments you're referring to...however, my first reaction is that she's probably referring to swing voters, the ones that shift on a weekly/monthly basis. To that degree, I'd have to agree. While there is to some degree a valid swing vote, much of it sways with whichever station they've watched that day (be it CNN or Fox). I might very well be wrong about what she meant, but thats just what instantly came to mind...

Also, I'd like to throw in this great quote from her article today regarding democratic support for the war on terror...

"They oppose every bust of a terrorist cell, sneering that the cells in Lackawanna, New York City, Miami, Chicago and London weren't a real threat like, say, a nondenominational prayer before a high school football game. Now that's a threat."

I want Ann Coulter to actually GO to a church instead of talking about it.