The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

VIDEO: Was Ann Coulter Right?

Posted on | February 7, 2012 | 20 Comments

A year ago, at CPAC 2011, Ann Coulter was asked what she thought about the 2012 Republican presidential field:

“Well, I’ll put it in a nutsell: If we don’t run Chris Christie, Romney will be the nominee and will lose.”

Although I never shared Chairman Ann’s enthusiasm for Christie as a presidential candidate, the second half of her prediction has become rather problematic, considering how she is now an enthusiastic supporter of the candidate she previously prophesied would lose to Obama.

Miss Coulter’s prediction was cited by American Spectator columnist David Catron, in a column with an unfortunate title.

David: How am I supposed to explain this to Ann, huh? Do you want her to hate us? Given all her previous services to the conservative cause, is she not entitled to some measure of respect, even when she is demonstrably wrong?

After having examined the enormous odds against stopping Romney from getting the nomination, it occurs to me that Miss Coulter’s early endorsement of Mitt could be viewed in a gentler light. But I’m not yet prepared to argue in her defense on this specific point, and certainly she is as always her own most formidable advocate. My point is that, if we disagree with her, we should do so respectfully, in consideration of Miss Coulter’s long years of combat on behalf of conservatism.

Mark Levin and Rush Limbaugh, each being senior to Miss Coulter in the ranks, are entitled to chastise her as they see fit. But their criticism shouldn’t incite a dogpile reaction against her. If she’s off the ranch and out of bounds in this instance, OK. Criticize her judgment, but don’t attempt to annihilate her reputation.

Category: Ann Coulter, Mitt Romney

Comments

20 Responses to “VIDEO: Was Ann Coulter Right?”

  1. ThePaganTemple
    February 7th, 2012 @ 12:04 pm

    She’s an ass. On the one hand she shits on the constitution by supporting first one candidate who is a blatant gun-control freak, and then she switches to another one who used to be, but has had some kind of moment where he claims to have seen the light, much like his change regarding abortion and a host of other issues. And of course we’re supposed to believe these multiple changes are sincere and heartfelt, not driven at all by politics.

    Then in defending Romney’s record regarding Romneycare, she expresses the qualifier that if she had her way about it, sick people without insurance would just be left to die in the streets, like that is supposed to make us feel better towards her. Or maybe its supposed to make us think, well Romneycare might not be so bad. All I know is that was a hell of a thing to say coming from somebody who’s chosen candidate claims we need to win Democrats and Independents. To hell with her.  I think she’s delusional, maybe just slightly deranged.

    Or maybe she’s just been bought and sold. Whatever, I don’t feel bad about criticizing her, and in the harshest terms. Like they say in the Mafia, you’re only as good as your last envelope.

  2. Anonymous
    February 7th, 2012 @ 12:09 pm

    ” Criticize her judgment, but don’t attempt to annihilate her reputation.”

    You’re right. There is no need to go after her reputation. She is annihilating that on her own quite completely.

  3. Anonymous
    February 7th, 2012 @ 1:01 pm

    Anyone remember this?

    http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1894410_1894289_1894287,00.html

    How the mighty have fallen.  My problems with Coulter date back to her condescion and dismissal of Palin as a mere “chearleader.” Her snark fest with Ingraham on BOR was the nail in the coffin for me.

    So, in my opinion, she’s been on this course for awhile.  As a Palin supporter, we saw it a bit sooner than some, I guess.

  4. Mike Rogers
    February 7th, 2012 @ 1:23 pm

    I’ve been wondering the same thing as David Catron.
    The AcidQueen, destroyer of liberals, suddenly endorsing Mittens?
    Is Willard so handsome, or has the second oldest profession taken on a closer resemblance to the first?
    (I say this because the number of unexpected endorsements, especially from conservative ladies, just does not add up unless money is changing hands.)

  5. Edward
    February 7th, 2012 @ 1:24 pm

     Well I’ve got nothing much to add beyond what’s already been said here.  Frankly I don’t know what the backstory is but I also don’t care overly much.

    But I will repeat myself here in this:  If you want to be an advocate of a specific candidate, you can’t be a pundit.  If you want to be a pundit, you cannot advocate a specific candidate.

  6. Anonymous
    February 7th, 2012 @ 1:35 pm

    Pawlenty has been bought, and probably Huntsman, but Coulter? I’d say No. Time will tell what her motive is, but for now let’s look upon her swerve as a weakness, and hope she gets back on course.

  7. Danby
    February 7th, 2012 @ 1:38 pm

    I’m sorry, but as a person who is constitutionally incapable of treating anyone who disagrees with her with respect, Coulter has forfeited any claim to mine.

    Back in the ’80s, when I was a Democrat, my younger brother was a member of the College Republicans, or as he referred to them, the “Eat The Poor Wing” of the GOP. They were mostly punks who went Right in order to shock and dismay their parents. They would say things like “the poor should be left to die in the streets.” They would argue the moral superiority of the rich.

    Most of these people grew up, and became normal well-adjusted adults, most quite conservative. Some failed to grow up and wound up as Libertarians. And a tiny fraction liked the attention and access to the powerful they got out of their pert opinions and caustic attitude. Coulter has made a career out of it.

