Right wing bloggers turn on Coulter

I notice that Ann Coulter has decided to defend her disgraceful remarks about John Edwards by labelling them a "schoolyard taunt" and claiming that she was not being offensive as she was simply "making a joke" and that it carries overtones of "the old Soviet Union" for people to try and silence her.

The notion that something can't be offensive if it is intended as a joke is simply too puerile to even respond to. In the early eighties, here in the UK, much of the groundwork of political correctness was established through comedy and a group of young "alternative" comedians who decided that it was not acceptable to get laughs by mocking someone's colour, gender or sexual orientation. That Coulter is still unaware that comedy can offend renders her as some kind of comedic dinosaur.

However, what was interesting about her recent appearance on Hannity and Colmes was that she claimed all complaints about her stem from Democrats pretending to be Republicans.

Now, however, a group of Republican bloggers have got together and demanded that Coulter be excluded from next years CPAC event.

At the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2006, Coulter referred to Iranians as “ragheads.” She is one of the most prominent women in the conservative movement; for her to employ such reckless language reinforces the stereotype that conservatives are racists.

It's taken these Republicans more than a year to complain about what was blatantly a racist remark. However, they claim that it was the Edwards comment that proved to them that, "after her “raghead” remark in 2006 she took some heat. Yet she did not grow and learn. We should have been more forceful."

The implication of this is that Republicans were up in arms complaining but "should have been more forceful" than they were. Sure there was mild rebuke, but there was hardly outrage at what she said. Indeed, their greatest concern appeared to be that her remarks were fodder for Democrats rather than that the remarks were offensive.

Michelle Malkin claimed at the time:

"Ragheads" is not the word that immediately comes to my mind. Evildoers. Bloody murderers. Bastards. Yes. "Ragheads?" No.

Whilst it's true that some, like Malkin, complained that Coulter was hurting their cause, another CPAC invitation was extended this year because Coulter is spectacularly popular amongst the CPAC crowd. She's like a rock star, saying things that they believe but would never dare utter out loud.

The right wing bloggers have decided that enough is enough and have issued an Open letter to CPAC:

CPAC sponsors, the Age of Ann has passed. We, the undersigned, request that CPAC speaking invitations no longer be extended to Ann Coulter. Her words and attitude simply do too much damage.

Understand that it's not that the words are offensive, it is that they "simply do too much damage" to the Republican cause.

A list of the bloggers that have signed up to this is included at the bottom of the Open Letter. Michelle Malkin is notable by her absence.

But CPAC's organiser's will be in a dreadful quandary over this. Do they take the advice of the group of bloggers and exclude their rock star from next year's event? I mean, who puts bums on seats; the bloggers or Coulter?

Coulter is insanely popular at CPAC because of what she says, not despite it.

So it'll be interesting to see what happens at next years event. Will Ann be forced on a one year sabbatical? For you can bet one thing; she hasn't made her last appearance before a group of people who's values she absolutely represents.

They love her because they agree with her. And a group of bloggers worrying about 2008 will, if anything, remove her from CPAC for only the shortest possible amount of time.

And, even if CPAC accedes to this request, Sean Hannity can always be relied upon to give Coulter the oxygen of publicity that her career thrives on.

Tags: Ann Coulter, CPAC, bloggers open letter to CPAC