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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On that point, you are in full agreement with the left.
Allright, Tex, that is NOT the kind of picture that the rules CALL FOR.
I noticed that you didn't have any problem calling Ann names. Pot meet Kettle.
Speaking of lefties, you did a nice dodge, with the added benefit of insulting me as well.
"Did anyone say Ann was getting enjoyment out of her spouse's death?"The point being that nobody said anything about Ann that was that low. And it is a low, vulgar remark. Ann is an intelligent woman, but I guess she figures she can do better as a conservative Al Franken.
First of all, that wasn't my comment and it wasn't Coulter's comment. It came from Here. So if you have a problem with the comment being low and vulgar, take it up with where it came from.
Franken would be delighted to see the comparison you made there!
Like I said in a previous post, Conservatives need to stand up and fight back against the sneaky lying posturing liberals.
Oh and add these up and see if maybe some people are maybe making low, vulgar remarks about Coulter. (and they are from just ONE thread...)
Not to mention Mrs. Clinton. It's amazing how many here at FR are agreeing with Hilliary.
The problem with the Dems isn't that they're caustic and cutting, although many are. The problem is, they're outrageously wrong and are inflicting great damage on this country.
Coulter is right on the issues. Her books and commentary are a corrective.
You got off track when you assumed that Coulter's message and the liberal message are morally equivalent. Once you assume that, the only way to decide who "wins" is by deciding says it nicer.
When was the last time you saw a scum-sucking liberal demonrat say anything tactful?
Don't hold your breath.
The time has long passed to "Play Nice".
Sorry TBT. I got lazy. My apologies.
But Carvile and Begala don't think it is wrong for them to say the things they do.
They just expose themselves as the stinking hypocrites they are when they complain the other side said nasty things about them.
No, you are off track if you think making sh*t up about people is a good, honest political strategy. Breitwiser and the others have enough on them to work with, but Ann made them political victims with her rhetoric. I think you see it, but it's hard to admit it.
Ann Coulter!
"toastdom" --- I love it!!!
Well we disagree. Her methods are unusual, but they work and do not do a disservice to conservatism. In fact, she is one of the few that is standing up for what is right in our country. If the politicians and others on the forefront of the battle for our Country won't do it, someone has to.
To you she is loud, to the liberals she is a thousand cuts. If we don't fight back with strength to the underhanded vicious attacks of the liberals, they will continue to gain ground.
It's far past time to regain the ground we are losing to the RINOs and the liberals.
We can't act like the UN and send a letter to despots and tyrants and ask them to please stop or we will send another letter.
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