Coulter to appear on June 26 Hardball -- first time since "brilliant
 
Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2007 16:08:04 -0400

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<p><b>Coulter to appear on June 26 <em>Hardball</em> -- first time since
"brilliant brain" called Gore a "total fag" </b></p>
<p><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200706250007?src=item200706250007">http://mediamatters.org/items/200706250007</a></p>

<p>According to an advertisement during the
June 24 edition of NBC&#39;s <i>Meet the
Press</i>, right-wing pundit <a href="http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/people/anncoulter?src=item200706250007">Ann Coulter</a> will be
returning to MSNBC&#39;s <i>Hardball
with Chris Matthews</i> on June 26 --
her first appearance on the program since July 27, 2006, when she referred to former Vice President Al Gore as a "total fag." Since that
appearance, she has also referred to former Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) as a
"faggot." The ad on <i>Meet the Press</i> said: "She&#39;s ignited controversy across America.
But can Ann Coulter stand the heat in the <i>Hardball</i>
hot seat, going head-to-head with Chris Matthews?" During
Coulter&#39;s last appearance on <i>Hardball</i>,
however, Matthews repeatedly complimented Coulter -- referring to her as
writing "beautifully" and having a "brilliant brain." During the <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200607280001?src=item200706250007" title="blocked::http://mediamatters.org/items/200607280001">interview</a>, Matthews asked Coulter,
"How do you know that Bill Clinton is gay?" -- referring to her <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200607260007?src=item200706250007" title="blocked::http://mediamatters.org/items/200607260007">statement</a> the night before on CNBC&#39;s <i>The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch</i> that
Clinton "show[s] some level of latent homosexuality." Coulter
responded, "I don&#39;t know if he&#39;s gay. But Al Gore -- total fag." </p>

<p>She went on to defend her theory about Clinton&#39;s sexuality by
stating that "everyone has always known, widely promiscuous heterosexual
men have, as I say, a whiff of the bathhouse about them." Coulter said she
was "just kidding" about Gore, but stated of her theory about Clinton, "It&#39;s not
only not a joke, it&#39;s not even surprising." Coulter explained her assertion that Clinton
is gay by stating, "For any feminist with the benefit of
something beyond a community-college education, this is standard feminist
doctrine that wild promiscuity shows a fear-hostility of women." Matthews responded: "Well, thanks,
Ann. You&#39;re great."</p>

<p>At the beginning of the interview,
Matthews told Coulter: "You write beautifully. You have a brilliant
brain." He continued: "I stayed up last night reading your chapter
on <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200706250007&http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/candidates/ad.archive/" title="blocked::http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200706250007&http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/candidates/ad.archive/">Willie Horton</a>, which
was absolutely stunning in its satire, it reminded me of the young
[conservative columnist] George Will." He also described her as
"the picture of heaven." Coulter remarked during the interview that
when "most Americans" heard that an Israeli airstrike had hit a
United Nations observer post in south Lebanon on July 25, <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200706250007&http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5215366.stm" title="blocked::http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200706250007&http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5215366.stm">killing four U.N. observers</a>,
they hoped to hear similar news about "the installation on 42nd
Street" -- presumably a reference to the U.N. headquarters in New York
City. In response to this suggestion, Matthews said: "Thank you,
Ann." In concluding the interview, Matthews said of Coulter, "We&#39;d
love to have her back."</p>

<p>Following her July 27, 2006, appearance
on <i>Hardball,</i> Coulter has
continued in her tradition of making "controver[sial]" remarks, as <i>Media Matters for America</i> has documented: </p>

