Why do we take Ann Coulter so seriously?

[NewJeffCT]

Why do people take Ann Coulter so seriously? Ms. Coulter exists for one reason, and one reason only. That reason is to move the national debate even further to the right.

With Coulter out there (as well as Michelle Malkin), if a Republican comes along now and is just slightly to the left of her, that Republican can now label himself as a moderate and people will just nod their head and say, “Well, he’s certainly more reasonable than that Coulter woman!” Presto, somebody that is far right on most issues is now seen as a moderate because they are slightly less of a fascist than her.

My case in point are two Arizona senators in John McCain in modern times as compared to Barry Goldwater in the 1960s. If you look at their views on the issues, McCain is clearly farther to the right than Goldwater on issues like abortion, gays in the military and the environment.

However, if you look at how the public perceives the two of them, that shows you how the debate has changed over the past 30-40 years. Goldwater was considered so far to the right that he was way out of the mainstream, and got swamped in a landslide of historic proportions in 1964. McCain, despite really being more conservative than Goldwater, is perceived as an independent maverick and a moderate because he has gone against Bush on a few occasions.

I don’t know if we should just ignore Coulter - because she has such a prominent position in the media and it’s almost impossible to ignore her - but I do know that she has helped bring the national debate a lot further to the right than it used to be. There are no equivalents on the far left that have nearly as much influence as her – Michael Moore is a damn center-left moderate compared to Coulter! And, I don’t recall Moore advocating assassination of George Bush, fellating Lenin or Mao in print, or saying that Bush has enjoyed the deaths of the soldiers in Iraq.

Just my 2 cents.

[Warpy]

1. Rwanda. Bosnia. Kosovo.

All three of those started with unanswered hate on the airwaves.

That's why we take her hate seriously. It can kill if it's left unanswered.

[Joey Liberal]

2. We cannot ignore Ann "She-Thing" Coulter

Ignoring Ann Coulter is like the Jews ignoring Hitler in Nazi Germany. She is THAT dangerous.

[cali]

3. No she hasn't moved the debate to the right

she's simply surfed on the crest of a movement. We shouldn't take her seriously. She poses no threat to democrats or democratic causes. She's a canny marketer of the outrageous, and now she's being rejected by much of her right wing brethren. Coulter actually works in our favor, if we only take the trouble to tar republicans who refuse to repudiate her, with the same brush. This whole Coulter hysteria on DU is approaching absurd levels, as recent threads demonstrate.

[madrchsod]

5. i`ll agree with what you said about annie

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

4. She's a demagogue with a schtick.

Like most demagogues she sells simplistic solutions to simpletons and it sells.

I DO ignore her and her ilk.

[donco6]

6. I disagree.

I don't think Ann has any real concern about national debate. Ann is for Ann. Ann wants money. Ann knows that to keep her rabid RW fan base happy, she has to make some ultra inflammatory remarks now and then. So she does. And the money rolls in. Simple.

[NewJeffCT]

8. Well, Scaife has bought her books by the boatload

In order to increase her presence & exposure...

[izzie]

7. I do not ,she just sells silly stuff for her bank account.

Who cares. There have been people around like that for ever and I think it will always be like that. Hell some people jump over cars to make money. And guess what people used to go and watch him do it.

[Heidi]

9. Ann who? (nt)

[leeroysphitz]

10. You may give Coulter too much credit.

Although she may inadvertently have the effect of moving the debate to the right I think she is just another snake oil seller.

Like Howard Stern, Larry Flint and P.T. Barnum before her she thrives on controversy. She's found a very lucrative shtick. The more outrageous her comments the more people, all people including those of us who disdain her, will pay attention, the more books she sells the more she gets to see her own face on television and magazine covers. Coulter is a shameless attention whore but money is her ultimate motive.

She doesn't believe what she says and she doesn't have too. Her statements are contrived, Deliberately crafted to be as inflammatory as possible. It's a very old trick and when we take her seriously she profits. literally and figuratively.

Because she says what she says she is a despicable animal. Because she says these things without true conviction and for money she is even MORE despicable (imo) but she should (MUST) still be IGNORED. Fifty percent of the attention she gets is coming from US.

Just my opinion.

[iamahaingttta]

11. "McCain is clearly farther to the right...

...than Goldwater on issues like abortion, gays in the military and the environment."

What the hell are you talking about?
Abortion, gays and the environment were NOT issues when Goldwater was around!
Other than that, I think you are pretty much right.
Well, almost right.
Coulter exists for TWO reasons, the FIRST reason being to make bucketloads of money. The SECOND reason is for what you describe. That's why she gets support from Scaife and the like...

[TreasonousBastard]

12. Because we're stupid and...

kneejerk lash out at any perceived threat, real or not.

Coulter is a sideshow freak in the circus of ideas. She has no power and no followng and is no more than any other shock jock or comedian out there.

She's been around for years with this routine, selling a few books here and there, but what sent her over the top was US! She's not saying anything worse than what Rude Pundit, Bartcop, or half of DU is saying about the other side, but we go up into great high dudgeon about this horrid creature and she gets more TV spots.

If we would just STFU about her and stop complaining, she'd be off to the remainders bin where most of her books end up. She won't die or go away, but she would be just a small background noise.