after-action report: "Republican Ayatollah" ANN COULTER vs "BORING!" Al Franken in L.A. - PHOTOS!

ANN COULTER to debate Al Franken at Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles on MONDAY (3/27) ^ | March 28, 2006 | RonDog [and FRiends]

[RonDog]

Here is an EXTRAORDINARY after-action report written by a friend who is not yet registered to post on this forum:

My friend RonDog called yesterday, and told me that he may have two extra tickets to the Ann Coulter/Al Franken "debate" at the Gibson Amphitheatre, and asked me if I wanted to go.

Of course I did! When, where and how much? He said the tickets are normally $75 but that these two were no charge, if they were available -- and that I should meet him there by 6 pm for the 7:30 pm show. I said great; I will be there. Ron warned me that he had already promised them to two other friends, and that only one of these possible free tickets was actually confirmed at that time, so I would have to be on "stand by." He said that his one friend was on his way down from Bakersfield, and that the other did not want to drive all the way there if we were not sure that we really had two tickets.

RonDog never did get confirmation of the second ticket from his e-mail "connection" before he had to go offline for his ninety-minute drive to the event. He had no Internet access in the car, and we had no way to reach his contact person by telephone. Since he was pre-occupied with traffic, I called the box office for him to ask if the free tickets really were there waiting for us, and they said that they were. Wrong. When we got there, we found out that the envelope was there as promised, but that it only had ONE ticket. Meanwhile, the guy coming down from Bakersfield was stuck in traffic on the Grapevine and was seriously delayed. Ron said that we could not wait for him – as the show was about to begin.

This is when Providence intervened. RonDog found someone to sell him a "VIP seat" -- four rows from the stage, with a wristband for the after show "dessert" with Ann and Al!

So, he gave me the "free" ticket in the balcony, and we left the ticket that RonDog had already paid for (six rows behind the VIP section) at Will Call for our friend from Bakersfield, and we went inside.

The show was put on by the University of Judaism and thinking to myself that the crowd would be mostly conservative Jews, I was ready for a good night. I was wrong; the mostly Jewish audience was comprised of leftwing appeasers hoping for a Christian bloodbath (Ann is Christian, Al is Jewish). They were wrong. The 20-minute opening speeches were ideological blather from Franken, spewing superficial talking points and Ann forcing facts down the throats of the 85% liberal audience that for the most part seemed to be in shock.

After the speeches it was Q&A time with a Rabbi who should have been fired the minute he opened his mouth. My 12-year-old son could have done a better job at keeping the night rolling and exciting. This Rabbi let Franken ramble on and on reiterating the same tired old "there were no WMD" throw-up, while Ann was just completely bored to tears. Of course when it finally was Ann's turn to talk, she was relentless, with an in-your-face delivery of facts and logic that was fast and furious. (She was like many punk bands that I have recorded who are so wired that it is an assault on your senses, and truly an uncomfortable experience -- IF you don’t get it.)

Speaking of boredom, it seemed to be the theme of the night –- at least as far as Franken was concerned. One of the right wing conservatives in the audience was so bored that while Franken was in one of his 20-minute diatribes, this guy yelled out very loudly from the balcony "BORING!" Franken stopped his gibberish and said, "You are right. I am talking too much, so not to make this any more boring than it has to be yadda yadda yadda…."

Twenty minutes later, Franken was at it again. I think the Rabbi moderator was asleep and even Ann was dozing off, so the guy from the audience yelled "BORING" again, and the three thousand people in the audience got so upset. Boy, I have never heard so many expletives coming from such a self-proclaimed tolerant lot. Nevertheless, Franken lost his composure and got so incredibly pissed he was breaking a sweat, and asking the guy how could he be so "bored" about Veterans Rights, yadda yadda yadda. He looked like he wanted to get out of the chair and beat the guy to a pulp. He also looked like he was about to cry – I mean he was turning all shades of RED, (no pun intended). The man is incredibly insecure. He has to be - he is a comedian. I should know; I have worked with a few of the most successful. Mr. Pryor is rolling over in his grave.

After the show was over, the three of us cleverly got backstage to hobnob with the talent. [Details omitted to protect our future use of those methods and tactics.] We met Ann, and she gave us the secret location of an "after, after party." When we got there, we were greeted by Ann and several celebrities, who shall remain nameless. When I told her that I was the rude guy up in the balcony who yelled "BORING!" she gave me a big hug, and promised that she will invite me to all her LA shows. I think we became best friends...

We hung out with her and about ten of her friends drinking beer and having lots of laughs at the expense of Mr. Franken.

Enjoy the pictures and remember… RonDog and I were there for all of you, and it is my pleasure to share my experience in this blog.

Anonymous

[trobins]

I think we're in agreement. I know that underneath it all, they're attacks are just cheap shots. And cheap shots are meaningless. I'd say the same thing about some of the comments made about Franklin. I just find it ironic that one of the first places they start is how much like a man she acts. Reference to her "adam's apple" and all that...that just childish crap.

[trobins]

I'm certainly not posting out of malice, RonDog. And sorry if you took it that way. My position is that I don't give a damn what somebody looks like, and I'm a little sick about people going on about what Coulter looks like, that's all. It's a person's ideas that matter to me. And even then, I don't automatically agree with what a person says just because I hold their opinions in high regard. What can I tell you, I'm a bit of a curmudgeon.

