And, what’s the big headline coming out of CPAC? Is it that Josh Sparling won a much-deserved award? Is it that conservatives remain committed to the war for freedom against terrorism? Is it that this post-blowout CPAC was the largest CPAC ever?
No. The headline coming out of CPAC is that Ann Coulter said an awful thing. Which is what she wants, since it’ll keep her profile up and help her sell books. She doesn’t care that conservative heroes and leaders and thousands of other less known conservatives who were present will end up getting tarnished by her remarks. She doesn’t care that she’s putting the CPAC organizers in a bind, since she’s their biggest draw but also their biggest liability. She probably doesn’t care that she’s John Edwards’ spokesmodel. She probably likes the attention. It’s all about Ann. And that’s the problem.
I think the comments above by Michelle Malkin’s partner, Bryan Preston of HotAir.com, pretty much sums up the CPAC Ann Coulter kerfuffle for me. So many amazing “headlines” could have come out of CPAC: the presentation of CPAC’s Defender of the Constitution Award by Col. Ollie North to Spc. Josh Sparling, the eloquent and passionate speech by modern civil rights leader Ward Connerly, the moving presentation by Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundations’s Col. Bud Day – the nation’s most highly decorated soldier since Gen. Douglas MacArthur, the honor and recognition of the “'Joan of Arc' of Ukraine’s Orange Revolution”, Yulia Tymoshenko. The list goes on and on…
Yes, I immediately understood that Ann was trying to make a joke tying in the Isaiah Washington “faggot-rehab” flap (although this reference to pop culture was completely lost on most of the 45+ crowd sitting with me at the front tables at CPAC).
Ann defended her use of the word “faggot” on Hannity & Colmes the other night, saying it was just a “schoolyard term” meaning wussy or nerd. I have never heard the term faggot meaning just wussy or nerd… it means gay/homosexual. In my opinion, there is no connection between gay/homosexual and John Edwards, so why even make a stupid and confusing joke about it? The fact that Ann has had to make numerous appearances on talk radio and television shows since Friday to explain her way out of her “joke” says to me: Ann - You know you’ve told a bomb of a joke when you have to go around for days explaining the joke over and over again.
I'm still in Ann's corner, and in no way do I want her to be banned from CPAC. I’m not thin-skinned and her comment didn't "send me to the fainting couch". I absolutely love her books and her speeches (most of the time) and look forward to seeing her again.
I'll concede that I'm OK with this type of comment if she's speaking to a bunch of college students on campus or at some smaller event. But I don't think this kind of sophomoric language is appropriate at an event like CPAC - the premier gathering of the country's conservatives... and under the close scrutiny of the MSM – just waiting for an opportunity like this to bash conservatives yet again.
Just my 2 cents…
Exactly.
I like Ann, but I am very offended by Ann stealing all the good that happened there and made it "All about Ann".
Worse, she didn't get caught on an open mike, or something. This was a part of a prepared statement that was a calculated effort to do just that.
Here is the official statement from CPAC
"The just completed 2007 Conservative Political Action Conference on March 1 – 3, 2007, was the largest in the 34 year history of the event, featuring 33 panels on a variety of public policy issues, 24 stand alone speakers including public officials, writers, student activists, media personalities and comedians. ACU, the event’s primary sponsor and CPAC strive to provide a platform and forum for a variety of differing views and personalities. ACU and CPAC do not condone or endorse every speaker or their comments at the conference. As such, ACU and CPAC leave it to our audience to determine whether comments are appropriate or not. “Ann Coulter is known for comments that can be both provocative and outrageous. That was certainly the case in her 2007 CPAC appearance and previous ones as well. But as a point of clarification, let me make it clear that ACU and CPAC do not condone or endorse the use of hate speech,” said David A. Keene, ACU Chairman.
Ann will be back at CPAC.