Posted on 06/07/2006 4:51:37 PM PDT by new yorker 77
Conservative author Ann Coulter sparked a storm on Wednesday after describing a group of September 11 widows who backed the Democratic Party as millionaire "witches" reveling in their status as celebrities.
"I've never seen people enjoying their husbands' deaths so much," Coulter writes in her book "Godless: The Church of Liberalism," published on Tuesday, referring to four women who headed a campaign that resulted in the creation of the September 11 Commission that investigated the hijacked plane attacks.
Coulter wrote that the women were millionaires as a result of compensation settlements and were "reveling in their status as celebrities and stalked by grief-arazzis."
A spokeswoman for publisher Crown Forum said it had set a first print run of 1 million copies of "Godless" and there were 1.5 million copies of Coulter's previous four books in print.
The four women, Kristen Breitweiser, Patty Casazza, Mindy Kleinberg and Lorie Van Auken, declined to discuss the book in detail but issued a statement saying they had been slandered.
"There was no joy in watching men that we loved burn alive. There was no happiness in telling our children that their fathers were never coming home again," said the statement signed by the four, along with a fifth woman, Monica Gabrielle.
The four women, who live in or around East Brunswick, New Jersey, became friends after September 11 and formed a group that agitated for the investigation. "Our only motivation ever was to make our nation safer," they said.
Coulter, whose books include the bestseller "How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must)," argues in the new book the women she dubs "the Witches of East Brunswick" wanted to blame President George W. Bush for not preventing the attacks.
She criticized them for making a campaign advertisement for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry in 2004, and added: "By the way, how do we know their husbands weren't planning to divorce these harpies? Now that their shelf life is dwindling, they'd better hurry up and appear in Playboy."
PERSONAL ATTACKS
Asked by Reuters why she made such personal comments, Coulter said by e-mail, "I am tired of victims being used as billboards for untenable liberal political beliefs."
"A lot of Americans have been seething over the inanities of these professional victims for some time," she added.
Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg (news, bio, voting record) of New Jersey said Coulter's "shameless attack" on the widows sparked disgust. "Her bookselling antics and accompanying vulgarity deserve our deepest contempt," he said in a statement.
The New York Post, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News. Corp., slammed the comments in an article on Wednesday headlined: "Righty writer Coulter hurls nasty gibes at 9/11 gals."
Coulter, a regular television commentator who is hugely popular among some conservatives, was challenged on NBC's "Today" show on Tuesday over what host Matt Lauer called "dramatic" remarks, prompting her to say, "You are getting testy with me."
Coulter is known for a combative column after September 11 saying, "We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity." In one book, she wrote, "Even Islamic terrorists don't hate America like liberals do."
Her latest comments were quoted on radio stations in New York on Wednesday and the book was the subject of debate on Web sites such as www.salon.com. The Daily News newspaper's front-page headline was "Coulter the Cruel."
The controversy appeared to be doing no harm to sales of Coulter's latest book, which was listed as the second-best seller of the day at online retailer Amazon.com on Wednesday afternoon.
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No need to back off but there is a need to stick to the facts. When Ann wanders into conjecture about "husbands divorcing" the Jersey Girls she crosses the line into left wing looney tunesville mode of operation.
To use another tired but appropriate phrase: at Ann's age, she should know that discretion is the better part of valor.
The wrong way is the bent over position.
When someone stabs you in the back, I think you can hit them behind the knee and knock them accross their head.
These four are a tools of the anti-war left who know exactly what they are doing.
The only complaints have come from MSM leftists and GOP RINOs.
Where have I seen that said? Oh I know DU.
When did you move to Texas?
"liberals use "unassailable victims"to do their dirty work,"
That is true. Never seems to work, though.
I totally disagree. There are many conservatives who spend half their lives just appeasing lib/rats for no good reason. Ever hear of a RINO, they spend they entire political career appeasing dems, for what!!
Some of us are sick and tired of appeasing those who hate the country, become traitors in time of war, and disrespect everything conservatives stand for.
It's high time someone stood up to these anti-American power mongers.
You have no problem with Bones calling the marital status of these women into question, but, God forbid somebody point out the anorexic appearance of your heroine.
Were you born last night?
"Anyone who defends these four is a tool."
So you defend Coulter and her vulgarity because of her so called "conservatism"? These are conservative values she's showing here?
Partisanship maybe, but I see no conservative ties in Coulter.....like I said before, just more whoring and sensationalism for book sales.
One last broad based statement: anyone who thinks Coulter is a conservative is a tool.
She won't, of course, because she has no class.
Bones? That's real classy.
You misunderstand my point.
Using sideshow tactics and over the top rhetoric in an attempt to draw attention to yourself is wrong, no matter what your argument is.
She becomes the argument, rather than the subject.
As for the "If you don't like it, crawl off into a corner somewhere and whimper." rhetoric, its a pretty lame argumentative device.
I've lived here my entire life.
Thank you Chuck Hagel.
She's earned it.
Absoluckinfutely!!!
I've seen worse personal invective aimed at Hillary, Chelsea, Kennedy, or anyone on the left. I guess its only OK to call a public figure a name if we don't agree with them?
I didn't see your /sarcasm at the end of your post.
"I fear she's outdone herself this time.
You won't see one public official speaking in her defense on this subject, unless they're looking to retire early."
Couldn't disagree more, Ann is winning this one BIG.....victimology has become obscene, Ann has forced people to defend it, forced them into a crowd, where AGAIN, they are exposed as fellow travelers one and all. Winning happens in the minds of the uncommitted, and Ann will reach a lot of them as a result of this. The left wing hacks that attack her are no big deal. It is the uncommitted we are after, and this dust up is getting their attention. The society in general, senses something wrong with one victim after another being given a podium in the media to influence our laws, Ann's comments though easily condemned go to the very heart of that. Ann wins.
LOL!! Go back and read the post. Perhaps you should address your comments to the original poster. I was merely agreeing with him.
Yea I agree with you. I was laughing when the original poster referred to Coulter as "bones" and then mentioned her Adam's apple and then when he compared her to Robert Tilton I thought wow, Sinkspur will agree with that!
She struck a nerve with liberals and the feckless.
9-11 families are applauding the knock down of these four.
I'm happy with Ann because she has angered leftists and expose conservative posers.
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