But like you pointed out, I'm new here, so I'm certainly not going to say what you should or shouldn't do. I wouldn't even do that if I was an old-timer. I'm just expressing my opinions. But while I don't intend to be mean, I've also a tendency to piss people off--such as you.

So there's that. Carry on.

[RonDog]

:o)

[Huck]

I haven't heard Shearer's show, but he's def. made me laugh in movies/tv. Funny guy. I just find Franken has that shrillness so typical of modern lefties. A real buzzkill.

[Diva Betsy Ross]

Long time freeper?

[Brian Allen]

<< Ann Coulter shares my birthday. (Dec 8) >>

Hmmmm ... neither of you share mine, my Mother's, my son's and that of then king George Six of England - December 14.

Envious of you guys - and that I couldn't make it. Thanks for being there.

[LoveDoc]

"What are YOU passionate about?"

Well...this wasn't directed to me, but I'll be HAPPY to admit that, without reservation or qualification, I'm passionate about...

...Ann Coulter's looks!

Oh yeah. She looks good.

LoveDoc

PS Too old for me. But good looking nonetheless...

[Captainpaintball]

So, n00b, take my neighborly (for the time being) advice...

HKMk23, joined 2-17-2005

No offense, but who are you to do any threatening of a poster, whether they be new, or as 'established' as yourself? This guy was there, and he has the right to his opinion. Is that OK with you?

And enough with the 'zot' crap. That is so 2003. Two years before you joined, FYI. (a casual FYI)

[dynachrome]

"may have crossed the line between telling jokes and being one"

Only MAY have? P.J. O'Rourke was being way too kind.

[retiredcpo]

I have a daughter born Dec 8 ('71) also. However, I don't know if she's blond, a lawyer or anything else about her.

[HKMk23]

The guy's first post provided no substantiation for his negative assertion, and it is a matter of historical record that such posts have been the death knell of more than one screen name, so there is a legitimate basis for the warning overtone of my post.

And it IS a warning; not a threat. My advice describing a potential negative consequence as a backdrop to urge a change in behavior is only a threat if I, myself, will be imposing the consequence. If the consequence will be imposed by others, my advice is not a threat, it is a warning. Had you done your homework, you'd know that I'm not on the "zot happy" ping list, and I've not been the lead in any "zot campaigns", but I have, on more than one occasion, urged new posters to behave in ways that tend to preserve their abilities to post on FR; sometimes with dark overtones, sometimes more tongue-in-cheek, sometimes both. Why d'ya think I used the reference to "1.21 gigawatts"?

I've warned several; I've never hit the "Abuse" button on anyone, that I can recall.

AND, FWIW, more than one other poster hinted at the things I was warning about (ref. posts 25, 39, 49 and 105), and then there's the poster who thought it was really funny (cf. post 66).

So, four agree, one thinks it's a riot, and you're miffed.

Looks like "par" to me.

[El Gato]

I have a daughter born Dec 8 ('71) also. However, I don't know if she's blond, a lawyer or anything else about her.

How sad for you Chief. She'd be 3 years older than mine.

[Screamname]

The 20-minute opening speeches were ideological blather from Franken...

Listening to his AM radio show here in New York city a few times, it seems BLATHER is ALL he does! I could not make heads or tails what the hell that idiot ever talks about. He starts one subject then goes off on another that has absolutely nothing to do with the first. "Yesterday Rush was talking about immigration, now if you listen to this he is lying and Bush was saying yesterday, oh yes by the way Casper died yesterday, and if you look at all the protesting Mexicans.." The guy is schitzo, he can`t stay on one subject longer than a few words!

[Screamname]

Bwa ha ha ha! I saw that. And I thought I was new!

[joesnuffy]

Annie is the Ayatolla of 'we love you so'ahhh'
Franken is the 'Ayatolla of big azz holas'

[Mr. Silverback]

Talisman, please note that I'm not doing this because you criticized Ann. I'm doing this because you've been on here 4 days, posted three times, and they were all the same talking point on the same subject. You smell like a troll to me.

May I suggest, O glorious mods, that you keep an eye on this one and a lightning bolt handy.

[jonrick46]

Could it be that the work involved in writing a book could be a factor in Ann's bad night?

[EveningStar]

Could be.

[RonDog]

I just called the folks who put on the event. They don't offer transcripts, audio, or video.

However, that does not mean that someone independent of them does not...

See also the NEW thread:

Sectarian Violence
[Jewish Journal summary of ANN COULTER/Al Franken "debate" (3/27) in L.A.]
www.jewishjournal.com ^ | March 31, 2006 | Rob Eshman, Editor-in-Chief
Posted on 04/01/2006 7:13:12 PM PST by RonDog

2006-03-31

Sectarian Violence

by Rob Eshman, Editor-in-Chief

Backstage at Monday night’s debate between Ann Coulter and Al Franken, guests drank wine with their vitriol.

Or vice versa...

-- snip --

This report may be as close as we are going to get to a "transcript" of last Monday's "debate" between Ann Coulter and Al Franken at the Gibson Amphitheatre, in Los Angeles...

CLICK HERE for the rest of that thread

[Mauser]

Generally

What is a liberal Jew? A passivist.

What is a conservative Jew? My friend.

I can replace the word Jew with any ethnic label and it means the same to me.

In my post I was specifically referring to the liberal Jews that made up 80% of the audience. I was mystified why they were applauding Frankin.