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

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[Sub-Driver]

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."

[GraniteStateConservative]

Oh, you think I’m mad at her for being successful? No, not at all. In fact, I didn’t respect her much until I saw her Hardball appearance. She is very gifted at what she does. She’s not like a conservative Paris Hilton or something. She deserves every dollar she gets. She earned every bit of it with hard work (and good genetics).

[edsheppa]

Ann doesn’t intend to offend.

Right, like how she didn't mean to call Edwards a fag at CPAC.

Whatever, carry on, don't let me interrupt your delusion.

[Osage Orange]

Fair enough.........

Thanks-

[Antoninus]

Wow, even after being sucker-punched, Ann goes toe-to-toe and wins. If only some of our male conservatives were as tough and quick on their feet.

You go, Annie!

[bray]

Wonder if Queen Ann would be willing to take a paycut to be VP???? Certainly has the Right temperment.

Buy that Broad a Steak!!

Pray for W and Our Troops

[Mad Dawgg]

"Let’s get this straight. Ann adores being confrontational and controversial. She incites confrontation and controversy. It makes her filthy rich. This isn’t out of line given how she operates and Ann doesn’t mind being mugged like this one bit."

Ann is my kind of woman, Tall leggy-blonde with a fiery intellect and can deliver a scathing comment replete with dripping sarcasm.

[Sigh] OK, I'll be in my bunk...

(5 points to anyone who can identify the "bunk" reference.) Mad Dawgg

[Designer]

With your name, you could do these on a regular basis.........

Thank you!

[Designer]

Shall I call a news conference

Seriesly, use anything you want. Only kidding about charging for them.

[romanesq]

By any interpretation of the English language, Ann did not call Edwards a fag.
All you have to do is read the exact quote.
But please, continue with the interpretation of exact.

[edsheppa]

By any interpretation of the English language, Ann did not call Edwards a fag. All you have to do is read the exact quote.

And here it is:

“I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word ‘faggot,’ so I — so kind of an impasse, can’t really talk about Edwards.”

And here is what the dictionary says about the word faggot, http://www.onelook.com/?w=faggot&ls=a

Quick definitions (faggot)

noun: a bundle of sticks and branches bound together
noun: offensive terms for an openly homosexual man

But, as I said, don't let me interrupt your delusion.

[GraniteStateConservative]

[Sigh] OK, I'll be in my bunk... (5 points to anyone who can identify the "bunk" reference.) Mad Dawgg

Hot chick with a yet-to-be-invented gun? I'll be in my bunk. (Inara-on-chick fantasies work, too, right, Jayne?).

[The Coopster]

And today, it is announced that her “gloriously patriotic” behavior is resulting in a flood of donations for the Edwards camp.

Now THAT’s something to be proud of.

[bvw]

Body chemistry, the linkage between psyche and soma -- very important to consider for a cancer treatment. The act of daily mothering of her living children, the interplay of a mother's love and the childrens' discovering personas, the sense of purpose -- these are things that are big positives.

Contrawise, the focus on death, on risk -- the extreme risk of Presidential politics, the mind-tricking focus during the crafting of fund-raising campaigns ... these are negatives.

Is Elizabeth looking to be the sacrifice? That by her death her husband gets a sympathy vote into office? That is both reckless and dishonorable.

Their duty is to the living, their living children.

[PGalt]

Chrissy Matthews and Elizabeth Edwards co-conspire on a personal IED (Internal Enemies Device). It doesn’t faze Ann as she rips them to shreds with her words.

HOORAY Ann!

See John Run.

[Mad Dawgg]

"Hot chick with a yet-to-be-invented gun? I'll be in my bunk. (Inara-on-chick fantasies work, too, right, Jayne?).

YUMMY! You get an additional 20 points for posting a pic of Inara, (she puts the HOT in HOTtie!) BTW she is on a new series called Heartland starring Treat Williams.

Side note: Back when Firefly debuted another show also debuted on the same night called "Everwood" starring Treat Williams. I fell in love with both shows that night and sadly they were both eventually canceled. Damn shame we have to cancel all the good shows so we can have room for another stupid reality show.

My wife called me in to watch one of those idiotic things the other night called "Wife Swap"? Dear gawd what's next?

Don't miss the new hit sensation: "Who Want's to Hump my Daughter?"

Wow, the majority of the TV watching audience must be hooked up to life support machines.

[PGalt]

Just saw Ann on Glenn Beck show. Hooray Ann! Thanks Ann.

[KingLiberty]

Thanks for the quote from Jesus. LOL. Now you’re a true Christian, because Jesus, of course, would back Ann in this go-around. Still LOL

[muawiyah]

7th Imam's the guy though.

BTW, I use three other Bible editions before I ever hit the KJV ~ after checking them and NOT finding the phrase as I remembered it, I finally went to the KJV and there it was.

Truly another chapter in "The Bible Code".

[Nova]

As I sit here watching Bill O'Reilly attempt to go even lower than he's ever been before, and I wonder if his brain has been completely devoured by its narcissism, here comes Chris Matthews, easily sliding well beneath Bill's lowest depths.

Just what is it that drives these guys to expend all their energy tunneling under sewer systems? Do they actually envy the likes of Olbermann and Gerashol?

[ladyinred]

Well of course Chrissy the wimp would do something like this! I wonder if he would give say President Bush the same opportunity to confront some of his detractors on the air?