That was no lady — that was my husband

Ann Coulter's picture

The Edwards campaign is apparently still running low on donations, so this week they went back to their top fund-raiser: me.

I doubled the ratings of the lowest-rated cable news show on Tuesday by agreeing to go on for a full hour to promote my new paperback version of “Godless” — a mistake I won’t make again.

As I was walking to the set, minutes before airtime, it was casually mentioned to me that Elizabeth Edwards, wife of Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards, might call in.

For the first time in recorded history, the show’s host did not interrupt a guest, but let Elizabeth Edwards ramble on and on, allowing her to browbeat me for being mean to her husband. (This delicate flower is very sensitive to rough words, having hired the Edwards’ campaign staffer who wrote this: “What if Mary had taken Plan B after the Lord filled her with his hot, white, sticky Holy Spirit”?)

Say, did any TV host ever surprise Al Franken, Bill Maher or Arianna Huffington with a call by the wife of someone they’ve made nasty remarks about? How about a call to John Edwards from the wife of a doctor he bankrupted with his junk-science lawsuits?

I think I may have tuned out at some point, so I can only speak to the first 45 minutes of Elizabeth Edwards’ harangue, but it mostly consisted of utterly dishonest renditions of things I had said on my “Good Morning America” interview this week and a column I wrote four years ago. (You can’t rush Edwards’ “rapid response team”!) She claimed I had launched unprovoked attacks on the Edwards’ dead son and called for a terrorist attack on her husband.

These are bald-faced lies, and the mainstream media knows they are lies. Yet they were repeated ad nauseam on Wednesday by The Associated Press, the AOL pop-up window, CNN, NBC and — stunningly — the host of the lowest-rated cable show himself, who personally told me he knew the truth.

So for those of you who haven’t read any of my five best-selling books: Liberals are driven by Satan and lie constantly.

Here is my full sentence on “Good Morning America,” which the media deceptively truncated, referring to a joke I told about Edwards six months ago that made liberals cry: “But about the same time, you know, Bill Maher was not joking and saying he wished Dick Cheney had been killed in a terrorist attack — so I’ve learned my lesson: If I’m going to say anything about John Edwards in the future, I’ll just wish he had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot.”

The usual nut Web sites posted a zillion denunciations of my appearance on “Good Morning America” immediately after I appeared Monday morning. But it didn’t occur to any of them to simply lie about what I had said. No, it took them nearly 36 hours to concoct a version of that quote that included the Edwards part, but not the Maher part, or what English language speakers call: “the point.”

By tomorrow it will be: “Ann Coulter tried to kill John Edwards on ‘Good Morning America’!”

Judging by his fund-raising efforts so far, I gather most of you don’t know who John Edwards is — unless you’re an overpriced hair dresser. He’s the trial lawyer who pretended in court to channel the spirit of a handicapped fetus in front of illiterate jurors to scam tens of millions of dollars off of innocent doctors.

According to The New York Times, Edwards told one jury: “She speaks to you through me … And I have to tell you right now — I didn’t plan to talk about this — right now I feel her. I feel her presence. She’s inside me, and she’s talking to you.”

Let me also quote from campaign consultant Bob Shrum’s book “No Excuses”:

“(Kerry) was even queasier about Edwards after they met. Edwards had told Kerry he was going to share a story with him that he’d never told anyone else — that after his son Wade had been killed, he climbed onto the slab at the funeral home, laid there and hugged his body, and promised that he’d do all he could to make life better for people, to live up to Wade’s ideals of service. Kerry was stunned, not moved, because, as he told me later, Edwards had recounted the same exact story to him, almost in the exact same words, a year or two before — and with the same preface, that he’d never shared the memory with anyone else. Kerry said he found it chilling, and he decided he couldn’t pick Edwards unless he met with him again.”

Apparently every time Edwards began a story about his dead son with “I’ve never told anyone this before,” everyone on the campaign could lip-sync the story with him.

As a commentator, I bring facts like these to the attention of the American people in a lively way. Thus, for example, in a column about the Democratic candidates for president written in 2003, I pointed out that the Democrats refused to discuss the economy or the war, but had recently “discovered a surprise campaign issue: It turns out that several of them have had a death in the family.”

