Chris Matthews Sandbags Ann Coulter With Live Call-In From Elizabeth Edwards

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Chris Matthews Sandbags Ann Coulter With Live Call-In From Elizabeth Edwards Posted by Geoffrey Dickens on June 26, 2007 - 19:26.

On tonight's Hardball, MSNBC's Chris Matthews blind-sided his guest, conservative columnist Ann Coulter, with a live call from Elizabeth Edwards. The wife of presidential candidate John Edwards, proceeded to demand Coulter to stop her "personal attacks" on her husband, but Coulter shot back that at least she wasn't "bankrupting doctors by giving a shyster, Las Vegas routine."

The following is the full transcript of the exchange as it occurred on the June 26th edition of Hardball:

Chris Matthews: "You know who's on the line? Somebody to respond to what you said about Edwards, yesterday morning, Elizabeth Edwards. She wanted to call in today, we said she could. Elizabeth Edwards go on the line, you're on the line with Ann Coulter."

Elizabeth Edwards: "Hello Chris."

Matthews: "Do you want to say something directly to the person who's with me?"

Edwards: "I was calling, you know, in the South when we, when someone does something that displeases us we want to ask them, politely, to stop doing it. I'd like to ask Ann Coulter to, if she wants to debate on issues, on positions, we certainly disagree with nearly everything she said on your show today. But, but it's quite another matter, to, for these personal attacks. The things she has said over the years, not just about John but about other candidates is, lowers our, our political dialogue, precisely at the time we need to raise it. So I want to use the opportunity, which I don't get much, because Ann and I don't hang out with the same people."

Coulter: "I don't have enough money."

Edwards: "To ask her, politely, to stop the personal attacks."

Coulter: "Okay so I made a joke, let's see, six months ago, and as you point out, they've been raising money off of it, for six months, since then."

Matthews: "But this is just yesterday morning, what you said about him."

Coulter: "I didn't say anything about him, actually, either time."

Edwards: "Ann, Ann you know that's not true. And, and once more, this has been going on for some time."

Coulter: "I don't mind you trying to raise money. I mean it's better this than giving $50,000 speeches to the poor-"

Edwards: "I'm asking you-"

Coulter: "-just to use-

Edwards: "I'm asking you, politely-"

Coulter: "-my name on the Web pages. But as for a debate with me, yeah sure. Yeah we'll have a debate."

Edwards: "I'm asking you, politely, to stop, to stop personal attacks..."

Coulter: "How about you stop raising money on your Web page then? No, you don't have to because, I don't mind."

Edwards: "It didn't start, it did not, it didn't start, it did not start with that. You had a column a number of years ago where you suggested-"

Coulter: "Okay the wife of a presidential candidate-"

Edwards: "Wait till I finish talking please."

Coulter: "-who's calling in and asking me to stop speaking?"

Matthews: "Let her finish the point, let her finish the point."

Coulter: "You're asking me to stop speaking. ‘Stop writing your columns. Stop writing your books.'"

Edwards: "You had a column, you wrote a column several years ago-"

Matthews: "Ann, please."

Coulter: "Okay."

Edwards: "Which made, which made fun of the moment of Charlie Dean's death and suggested that my husband had a bumper sticker on the back of his car that said, ‘Ask me about my dead son.'"

Coulter: "That's now three years ago."

Edwards: "This is not legitimate political dialogue. It debases political dialogue. It draws people away from the process. We can't have a debate about issues if you're using this kind of language."

Coulter responding to audience member: "Yeah why isn't John Edwards making this call?"

Matthews: "Well do you want to respond, while I end this conversation?"

Edwards: "I, I haven't talked to John about this call."

Coulter: "This is just another attempt for-"

Edwards: "I am making this call as a mother. I am, I'm the mother of that boy who died. I, my children participate. These young people behind you are the age of my children, particularly, you're asking them to participate in a dialogue that's based on, on hatefulness and ugliness instead of on the issues and I don't, I don't think that's serving them or this country very well."

[applause]

Matthews: "Thank you very much, Elizabeth Edwards. Well do you, you have all the time in the world to respond to that."

Coulter: "I think, I think we heard all we need to hear. The wife of a presidential candidate is asking me to stop speaking. No."

Matthews: "No, she said you should stop being so negative to people, individually."

Coulter: "Right, as opposed to bankrupting doctors by giving a shyster, Las Vegas routine-"

Matthews: "Okay."

Coulter: "-in front of juries based on science. Wait, you said I'd have as long I would have-"

Matthews: "Go ahead, go ahead, go ahead."

Coulter: "-and you instantly interrupted me. As I was saying, doing these psychic routines in front of illiterate juries to bankrupt doctors, who now can't deliver babies. And to charge a, a poverty group $50,000 for a speech. Don't talk to me about, about how to use language."

Matthews: "Elizabeth?"

Coulter: "That language of hate. And I'm, I, I'm gonna ask you, again, to politely stop using personal attacks as part of your dialogue."

Coulter: "Okay, I'll stop writing books."

Matthews: "Why do you talk about-"

Edwards: "If you can't write them, without them, then that's fine."

Matthews: "Why do talk about Hillary's chubby legs in your book?"

[laughter from audience]

Matthews: "Why do you, I mean, that, that might fall under the category of personal attacks, I don't know, but why do you do that? Why do you talk about Monica Lewinsky's chubbiness? If she were skinny would it had been okay?"

