Posted on 03/02/2007 3:22:58 PM PST by Pyro7480
Michelle Malkin writes:
Ann Coulter just finished her riff on Al Gore, tossed out some cute jokes ("You can understand why Hollywood is concerned about global warming. You know what heat does to plastic."), and ended with a cheap one-liner about John Edwards being a "faggot." (Paraphrasing) She said she would refrain from commenting on Edwards because "if you say faggot, you have to go to rehab."
A smattering of laughter.
Not from this corner.
Crickets chirping.
Flashback Last year's bomb about "ragheads."
Bryan at Malkin's Hot Air:
Im no fan of John Edwards, but thats just a stupid joke. Its over the line. The laughter it generated across the room was more than a little annoying.
Last year it was raghead. This year its calling John Edwards a faggot. Two years in a row, Coulter has finished up an otherwise sharp CPAC routine with an obnoxious slur that liberals will fling at conservatives for years to come.
Thanks, Ann.
The Captain of Captain's Quarters opined
Yeah, that's just what CPAC needs -- an association with homophobia. Nice work, Ann.
At some point, Republicans will need to get over their issues with homosexuality. Regardless of whether one believes it to be a choice or a hardwired response, it has little impact on anyone but the gay or lesbian person. We can argue that homosexuality doesn't require legal protection, but not when we have our front-line activists referring to them as "faggots" or worse. That indicates a disturbing level of animosity rather than a true desire to allow people the same rights and protections regardless of their lifestyles.
Ann Coulter can be an entertaining and incisive wit. Unfortunately, she can also be a loose cannon, and CPAC might want to consider that the next time around.
Mary Katharine Ham of Townhall.com's one-liner
You shouldn't have to go to psych eval for using it, but it's a nasty word. Just don't.
Sean Hackbarth of The American Mind:
Ann Coulter almost made it through her CPAC speech without looking like a complete buffoon. She wasnt funny, she rarely is, but shes an attention whore. Near the end of her speech she said she wouldnt talk about John Edwards because you have to go into rehab if you use the word faggot. Shes now on non-speaking terms with any gay and lesbian friends.
Is there an F word to go with the N word. Could some Fag please make of list of words that are too offensive to say. Who cares about the word faggot? PCism is not a Conservative value. Ann Rox!
Pray for W and Our Troops
I agree, her comments add nothing to the political debate. How many FReepers would be singing her praises if she called Mary Cheney a faggot?
I am sick of people claiming 'special' rights due to their life style choices.
Sadly, quite a few.
Problem here is she was just using the term faggot as an epithet against a man for which there is not even a hint that he is gay.
Coulter has jumped the shark.
Indeed, they are oversensitive. And they're lucky that I wasn't the one speaking. My version of words that start with the letter "f" and are used to describe liberals are much more colorful. Indeed, my vocabulary can get downright nasty. Which is why I would never run for office.
Of the former, I can agree. But the latter is potentially debatable.
IMHO, Eowyn (Miranda Otto) is MUCH BETTER-LOOKING than Ann Coulter.
Thought I once heard fag used in British English (perhaps obsolete) referring to someone who was one's chum in one of those all-male British "Public Schools" (= "Private Schools"). And I didn't get the impression at the time I saw it that there was any sexual connotation.
Also, I know I've seen faggots used to describe a bunch of sticks or kindling or similar.
I wonder if these usages led indirectly to the common meanings for these words as we know them today? I can see how a word for a close friend in an all-male school might eventually morph into some other meaning. But as far as the sticks go ..... no! I won't go there!
I think it is just fine... perverts are filth...
You are right. In those Brit boarding schools, underclassmen had to "fag" for a particular upperclassman. Run errands for him, etc.
What both of them represent on the stage is what I am alluding to... Ann Coulter is the shield maiden of the GOP like the character Eowyn is shield maiden of Rohan...
Some definitions of "faggot":
"faggot" is a term which over centuries has had a number of legitimate meanings, as chronicled by dictionaries and wordsmiths.
In medieval times, faggot referred to a bundle of sticks or firewood. In the 18th century the term described an underclassman's status in relation to an upper classman at an English boarding school. In the 1800's a shrewish, ill- tempered woman could be called a faggot. And in contemporary British slang, a " fag " is a cigarette.
We need not explore further morphings & mergings, into the full blown phase, "flaming faggot".
fagot = faggot
The first words popping into my head when I read these bloggers' reactions was, "GIRLY MEN!"
The only one of these bloggers I've ever heard of is Michelle Malkin. It's her I'm disappointed in, and not in Ann. At least M&M's reaction was the mildest of the lot. So I'm not hugely disappointed in her.
Nature defines what is normal... Homosexuals are perverts... Edwards is a pervert lawyer...
Ok, personally I don't agree with the lifestyle. Having said that, understand that Cheney was also a speaker at CPAC and believe you me he will be asked to defend or condemn Ann's comments as he is the father of a "faggot". That's why I believe Ann's comment adds nothing to the political debate.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.