Among several examples of Democrats talking about a death in the family on the campaign trail was this one:

John Edwards injects his son’s fatal car accident into his campaign by demanding that everyone notice how he refuses to inject his son’s fatal car accident into his campaign.

Edwards has talked about his son’s death in a 1996 car accident on “Good Morning America,” in dozens of profiles and in his new book. (“It was and is the most important fact of my life.”) His 1998 Senate campaign ads featured film footage of Edwards at a learning lab he founded in honor of his son, titled “The Wade Edwards Learning Lab.” He wears his son’s Outward Bound pin on his suit lapel. He was going to wear it on his sleeve, until someone suggested that might be a little too “on the nose.”

If you want points for not using your son’s death politically, don’t you have to take down all those “Ask me about my son’s death in a horrific car accident” bumper stickers? Edwards is like a politician who keeps announcing that he will not use his opponent’s criminal record for partisan political advantage.

Manifestly, I was not making fun of their son’s death; I was making fun of John Edwards’ incredibly creepy habit of invoking his son’s tragic death to advance his political career — a practice so repellant, it even made John Kerry queasy.

I’m a little tired of losers trying to raise campaign cash or TV ratings off of my coattails, particularly when they use their afflictions or bereavement schedules to try to silence the opposition. From now on, I’m attacking only serious presidential candidates, like Dennis Kucinich.

©2007 Universal Press Syndicate

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Mixer's picture
Submitted by Mixer on Sat, 06/30/2007 - 10:58pm.

I think you should read this response by Coulter if you want someone to defend what was said about her and by her.

PS- For those curious about cell phone coverage, this is typed on a Palm Treo while riding in a car in Kentucky. Go with Verizon.

If WWII had been covered by the Modern Media: Great Video


AF A-10's picture
Submitted by AF A-10 on Sun, 07/01/2007 - 8:04am.

to admit.
And truly, it is time to let this thread die. Why? Because I will never find her comments appropriate or helpful to our society. The always used "Bill Maher said it too" defense is idiotic to me.
Calling juries "illiterate" because you disagree with their decision is unAmerican to me. Ann Coulter hates America and its system of laws and juries of one's peers.
The self-professed christian, Ann Coulter, said on the same Hardball program that our soldiers care too much about the lives of civilians. She said we need to destroy the society that has created so many terrorists, without concern for civilians. This is an interesting take on the pro life stance. Pro life until out of the womb (especially if Muslim).
When asked by a Marine why she hasn't served her country if she feels so strongly about fighting terrorists, Ann said they don't need her over there with a tiny gun if they want to win. She has neither the ability nor the bravery to serve how she demands so many of us to sacrifice; that she may be free to spew hate. All while encouraging us to forget about protecting those pesky civilians whom many have died to give liberty. Mixer, Ann disgusts me.
So, as she called Elizabeth Edwards' 4 minute call a "45 minute harangue," I question Coulter's integrity. As she called a plea to stop vicious personal attacks a request for her to "stop speaking," I question Ann's honesty. And as she admits to being told of the call before she went on air, I wonder why many keep calling it a sneak attack. Ann was not brave enough to honestly face a mother of a child and fellow lawyer, who had a legitimate question.
Mixer, you and ArmyMaj Retired, MAximus, Enigma, and quite a few other conservative bloggers will always have my respect. When you're not calling me a liberal bedwetter, you are rolling your sleeves up and debating issues. You don't run. You have walked the walk which you encourage other Americans to walk. Ann is the opposite of you and yours. She CAN'T walk the walk. She is a LAWYER who does not attack a lawyer's argument, but the very profession and jury system itself. She is a "pro-life christian" who on numerous occaisions has promoted death (including that of "civilians," The New York Times staff, liberal Supreme Court Justices, all Muslims,etc..) and then she's tried to claim comedy and satire. I feel it's hurting the conservative cause and the political debate within a fractured country, but it won't make me think any less of you guys that defend her. I'll just be at peace knowing that hate speech won't earn anyone an admirable legacy; not Ann, Rosie, or Maher. God Bless you brother, and happy 4th of July!!!

