Monday, July 2, 2007

Time for an Ann Coulter Ban

http://www.film.com/tv/story/timeforananncoulterban/13982602/15287733

Time for an Ann Coulter Ban
Ethan Morris, Jun 28, 2007

Okay, enough is enough. Will someone please get Ann Coulter off my TV set?

Seriously. The FCC needs to implement an Ann Ban as soon as humanly possible.

Aside from the fact that many believe her to be a raving lunatic, now she's all but threatened the life of a presidential candidate.

In an interview on ABC's Good Morning America, Coulter said she wished Democratic candidate John Edwards "had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot."

The ultra-super-duper-uber-over-the-top conservative columnist and frequent talk show guest says she was merely making a point, after notoriously liberal talk show host Bill Maher made a similar comment about Vice President Dick Cheney.

In fact, what Maher said was that if Dick Cheney had been killed in a real (but failed) attempted assassination in Afghanistan, fewer people would be dying in Iraq right now. "If he did die," Maher said at the time, "other people, more people would live." But he didn't actually "wish" Cheney dead.

Technically, Coulter didn't either. Here's her exact quote: "If I'm going to say anything about John Edwards, I'll just wish he had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot." By couching her words with conditionals like "if" and "I'll" and by using the past tense, Coulter will no doubt avoid any trouble from the law. (Presidential candidates get protection from the Secret Service and threatening their lives is a serious no no.)

But she couldn't stave off a response from Edwards' wife, who called Coulter when she later appeared on MSNBC's Hardball. Elizabeth Edwards asked Coulter to stop attacking her husband with such hate language. Coulter smirkingly refused, and it quickly degenerated into a shouting match.

Now listen: I'm not some liberal who hates Ann Coulter for her politics. I hate Ann Coulter because I, and a lot of others, think she's a venomous nut case.

This is the woman who wishes Timothy McVeigh had blown up the New York Times building.

This is the woman who wants to invade other countries, kill their leaders, and convert the entire world to Christianity. (Does that include Israel, Ann?)

This is the woman who quotes God as saying man should "rape" the earth so we don't end up "living like the Indians."

Now she's implying a death wish against a presidential candidate.

I'm sorry, but this goes way beyond political debate. It's nothing more than venal pandering for profit. Coulter's outrageous statements are obviously designed for the sole purpose of selling her books and getting people to read her columns. (And getting sucker-bloggers like me to waste time writing my opinion about her!)

And her hateful spewing crosses the line. As a writer and journalist, I'm as big a supporter of free speech there is. But Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes helped us draw an important line when he pointed out that free speech doesn't mean you can yell "fire" in a crowded theater.

You can bet Don Imus must be wondering why he doesn't have a job right now.

Seriously, it's time for Ann to go. Shame on network executives and talk show hosts who agree to have Ann as a guest ever again. Shame on viewers for watching her, or for reading her columns. Shame on me if I ever write another word about her.

C'mon FCC. You can spare us all if you'll just implement an Ann Ban, punishable by a fine of one beeeeeelion dollars.

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