    Coulter is not conservative in any meaningful way. She is mostly anti-Democrat and pro-Republican. She attacks Conservatives with as much glee and inflated self-superiority as she does Liberals. While Coulter may have once been useful, in an attack-dog sort of way, the attack dog has begun attacking the junkyard owner. Old Yeller-Hair has come down with the rabies and it’s time to end the suffering.

  8. elaine
    February 7th, 2012 @ 1:55 pm

    That BOR henfest between Coulter and Ingraham was the turning point for me, as well.

    So, yeah… I have zero respect for her at this point,  Like so many in politics (and the pundit class), she blew all her political capital in pretty much one fell swoop.  From this point on, my response will always be, “Ann who?”

  9. elaine
    February 7th, 2012 @ 2:09 pm

    To say pundits shouldn’t endorse candidates is ridiculous…

    It isn’t the fact that she’s endorsing Mitten’s that’s the problem.  It’s that her endorsement makes no sense, given her conservative bona fides.

    Stacy was for Cain, until Cain quit.  Now he’s for Santorum.  And both his choices make sense, given his conservative values, because Cain and Santorum are unquestionably conservatives, as well.

    If Ann Coulter is still a conservative, then her decision to back Romney makes no sense, since he’s about as far from a principled conservative as one can be.  So why is she supporting this guy?  Did he accidentally fall into her lady parts?  Or did she trip and end up with her mouth on his man parts?  Was she taken over by aliens?  Suffer a major head trauma in the last year?  How can ANYONE go from “this guy can’t beat Obama” to the next year saying that the rest of us are hypocrites if we don’t fall in line behind her and Mittens?

    Clearly Coulter has had some sort of conversion on the road to Damascus… but what it was, none of us are privy to it.

    The fact, though, is because none of this makes sense, and Coulter hasn’t been forthcoming with any cogent explanation, she’s damaged her credibility to the point of having none.  Let’s hope Mittens wins the election, because if he doesn’t, Coulter will be out of a job…

  10. Bob Belvedere
    February 7th, 2012 @ 2:48 pm

    I was going easy on her until she attempted [and failed] to defend Romneycare.  At that point, I joined with Paco:
    http://pacoenterprises.blogspot.com/2012/02/ann-coulter-has-lost-her-mind.html

     

  11. Anonymous
    February 7th, 2012 @ 2:58 pm

    As I say, after contemplating the math of the delegate count, I’m willing to believe that Coulter may have done what she did for good motives. If Mitt is truly inevitable — and, as I say, the math is daunting — won’t it ultimately help (in terms of reconciling the base) to have had such a skilled advocate on his side so early?

    But her ridiculous affection for Christie? I’m at a loss to explain that. I’m resisting the temptation to think Coulter might be starting to drift off into squishy snobbery the way Kathleen Parker and Peggy Noonan did in 2008-09.

  12. Mike Rogers
    February 7th, 2012 @ 3:33 pm

    It’s not so much making a case for “the electable one” as the weird statements in favor of ObamneyCare, that has me scratching my head.
    Mike Rogers
    603-661-9091
    eMail by iPad 🙂
    Errors by Mike :-/

  13. Anonymous
    February 7th, 2012 @ 3:41 pm

    But she’was pimping Romney before even a single vote was cast.  So I can’t buy that she was making some kind of strategic decision based on delegate count.

  14. Drek
    February 7th, 2012 @ 5:33 pm

     Exactly!

    She whipped out the knee pads for Willard LONG before any vote was cast in Iowa.

  15. SteveM
    February 7th, 2012 @ 8:29 pm

    Let’s be honest here – even the most brilliant political prognosticators  write a lot of crap. Will Romney win the primary? If he wins, will he lose the general? Even in the second month of 2012 nobody knows the answers to these questions. Nobody can know.

  16. SteveM
    February 7th, 2012 @ 8:30 pm

    >” If Ann Coulter is still a conservative, then her decision to back Romney
    makes no sense, since he’s about as far from a principled conservative
    as one can be.’

    There is no “principled conservative” in the race.

  17. richard mcenroe
    February 7th, 2012 @ 8:41 pm

    Coulter and Ingraham were just freshening up somewhat shopworn brand identities at the expense of the new big conservative chick author.

    As for her predilection for Christie/Romney/anything East of the Appalachians, Ann’s been pizened by NY.  Word is she burns the Alsexander McQueens on her feet once they’ve touched flyover state soil on her book tours.

  18. Monday Roundup
    February 7th, 2012 @ 8:58 pm

    […] VIDEO: Was Ann Coulter Right? […]

  19. Anonymous
    February 8th, 2012 @ 5:23 am

    “Criticize her judgment, but don’t attempt to annihilate her reputation.”

    As a political provocateur, Coulter has insisted upon this blowback. She’s a big girl and fights as dirty as anyone. Not in a vulgar way, but acerbically. She can take the abuse. I’m generally a fan but she deserves the critique.

    Besides, she lives for this stuff. It’s called self-promotion. If you’re talking about her, she’s winning. What will really make her upset is when you don’t care enough not to respond. Then she’ll have to expedite her next book.

    Anyhoo, it will be fun to see just how far she rides the crazy train into the election. I’d love to see a) Santorum win and then b) replace SCoaMF, but c) seeing Coulter eat enough crow to put on some weight wouldn’t be too bad either.

  20. Quartermaster
    February 8th, 2012 @ 12:48 pm

    Yeah, somone needs to buy the poor girl a sammich.

    No sympathy for here here. She asked for it, sadly, and brought it on herself.