<ul><li>In her August 9, 2006, <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200706250007&http://www.townhall.com/columnists/AnnCoulter/2006/08/10/big_foot,_scoop_jackson_democrats_and_other_myths">column</a>, Coulter <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200608100001?src=item200706250007">wrote</a> that, without affirmative action,
African-American Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) couldn&#39;t get a job "that
didn&#39;t involve wearing a paper hat."</li><li>In a November 30, 2006, syndicated <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200706250007&http://townhall.com/columnists/AnnCoulter/2006/11/30/coulter_gets_results">column</a> about the <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200706250007&http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/11/21/passengers.removed/">removal</a> of six imams from an airplane in
Minnesota after other passengers saw them praying prior to boarding, Coulter <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200612010002?src=item200706250007">claimed</a> that "profiling Muslims is
more like profiling the Klan" than it is like profiling African-Americans,
"because of the history of discrimination against blacks in this
country." Coulter added: "What did we do to the Arabs? I believe
Americans are the victims in that relationship." </li><li>In a March 2 speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC),
Coulter <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200703030002?src=item200706250007">said</a> she "can&#39;t really talk
about" Edwards because "you have to go into rehab if you use the word &#39;faggot.&#39;
" The CPAC audience applauded her comment. As <i>Media Matters</i> further <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200703130001?src=item200706250007">documented</a>, a number of newspapers
dropped Coulter following her remarks at CPAC. </li><li>On the March 6 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Sean Hannity <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200703080001?src=item200706250007">said</a> to Coulter, "Most of the
speech was about humor. You were telling jokes the whole time here," and
went on to discuss <i>Grey&#39;s Anatomy</i>
actor Isaiah Washington, who sought counseling after using the slur. Coulter
responded by saying, "[T]hat&#39;s, of course, what I was referring to, and I
don&#39;t think there&#39;s anything offensive about any variation of faggy, faggotry,
faggot, fag. It&#39;s a schoolyard taunt. It means -- it means wussy. It means, you
know, Hillary giving a speech in a fake Southern drawl -- that&#39;s faggy. A trial
lawyer who weeps before juries is faggy. <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200706250007&http://www.lifetimetv.com/index.php">Lifetime</a>-type TV,
faggy." Coulter then referred to the word "faggot" as "a
totally excellent word." </li><li>In a May 16 <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200706250007&http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=20753">column</a> titled
"Jerry Falwell -- Say Hello to Ronald Reagan!" Coulter, who <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200705180003?src=item200706250007">proclaimed</a>, "Let me be the first to
say: I ALWAYS agreed with the <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200706250007&http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/f/jerry_falwell/index.html">Rev. Falwell</a>,"
admitted that she disagreed with Falwell on "one small item": He
should have <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200706250007&http://www.commondreams.org/news2001/0917-03.htm">assigned blame</a> for the
September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to "[Sen.] Teddy Kennedy [D-MA] and
&#39;the Reverend&#39; Barry Lynn," in addition to "the pagans, and the
abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians -- who are
actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle." Coulter went on to
compare Falwell to Jesus Christ ("If you still think it isn&#39;t Christ whom
liberals hate, remember: They hate Falwell even more than they hate me.") and assert
that Falwell did not blame all "the gays" for "ejecting God from
public life," but rather "gays and lesbians who are actively trying
to make that an alternative lifestyle."</li></ul>

<p>From a commercial that aired during the
June 24 edition of NBC&#39;s <i>Meet the
Press</i>: </p><blockquote>

<p>ANNOUNCER:
She&#39;s ignited controversy across America. But can Ann Coulter stand
the heat in the <i>Hardball</i> hot
seat, going head-to-head with Chris Matthews? <i>Hardball</i>,
MSNBC, Tuesday. </p></blockquote>

<p>From
the July 27, 2006, edition of MSNBC&#39;s <i>Hardball
with Chris Matthews</i>: </p><blockquote>

<p>MATTHEWS: <b>You are a controversial lady. You write beautifully. You
have a brilliant brain. I stayed up last night reading your chapter on <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200706250007&http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/candidates/ad.archive/" title="blocked::http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200706250007&http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/candidates/ad.archive/">Willie Horton</a>, which
was absolutely stunning in its satire, it reminded me of the young George Will.</b></p>

<p>COULTER: Thank you.</p>

<p>[...]</p>

<p>MATTHEWS: OK, Iran.
How about Iran?
It&#39;s a closer danger --</p>

<p>COULTER: It&#39;s a much bigger
problem when they have nukes.</p>

<p>MATTHEWS: It&#39;s a closer
danger in the Middle East because you&#39;ve got Israel,
you got Saudi Arabia.
Very fat targets.</p>

<p>COULTER: That&#39;s when you
have someone crazy --</p>

<p>MATTHEWS: What do you do
there? What do you do in Iran?
</p>

<p>COULTER: -- who&#39;s
claiming he&#39;s building nukes. You want to go in and take them out.</p>

<p>MATTHEWS: What do you do
in Iran,
if you&#39;re president?</p>

<p>COULTER: I don&#39;t know
what they know, but I would not be averse to military action, and I know people
keep saying --</p>

<p>MATTHEWS: You mean a
strike against their nuclear facilities?</p>

<p>COULTER: People keep
saying, you know, the material itself -- it can be hidden in caves -- we can&#39;t
find it. Oh, we can take care of Iran so that they couldn&#39;t build a
transistor radio. Who cares if they have nuclear material.</p>

