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| Ann Coulter | | Date Created: Apr 24, 2005, 11:19 AM |
 Since Ann Coulter made the cover of Time Magazine last week, some comment seems appropriate. It's been a long time since Bruce Springsteen made the cover of Time and Newsweek at the same time. I can't say I'm one of her fanatical fans, but obviously I'm not one of her pie-throwing, hate speech, fanatically Coulter-hating, liberal detractors either. She's a hard core conservative and buys into the Republican version of that too much for me. And yet she's correct about a lot of things.
I don't agree with her on abortion, libertarians, and the Terri Schiavo case to name a few, but unlike most of her flaming enemies, I have read three of her four books and seen the documentary DVD on her.
The front page article on Coulter is better than the DVD documentary. The author, John Cloud, seems to make an effort to be "fair and balanced" even to the point of being attracted to her and also repelled. The text is a roller coaster ride as he builds her up, then tears her down, then puts her back on a pedestal.
Since I know all about her and have read most of her output, I didn't learn much from the article, but it's fairly complete. Ann is not, as the article states, Ivy League educated (she went to Cornell undergrad and Univ. of Michigan law school) but that's a de rigeur quibble from a Princeton grad. The bio info is adequate although somewhat in the typical attempt to pop-psychoanalyze.
The real question is how good is Coulter at what she does, why does she drive the lefties (who would prosecute for hate crimes if what they do to her was done to a PC woman) into bilious paroxysms, and how effective is she at promoting conservative ideals and agendas?
Cloud attempts to answer these. I think she's very smart and good at what she does. Her research and work behind the writing is amazing -- the left is reduced to pathetic attempts to document her "lying lies". It's her style that you have to accept. George Will she ain't. She's more like a print version of Rush Limbaugh (who's also better writing than entertaining). Sarcasm and in-your-face intimidation aren't generally viewed as considered forms of discourse. But you've got to give her credit for finding a way to be successful at it.
Doctrinaire liberals hate her for their usual religious-fanaticism reasons plus she doesn't fit the mold they like to promote of right wing religious fanatics, their mirror image. It really is amazing to see how lefties treat people like David Horowitz,Clarence Thomas, and Condoleeza Rice.
And is she effective at promoting conservative ideals? Tough to say. It won't get her elected. It's certainly important to show that not all slim, attractive, blond women are Paris Hilton types. I'm kind of glad she does what she does. Too bad she's not a libertarian. |
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