Coulter: "I don't know, read the sentence."

Matthews: "I read the whole sentence, I couldn't feel the context."

Coulter: "Well you have to give it to me and I could explain."

Matthews: "Why do you bring up the word, ‘chubby?' Why do you make fun of Hillary's chubby legs?"

Coulter: "I, I don't know, you're going to have to give me the sentence. And I think-"

Matthews: "It's in the afterward of your book, I just read it this morning."

Coulter: "Well read the sentence!"

Matthews: "We'll, we'll be back and read the entire sentence. We're gonna come right back, I don't know why we're reading, the full intellectual context will be coming in a moment."

Coulter: "Thank you."

[TexasCajun]

"Is this the law office of Dewey, Cheetam & Howe?"

"My little Johnny won't be coming into work today. Ann Coulter hurt his feelings. "

"I'll sent a note with him tomorrow. Thank you. "

[Designer]

"WHY in the world do conservatives go on Chris Matthews Show? Can someone tell me WHY?"

I can't speak for Ann, but if it were me, I would go on simply to keep the record straight.

Besides, she seems quite capable of taking care of herself.

[highlander_UW]

Just comparing the ratings and the treatment...but you’re right, different networks.

[Designer]

"Has not Mathews ever heard of satire? Lighten up. Its comedy."

Uhh...Comedy and liberals?

Shirley; you jest!

Humor and liberalism go together like...like..uh..er..like fish and bicycles. Yea, that's it!

Or ice cream and hell!

[ex-snook]

Mrs Edwards won that encounter but Ann cleaned Matthew’s clock.

[ZULU]

I disagree and so do a lot of Ann’s fans and that translates into a lot of conservatives.

Liberals are far less than kind to conservatives in their comments and, like I said, I have no problem getting into a mud pit with my enemy if it will win my point.

And the statements you are quoting have to be viewed in context and not analyzed in isolation.

Its quite refreshing to have an intelligent - and she IS intelligent - woman being so vigorous in her attacks on the enemies of America and the Constitution. Such frankness long was wanting.

[IamConservative]

Her mindset is no more reasoned than that of Al Franken or Bill Maher, and is a great deal of what is wrong with American Politics today - a bunch of idiots who are more concerned with painting the “other side” as stupid or evil instead of recognizing that we’re all grownups and are all supposed to be accomplishing something productive.

I can agree with a lot of your comments. Ann has the knack of drawing profound conclusions and analogies which bring clarity to the debate, but then many times offsets the impact of her wisdom with the acrimony of her delivery. She is a spokesperson for conservatism and I don't think we need to stoop to inciting people who hold different viewpoints by making comments about family members who have passed.

Cable News has profited mightily from all the shouts shows like Hardball, but it has turned every political discussion into a win/lose proposition. What is best for America gets lost in the desire to win at any cost; even if winning means jumping up and down on someones grave to do it. That doesn't work for me.

[OESY]

Leno: "Doesn't everyone have their trophy wife
stuffed and mounted on the wall?"

.

[OESY]

Our Warriors: Each has bested Matthews at his own game.

.

[Osage Orange]

Filthy rich?

Could you define that?

[jaycee]

When their ratings are that low, wouldn’t you think they would get a clue??

[Conservababe]

Filthy rich is a southern expression meaning the person is ostentatious about his wealth.

[Osage Orange]

The first party to start stepping up and being the bigger type of person first is the party that will enjoy huge victories for a long time to come.

The GOP has tried that tact. It for the most part doesn't work.

I cannot count how many times...those on the left..( politicians, hollyweirdo's, DBM / MSM members, et al ) have said something outrageous, mean, degrading, false, wrong-headed...and the GOP does NOTHING, and say's NOTHING!

The common Sheeple have been dumbed down for so long....they can't fathom who the "bigger type of person" is anymore.

While I lament where the "debate" has taken us....it's where we are.

Politics is a "blood sport"..and has been for many a year.

FWIW-

[Osage Orange]

Does that apply to Coulter?

I don't know her personally....

And I doubt anyone on this site actually does.....

Fwiw-

[AU72]

Can you imagine the Sh**Storm that would occur if Hillary Clinton went on Hannity & Colmes and Juanita Broderick called in?

[GraniteStateConservative]

Well, she gets paid a lot for the books she writes because they sell and she gets paid a lot for appearances. She very likely makes millions per year.

[Recovering_Democrat]

A complete and utter snow job by Matthews and the LameAss Edwards campaign. Pathetic.

Ann did fine, from the transcript I've read.

Those two Democrat hacks ought to be ashamed of themselves, if they were capable of shame.

[Max7]

"funny.. liberals asking a conservative to 'stop the personal attacks'. hmm... anyone think the left lobs personal attacks at GW?"

The Liberals do not consider any attack on the President AS an "attack." They live in a parallel universe that allows them to say any THING they want, any WAY they want and any TIME they want when speaking against the President. This, they consider, intelligent discourse. They are without equal in this particular arena. Very slimey.

[donnab]

two examples of girlie men...chris and johnny...
both hiding behind elizabeth edwards...shakes head...
this is why i never watch the idiot...he thinks he is a demigod...hes just a court jester for the dems.

[Star Traveler]

“Conservative Youth” is no longer with the living (at least not with the “conservatives” anyway....).

***** “This account has been banned or suspended.” *****

Regards,
Star Traveler