<p>MATTHEWS: So you&#39;d bomb
them into the Stone Age?</p>

<p>COULTER: Maybe.</p>

<p>MATTHEWS: You would?
Really, as president?</p>

<p>COULTER: It&#39;s either
that or have a lunatic sitting on top of nukes. If that&#39;s what my choice is, yes.</p>

<p>MATTHEWS: Take &#39;em down.</p>

<p>[...]</p>

<p>MATTHEWS: I&#39;m back in
heaven. I think I&#39;m on college tour again. This is the University of Hardball,
here we are. We have Ann Coulter. Look at her, look at her, the picture of
heaven. All brain, no heart. Just kidding! OK, let&#39;s go now to the first
question.</p>

<p>AUDIENCE MEMBER: Hi. If
we&#39;re fighting Islamofascism in the war on terror, I&#39;m wondering if we can use
American Muslims to fight the war on culture in the United States.</p>

<p>[...]</p>

<p>MATTHEWS: <b>Let me ask you about your private life. How do you
know that Bill Clinton&#39;s gay?</b></p>

<p>COULTER: <b>He may not be gay, but Al Gore, total fag. No, I&#39;m
just kidding. As someone, no --</b></p>

<p>MATTHEWS: That&#39;s based
on your private life?</p>

<p>COULTER: <b>No, that&#39;s a joke.</b></p>

<p>MATTHEWS: OK.</p>

<p>COULTER: That&#39;s what we
call in the writing business, a joke. No, I mean, I state a manifestly obvious
fact. Someone pointed out on Free
 Republic, I think a
little disgruntled yesterday, Ann&#39;s amazing capacity is to state the obvious
and make it news. <b>I mean, everyone has always
known, widely promiscuous heterosexual men have, as I say, a whiff of the
bathhouse about them.</b></p>

<p>MATTHEWS: But, you know,
you were on -- I was watching you on <i>Deutsch</i>
last night. I watched it because it was all over the blog sites, you can&#39;t miss
it.</p>

<p>COULTER: Yes!</p>

<p>MATTHEWS: You were
immortal in that interview by the way. And you said it because you were sort of
pushed to say it. I just wonder if you believe it.</p>

<p>COULTER This is standard
--</p>

<p>MATTHEWS: It&#39;s a joke.
It&#39;s a joke.</p>

<p>COULTER I -- I --</p>

<p>MATTHEWS: It&#39;s not a
joke.</p>

<p>COULTER <b>It&#39;s not only not a joke, it&#39;s not even surprising.</b>
If feminists were not so in love with Bill Clinton, this is like standard --</p>

<p>MATTHEWS: OK.</p>

<p>COULTER <b>For any feminist with the benefit of something beyond
a community-college education, this is standard --</b></p>

<p>MATTHEWS: OK.</p>

<p>COULTER -- <b>feminist doctrine that wild promiscuity shows a
fear-hostility of women.</b></p>

<p>MATTHEWS: Well, thanks,
Ann. You&#39;re great.</p>

<p>COULTER: Thank you.</p>

<p>[...]</p>

<p>AUDIENCE MEMBER: Ann, I want
to get your thoughts on [U.N. Secretary General] Kofi Annan this week basically
coming out and demanding that Israel
abide by a cease-fire funded by the U.N. But meanwhile, Kofi Annan, after three
years of Muslims beating down -- black Muslims in the Darfur area, all Kofi
Annan has done is stood there and claimed that there&#39;ll be meeting after
meeting -- they take out the word "ethnic cleansing," and then we&#39;re
being lectured to from liberals about hatred, when I remember in 1994, when we
had a liberal Congress and a liberal president, they did nothing in Rwanda.</p>

<p>COULTER: Right. Well,
Kofi Annan and the U.N. peacekeepers have done a terrific job keeping the
peace. <b>And as you know, Israel mistakenly bombed some of
them a few days ago. I think most Americans are looking at that, hoping they
can hear about the installation on 42nd
  Street.</b></p>

<p>MATTHEWS: Thank you,
Ann.</p>

<p>COULTER: Thank you.</p>

<p>

MATTHEWS: Thanks for
coming on. And a smart lady. Her book&#39;s called <i>Godless</i>.
Sometimes being smart isn&#39;t enough for a civil discourse. <b>We&#39;d love to have her back.</b>
 </p></blockquote><table width="100%" style="background: #e8e8e8; 
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