:
Fr Jun 16 -

OP-EDS ON COULTER -

Much kneejerk screed and invective have been issued in reaction to Ann Coulter's recent ghoulish rhetoric, but last evening I came across two more thoughtful
opinion pieces.

First, I agree with at least this one
point expressed by writer J.R. Dunn:

"The sense of bitterness one gets from Coulter has no political explanation. What’s actually behind it I’m sure I don’t know."

Where I depart from the party-affiliated like Dunn, is their presumption that the MSM has an agenda to discredit Republicans or self-styled Conservatives. I think they put her on TV simply because the more extreme the figure is, the more exciting they think it seems to the audience. Dunn mentions the Jerry Springer TV show which is probably based on the same premise. I was just surprised that Republican Christy Whitman wasn't cited by Dunn for her civility, although Whitman may not identify herself as a Conservative per se.

Matt Lauer's closing remark that it's "always fun" to give Coulter a forum made him look like a complete jerk. At least Conservatives like Dunn can be grateful for that.


The second Op-Ed piece
is by Joe Conason.

I enjoyed his quip that Coulter seems
to embody a new commercial rule:

"You can never be too rich,
too thin or too vicious."

Notable, too, is his point:

*She [Coulter] goes on to complain that the widows, by telling their personal stories of loss, were able to shut down their critics with sentimentality. But that charge too is obviously false, since she [Coulter] is now reaping profits and publicity by savaging them.*

And let's keep in mind that it isn't
"news" when a dog bites a man.
...