Kevin "Hack" King


Denise Conner's picture
Submitted by Denise Conner on Mon, 07/09/2007 - 6:38am.

"Calling juries 'illiterate' because you disagree with their decision is unAmerican to me. Ann Coulter hates America and its system of laws and juries of one's peers."

"Ann Coulter hates America" -- What????

Maybe because she is a lawyer she knows the weaknesses of the system? Have you ever been a cog in that system? The way that the legal system has become you often come out with a Pyrrhic victory.

I'd imagine that "illiterate" would apply to a lot of Americans, not just juries, because they know so little more than "what's in Anna Nicole's refrigerator"! Laughing out loud

Yes, that was exaggeration -- for effect. That's what Coulter does.

Perhaps Ann should have used the word "irrational." Would that have been more acceptable?

"The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies"

In theory, democracy is a bulwark against socially harmful policies. In practice, however, democracies frequently adopt and maintain policies that are damaging. How can this paradox be explained?

The influence of special interests and voter ignorance Shocked are two leading explanations. I offer an alternative story of how and why democracy fails. The central idea is that voters are worse than ignorant; they are, in a word, irrational — and they vote accordingly. Despite their lack of knowledge, voters are not humble agnostics; instead, they confidently embrace a long list of misconceptions. Puzzled

Economic policy is the primary activity of the modern state. And if there is one thing that the public deeply misunderstands, it is economics. People do not grasp the "invisible hand" of the market, with its ability to harmonize private greed and the public interest. I call this anti-market bias. They underestimate the benefits of interaction with foreigners. I call this anti-foreign bias. They equate prosperity not with production, but with employment. I call this make-work bias. Finally, they are overly prone to think that economic conditions are bad and getting worse. I call this pessimistic bias. Sad

In the minds of many, Winston Churchill's famous aphorism cuts the conversation short: "Democracy is the worst form of government, except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."

But this saying overlooks the fact that governments vary in scope as well as form. In democracies the main alternative to majority rule is not dictatorship, but markets. A better understanding of voter irrationality advises us to rely less on democracy and more on the market.

"Full Text of Policy Analysis No. 594" (PDF, 186 KB)


RetiredArmyMAJ's picture
Submitted by RetiredArmyMAJ on Sun, 07/01/2007 - 8:53am.

I think Ann is over the top in many ways, but she does have a point. The Edwards campaign did hire christian bashers, they trash talked their neighbor and have been silent as many concervatives are attacked and personally attacked. When was the last kind word Edwards used concerning an opponent? They opportunistically turned this "personl" issue into a fund raiser. I enjoyed the book: "Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy" by Peter Schweizer.

Ann takes those people to task, using their tactics and gets savaged.

________________________________________________________________
Fighting for truth, justice and the American way, while ignoring the ignorant!


AF A-10's picture
Submitted by AF A-10 on Sun, 07/01/2007 - 4:31pm.

Nice to hear from you. I don't fully understand the point you are making, but if you offer a quote from an attack by John or Elizabeth Edwards on the physical appearance, or dead relative, or intellect of a GOP opponent, I will offer a response. And if you care to address any of the points I made above, I will also gladly "engage" in discussion with you.
If you admit that Ann and Bill Maher and Rosie are entertaining comedians, our debate will be ended with an "I concur." God Bless you, brother, all the best to your family, and enjoy the fireworks knowing, like few can, what they really signify.

Cheers

Kevin "Hack" King


Submitted by dollaradayandfound on Fri, 06/29/2007 - 8:23pm.

To those aids of Coulter who may scan this to see what category to put it in--for or against--I belong in a slightly different category. A category where hardly any conservatives go: I don't like Edwards or Coulter!
Edwards is weak, a fake, and a trial lawyer. Coulter is a witch, and a shock jock, living off the 35% who vote conservative, even if the Pope were to run on a democratic ticket.

Submitted by Davids mom on Sat, 06/30/2007 - 8:23am.

You're making complete sense here - I couldn't agree more! Enjoy your weekend.

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