Last Words On Ann Coulter

Bryan Preston:

[W]hat’s the big headline coming out of CPAC? Is it that Josh Sparling won a much-deserved award? Is it that conservatives remain committed to the war for freedom against terrorism? Is it that this post-blowout CPAC was the largest CPAC ever? Was it that I got to be on a teevee show?

No. The headline coming out of CPAC is that Ann Coulter said an awful thing. Which is what she wants, since it’ll keep her profile up and help her sell books. She doesn’t care that conservative heroes and leaders and thousands of other less known conservatives who were present will end up getting tarnished by her remarks. She doesn’t care that she’s putting the CPAC organizers in a bind, since she’s their biggest draw but also their biggest liability. She probably doesn’t care that she’s John Edwards’ spokesmodel. She probably likes the attention. It’s all about Ann. And that’s the problem.

Michelle (Ms. Malkin if you're nasty):

With a single word, Coulter sullied the hard work of hundreds of CPAC participants and exhibitors and tarred the collective reputation of thousands of CPAC attendees. At a reception for college students held by the Young America's Foundation, I lambasted the substitution of stupid slurs for persuasion-- be it "faggot" from a conservative or "gook" from a liberal--and urged the young people there to conduct themselves at all times with dignity in their ideological battles on and off campus.

I made something else explicitly clear: Not all of us treat the communication of conservative ideals and ideas as 24/7 performance art. You can and should use humor to convey your message. You can enlighten and entertain--without becoming a tired old schtick. You can joke without becoming the joke.

And of course all the Republican presidential candidates are forced to weigh in (NYT link).

They could be talking about their biographies, their values, their vision for the future. Instead they're talking about a cable-news clown.

I'm just tired of it.

posted by Ace at 05:41 PM

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