Coulter Debates PoliSci Prof in Bristol, RI on 11/21/02 (Be There!)

That comment stirred up the Muslim-loving students quite a bit!

I used the term "snippy" because it's sort of an inside joke around here. When Gore called Bush to take back his concession, Bush was a bit miffed and said so. Gore's macho reply was, "You don't have to get snippy about it."

RaceBannon is home and sent me a photo of him and Ann. Expect a report shortly I guess.

Did she let the rats in on the secret?

I tried to get a photo of me and Ann but she took off pretty quickly. I think she had a flight to catch.

is there any way I can get a transcript from last nite? We were exiled to the hallway, and while we were near the door ( I did sneak in and get a couple of pics), we couldn't hear too much.

My daughter was highly inspired by listening to AC, and we got several chuckles from her remarks.

We felt that the victim was a disgrace to RWU by not even being prepared, it was all about her. AC did short work of making her seem like a lunatic.

Wish we could have stayed, but we had travlled siome distance, and the tyke has school today and I didn't want her up too late.

Thanx to those who did their best under trying times to make this such a success.

Yes, there was a signup sheet for students. Although I think for those students who didnt make it into the Auditorium, they could just sign their name and leave. But it did seem like many stayed and were interested anyways. Although they were probably most interested in Speakman.

Someone above had said that Speakman was somewhat unprepared. I agree to an extent, but I still must give credit where credit is due. Ms. Speakman was candid and even had a comeback or two that although were off the mark, she still had the guts to say them to Ann. ie.. Ann said that 50% of the "rich" pay 96% of the taxes, Ms Speakman came back with something like, "Well if you are asking me if I think the rich should pay more taxes, I would agree with that." She also made a comment about not wanting to send her sons and students off to war without thinking about why Sept. 11 happened, which was popular with the students. At one point Ann Coulter said that she was looking to buy Catasprophic Health Care Coverage, she only wanted to be insured against major sicknesses and she would pay to get the warts removed out of her own pocket :-), Speakman turned it around pretty quick by saying "You are lucky to be so healthy." This got a big rise out of the students. To sum this up while Ms. Speakman may have been a little unprepared, we have to remember that this is a slightly nervous small college professor debating a well polished world-class television spokesperson. This was not Carville (sp?) vs. Coulter. This was more like David vs Goliath (only this time Goliath handcuffed his own hands and still won :-)).

One last thing I thought of. Ann when speaking of Healthcare said that explaining to liberals about paying for routine healthcare out of pocket is like explaining to an old Soviet woman how she was going to get a loaf of bread for her family without government providing it.

And Ann did say that lack of Moooooslim control was why the sniper shootings happened when she was asked about her stance on gun control by a student. She also said that veryone should be armed. One student asked about her view of women in the military, which Ann said that she was against. (I'm presuming that she meant in combat rolls)

Providence Journal Article about debate...

Conservative author Coulter spars with professor at RWU
11/22/2002

BY MICHAEL CORKERY
Journal Staff Writer

BRISTOL -- Room 157 had the look and feel of a championship bout. The fans sat in cheering sections based on their favorite fighter. The diehards came looking for autographs. Others came to provide moral support.

This fight last night, on the Roger Williams University campus, was all about politics. Party politics.

It pitted one of the nation's most controversial and aggressive conservatives against the lone Democrat on the Barrington Town Council.

Ann Coulter -- a lawyer, author and popular TV talk-show commentator, who has made a career of attacking liberals with a venom that repulses some and inspires others -- was the clear heavyweight in this debate, sponsored by the Roger Williams College Republicans.

Facing her was June Speakman, an associate professor of political science, the head of the faculty union at Roger Williams, and a newly elected member of the Barrington Town Council.

Coulter, who has sparred with the likes of The Today Show's Katie Couric, whom she has called the "affable Eva Braun of daytime TV" -- said that Speakman was the first person who had ever agreed to debate her on a college campus.

The two debated the question, "Which political party is the party of the people?"

Coulter took the first shot. "If you define people as those who don't work for a living, then the Democrats are the party of the people," she said. "These are people who refuse to work, or they are actors."

She slammed the Democrats for portraying themselves as the party of the "little guy," when she said their average single donations dwarf that given by Republicans to candidates.

As evidence, she ticked off the top contributors to Al Gore's push for a recount in the disputed 2000 election -- a cadre of media and real-estate magnates from California and New York.

"This is the party of the people. Malibu and Manhattan," she said of the Democrats. ". . . They are the modern feudalists who believe that the country should be made up of idle liberals and their maids."

Her comments drew a round of cheers from the front seats of the audience, occupied by the College Republicans; the group had erupted in applause as soon as the tall, blonde Coulter entered the room.

Many of those wearing the club's blue T-shirts clutched digital cameras. One had a copy of Coulter's best-selling book, Slander. Another had a calendar of pictures from Ronald Reagan's ranch.

Republican congressional candidate Dave Rogers, who lost in his bid to unseat Patrick Kennedy, also attended the debate.

Speakman looked a little nervous as she took the podium to defend the Democratic party. The bespectacled professor, and self-proclaimed "ex-hippie," spoke of her liberal background with pride.

"I would have voted for Hillary Clinton if I lived in New York," said Speakman, as the crowd booed. "I am sorry."

"I contributed to Emily's List. I contribute to public television. I am not a traitor."

She disputed Coulter's assertion that the Democrats are the party of rich liberals, saying that not many members of the 48 percent of the electorate who voted for the party in the last election have maids. "Frankly," she said, "many of them might be maids."

The Democrats, Speakman said, believe in a government that helps people who cannot help themselves, including the sick, the children and the unemployed.

Speakman had her own fans, who packed the back rows of the auditorium and cheered her every point.

According to Michael Ardvini, a member of the College Republicans, someone torched one of the signs that the group put up announcing Coulter's appearance on campus. Ardvini said the club then had to take down the rest of the signs, because they were deemed a fire hazard.

Coulter, a staunch critic of the Clintons, the media and anything that she deems liberal, is a lightning rod for controversy -- much of which she invites, her critics say.

She was dropped from the conservative National Review after Sept. 11, when she wrote about Muslims, saying, "We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity," according to Newsday.

She accuses liberals of engaging in name-calling and nastiness that she says have soiled the political dialogue.