When Ann Coulter came to GW this semester, I had the good fortune to ask her a few questions after she spoke. While the liberal outcry against Ann was heard far and wide in the weeks leading up to the event, few ever hear the nuanced and sometimes critical views of Ann by those on the right. In addition to the exclusive interview with Ann below, we have included a symposium of GW Patriot staff who were asked whether they think Ann Coulter is good for the conservative movement.
Q & A with Coulter
GW Patriot: It's obvious that you don't always get the warmest welcome on college campuses. Why do you continue to speak to college students?
Ann Coulter: Most of the time when I give speeches the reception I get is like the one I got today. Today's was great. It is the reporters, who unlike you, are retarded who cover those events. They exaggerate what happened. I never was booed offstage. The president of the University of Connecticut sent me an e-mail the next day apologizing for what happened.
GWP: John Kerry recently cited your support for Sam Alito for the Supreme Court as a reason that he decided to filibuster his nomination on the Senate floor. What is your reaction when prominent Democrats, such as Kerry, invoke your name to make their own point?
AC: I'm putting it on my Christmas cards! I was actually listening to him when he said that on the Senate floor. The title of my next column was "Rush Limbaugh: Eat Your Heart Out!"
GWP: Some say that you are the right's version of Michael Moore. How do you respond to that criticism?
AC: The only people who make that comparison are liberals and Democrats. It is obvious that the two of us have nothing in common.
GWP: You said during your speech that you support Iowa Republican Congressman Steve King for president. Why?
AC: I like everything about him. He's a great guy. He has a great family. Check out his website to learn more about him. I first was drawn to him because of his defense of [the late Wisconsin Senator Joseph] McCarthy. Unfortunately, Republicans don't typically nominate congressmen for president.
The above was compiled from notes taken during a Feb. 10 inteview.
GW Patriot Symposium
Coulter is bad for the conservative movement because she goes out of her way to attack and offend. Some of her points would be well received if not for the vitriol that accompanies them.
-Andrew Breza, freshman
Ann Coulter is good for the conservative movement because she is the complete package. She shatters the traditional stereotypes commonly associated with conservatives: namely that they are all fat, cold, disagreeable, balding white guys (think Dick Cheney). Coulter also uses parody and hyperbole to reveal larger, unpleasant truths about the Democratic Party and the American left. Coulter refuses to adhere to the norms of political correctness. Let me be clear: she is aggressive, unforgiving and at times downright mean, but she gives as good as she receives. One need only attend a liberal rally or listen to a Howard Dean or Dennis Kucinich speech to hear conservatives and President Bush routinely derided as fascists, terrorists and intellectual lightweights.
-Gary Livacari, junior
Ann Coulter is, in my view, petulance incarnate. Her writings and television appearances show her to be exactly what she claims to loathe: a demagogue, a simpleton, and a coward who shrinks from serious argument at first sign of it. The most amusing thing about Ann Coulter isn't her leaden routines about feminists and Arabs. She's no P.J. O'Rourke. It's the adolescent egotism that makes her insist that there is a serious thinker somewhere beneath - a brilliance so great that it isn't required to demonstrate extensive knowledge or trot out serious argument. Ann Coulter is terrible for conservatism because she is the presiding figure over its cult of victimhood and assault. Unless you think the American Right at present is clinging for dear life, Ann Coulter is irrelevant to conservatism and to the health of the country.
-Jon Lucks, senior
I think that Ann Coulter is good for the conservative movement because she says the things that most conservatives are thinking, but have too much tact to say out loud. She's good at getting the base riled up, but the key is to not take her too seriously. Bottom line: she is a troll along the lines of a Michael Moore or Maureen Dowd. However, unlike those two who I think are actually just idiots, I believe that Ann knows better, but says what she does just to see the reaction from the left.
-Alex Connor, junior
Ann Coulter is nothing more than a publicity whore and a complete misrepresentation of the conservative movement. For someone with such impressive academic credentials (i.e. a law degree from Michigan), I was less than impressed with the way she handled the question and answer session during her recent appearance at GW. Her failure to address the issues brought before her proves that she's merely a sensationalist. I would much rather see someone more articulate represent the views of today's young conservatives.
-Kristine Esposo, junior
I think Ann Coulter is excellent for the conservative movement because she is a dynamic speaker who commands a wide audience. Though some of her comments are extremely politically incorrect (to put it lightly) I think she takes what she says as seriously as Jon Stewart takes what he says. It's interesting that we don't complain about Jon Stewart's comments because they are assumed to be jokes, but whatever Ann Coulter says is assumed to be fact. She's funny, at least that's how I perceive her.
-Chris Diaz, freshman