I'd almost forgotten Ann Coulter existed -- lucky me

By Richard K. Barry

I stumbled upon an interview on television the other night with conservative author, commentator, loudmouth, and all-around vile creature Ann Coulter.

I had not seen her around in a while and surely would not have gone looking for her unless compelled by some reason I could not imagine. But there she was being interviewed, and I had to stop and watch, if only for a moment.

I have no interest in dredging up the compendium of obnoxious things she has said over the years, though it would be easy to do. Do it yourself, if you have the stomach for it. And I am not the least bit interested in having a discussion about the value of her arguments, because they have none.

I only know that Ann Coulter and a handful of other right-wingers who crop up now and again to spew undisguised hatred depress the hell out of me. And, make no mistake, this mode of presentation is a speciality of the right.

There is nothing clever in what she has to say. There is no nuance or argument worth parsing. It's bile plain and simple, it is hate speech, and she exists simply because a certain subset of the population will always be receptive to arguments based on hatred. She has figured that out and is, apparently, making a good living from it.

I don't know if it's an act or if she really is, deep down, this horrid. Either way, she deserves no attention and I would suggest that any media outlet, any organization, that continues to provide a way for her to be heard ought to be ashamed.

Coulter should remind us that there are limits to the opinions that deserve to be entertained.

Lines of that sort can and should be drawn.

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

Michele Bachmann Challenger Tarryl Clark Interviewed by Huffington Post

Read it here. Money quote:

But in an interview with the Huffington Post, Minnesota State Sen. Tarryl Clark had a pithier message: Michelle Bachmann was Sarah Palin before Sarah Palin was Sarah Palin.

"For many in Minnesota, when Sarah Palin came on the scene it seemed like she was Alaska's Michelle Bachmann," Clark told the Huffington Post. "They seem to share some similarities."

Bachmann, for her part, seems to like the analogy. The Minnesota Republican sent out a fundraising email just last week in which she seemed to be stepping into the void left by the former Alaska Governor.

"With Gov. Palin taking a well-deserved step out of the spotlight, it appears that I may be absorbing even more of the liberals' scorn," Bachmann said, who went on to warn that the media would "Palinize" her.

To Clark, Bachmann's penchant for the outrageous soundbite and the conservative media spotlight is a distraction at best, and a disservice to the taxpayers at worst.

"People in the sixth district deserve to have reasonable representation and right now we have a representative whose main accomplishments is creating controversy and generating talk show ratings," she told the Huffington Post.

"I can't profess to explain why she, for example, doesn't want people to comply with the law with the census. Or more importantly, why does she want to send our taxpayer dollars to other states?" Clark added. "We are already not getting a good return on our dollar. But the bottom line is, is that it reinforces that her head is really elsewhere. She does seem to be more interested in attention then in focusing on the needs of the district. And it is important that we do have someone willing to roll up their shirtsleeves and get the job done for people. And if she is interested in being Ann Coulter, fine. But the taxpayers shouldn't have to pay for that."

Read the whole thing.