Lefties punk'd [Coulter had people talking about free speech thanks to the 'outrage machine']

Calgary Sun ^ | 2010-03-28 | Ian Robinson

[Clive]

As the conservative anti-Christ — aka U.S. political firebrand Ann Coulter — left Canada Friday, did every outraged leftie in Canada wake up with a phantom pain in their cheek?

Kind of a sharp pain? Puncture wound sharp? Big owie?

That’d be where you bit down hard when Coulter dangled the hook in front of you.

Hell, you did more than bite. You bit down hard and swallowed the bait ... hook, line and sinker.

Canada’s left-wing outrage machine?

You been punk’d.

Coulter’s Canadian tour was put together by Calgary free-speech crusader Ezra Levant, whose travails with the Soviet-style thought police that is the Alberta Human Rights Commission are well documented in his book, Shakedown.

Other players were local student organizer Matt Gelinas — who dealt with a last-minute venue change and security hysteria with incredible aplomb — the Clare Boothe Luce Institute, which mentors young, conservative women, and the International Free Press Society of Canada.

Their task was simple.

How to bring attention to the cause of free speech?

Coulter’s job is to sell books — a noble pursuit in and of itself in this post-literate age.

If selling books is her job, her avocation is raising the blood pressure of leftists to dangerous, aneurysm-inducing levels.

Coulter and company in a mere couple of days hijacked big real estate in newspapers and newscasts across the country. Paying for that kind of ad space would have cost millions. They had people in workplaces across the country talking about free speech and Ann Coulter ... even though most of those doing the talking have never read her; merely read about her.

It started with a letter from University of Ottawa provost Francois Houle warning Coulter to watch her mouth when she spoke there because Canadians aren’t like Americans.

Because we’re so vewy, vewy sensitive.

So Coulter, who drew an audience of a lousy 300 at the University of Western Ontario, sees her University of Ottawa appearance cancelled because of fears of violence... and then flies into Calgary where 900 people lined up for two hours to see her.

Nearly 1,000 people. To hear somebody talk about politics. I don’t think that would have happened without the wonderful work of the left-wing outrage machine.

After the speech, about half the audience lined up to have their books signed. That works out to at least $12,000 worth of Coulter-lit ... and a lot of the books looked brand new.

More than one nice, young university student told me they came to see Coulter because of the publicity and had come prepared to hate her ... but walked out a fan.

Fans with credit cards and books to buy.

I met another three kids who drove down from Edmonton. On a week night. To listen to a speech about politics and U.S. politics at that.

Way to go, outrage machine.

While the weather was good, the gormless extras in the Coulter publicity machine — the self-proclaimed guardians of all that is good and pure led by some guy with bad hair and a bullhorn — were a pain, despite the fact they were helping Coulter’s books fly off the shelves. By the end of the evening, they were reduced to screaming obscenities at patrons leaving the event.

They were very angry.

By contrast, Coulter, almost always described as “angry” in news copy, smiled and laughed through her entire speech, relentlessly cheerful.

The only people I’ve ever seen that happy are pre-schoolers watching the Teletubbies while eating ice cream and college students whose Ecstacy just kicked in. Coulter may be a lot of things, but angry ain’t one of them.

What she is, is funny and smart and some kind of freaky, black-belt debate ninja. Bright, leftie university students kept trying to outwit her during the Q&A, by and large she made them look like midgets trying out for the NBA.

Her last words to the crowd were these: “In conclusion, if anything I’ve said has offended you, then my work here is done.”

For those of you with the sore mouths?

Don’t blame the angler.

Blame all you fish.

[sauropod]

I love Annie. She gets the Left more worked up than anyone.

[M-cubed]

I'll 2nd that!

[jellybean]

Does anyone have video of this? I would love to see it!

More than one nice, young university student told me they came to see Coulter because of the publicity and had come prepared to hate her ... but walked out a fan.

Fans with credit cards and books to buy.

I met another three kids who drove down from Edmonton. On a week night. To listen to a speech about politics and U.S. politics at that.

Way to go, outrage machine.

While the weather was good, the gormless extras in the Coulter publicity machine — the self-proclaimed guardians of all that is good and pure led by some guy with bad hair and a bullhorn — were a pain, despite the fact they were helping Coulter’s books fly off the shelves. By the end of the evening, they were reduced to screaming obscenities at patrons leaving the event.

They were very angry.

By contrast, Coulter, almost always described as “angry” in news copy, smiled and laughed through her entire speech, relentlessly cheerful.

The only people I’ve ever seen that happy are pre-schoolers watching the Teletubbies while eating ice cream and college students whose Ecstacy just kicked in. Coulter may be a lot of things, but angry ain’t one of them.

What she is, is funny and smart and some kind of freaky, black-belt debate ninja. Bright, leftie university students kept trying to outwit her during the Q&A, by and large she made them look like midgets trying out for the NBA.

Let me know if you'd like to be added to the Ann Coulter ping list.

[Paladin2]

"....Because we’re so vewy, vewy sensitive..."

LOL, made me look to see if Steyn was involved.

[Interesting Times]

Beautiful.

Was the author hauled away in chains after this ran?