Washington — Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards on Wednesday encouraged his supporters to donate to his campaign in response to "hateful" comments from conservative author Ann Coulter.
Ann Coulter speaks to a nearly full house at the Lied Center in Lawrence in this March 2005 file photo. Coulter's latest attack on Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards is spurring financial contributions from his supporters.
Edwards made his first comments to The Associated Press in response to Coulter's suggestion that she wished he would be "killed in a terrorist assassination plot." His campaign cited her remarks in two e-mails and a telephone text message to supporters for donations, with the fundraising deadline on Saturday.
It's not the first time Coulter has given the Edwards campaign a financial boost. In March, she called Edwards a "faggot" and the campaign used video of the comment to help raise $300,000 before the end of the first quarter.
In the e-mails, the campaign asked supporters to send donations to defy her remarks and help Edwards meet his goal of raising
$9 million in the second quarter. The first e-mail from campaign adviser Joe Trippi showed a clip of Coulter on ABC's "Good Morning America," where she made the comments Monday.
In answering criticism of her March speech, Coulter referred to comedian Bill Maher's suggestion, also in March, that "people wouldn't be dying needlessly" if Vice President Dick Cheney had been killed when terrorists launched an attack as he visited Afghanistan. She contends that Maher - whose comment about Cheney drew little attention - was not joking. "So I've learned my lesson," she said on the ABC program. "If I'm going to say anything about John Edwards in the future, I'll just wish he had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot."
When Coulter appeared Tuesday on MSNBC's "Hardball," Elizabeth Edwards called in to ask Coulter to stop making personal attacks on her husband. The exchanged deteriorated, with Coulter shouting over Mrs. Edwards and demanding that the campaign stop using her name to raise money if they want her to stop personal attacks. Response to the controversy was so large that it repeatedly crashed the server for MSNBC's political blog Wednesday.
Mrs. Edwards followed up with an e-mail to supporters Wednesday morning that included a clip of their exchange and a donation request. The campaign also sent a text message to supporters' cell phones, asking them to call to hear a recording of the clip and an appeal from Mrs. Edwards to donate. The campaign said it raised more money this week than from any previous e-mail campaign but declined to give a total.
"I think when they engage in these attacks and use the language of hate, it's very important to stand up," Edwards said. "What happens if you are silent when this kind of hateful language is used - not just by her, but by anyone - hate gets a foothold."
Edwards pointed out that Coulter's attacks haven't been limited to him, but also included his rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination. Coulter has made fun of Hillary Rodham Clinton's legs and compared Barack Obama to terrorists because his middle name is Hussein.
Comments
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tanzer (anonymous) says…
makes me think that coulter is secretly on his side...mmmm
freeordie (anonymous) says…
Coulter is an idiot. I think she is a fine representation of neocon mentality. Keep up the good work. Vote Libertarian.
Stain (anonymous) says…
http://tn8.deviantart.com/300W/fs5.de...
Roadkill_Rob (anonymous) says…
Keep it up, Anne!
Hopefully she'll start attacking Obama next so he can get some sympathy money...it's only a matter of time before she spews a racial slur and then deny that she said anything even when she's caught on tape.
ndmoderate (anonymous) says…
R_T, what the hell are you talking about?!?
Who in their right mind would defend Coulter on this one? Oh, yeah....YOU. The media needs to STOP giving Coulter air time, plain and simple. Her vitriol is adding absolutely nothing to the already fractured political discourse in this country.
Confrontation (anonymous) says…
The best and most realistic Ann Coulter video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmLJDr...
Stain (anonymous) says…
ndmoderate says "The media needs to STOP giving Coulter air time, plain and simple."
That would require the media to elevate itself from the tabloid it has become - nearly every single member of the media, including 100% of television "news."
Ann should just keep talking. She is a gift to the left. She does represent the views of many of those people.
fabian_zimbabwe (anonymous) says…
Absolutely, ndmoderate. In fact, one could make a very reasonable argument that Ann Coulter is just another Paris Hilton. Turn off the cameras and the microphones, and watch these two cockroaches disappear into the woodwork.
acg (anonymous) says…
Stain is so right. Every time that hag opens her face, we get a few more votes for our side. The fog will eventually lift from a good portion of those that have been brainwashed on the right. Before long, they'll realize they made a huge error in judgment ever believing anything a republican politician/talking head has to say and they'll vote correctly next time. The only people that listen to and truly support Ann Coulter are the scum and hatemongers and truthfully I don't want that scum on my side anyway. I'm not going to lose any sleep if she, and other idiots like her (RT) don't come to my political rallies.
crazyks (anonymous) says…
If she doesn't want Edwards "using" her comments for political gain, then I suggest she stop making them.
temperance (anonymous) says…
"Ann Coulter is just another Paris Hilton" -- very true, but our national media seems to think that Coulter has something worthwhile to say.
Confrontation, thanks for that link. Is it just me, or does Ann "we've wrapped up most of Al Qaeda" Coulter look totally wasted in this clip from last month?
http://www.newshounds.us/2007/05/25/t...
jonas (anonymous) says…
"Her vitriol is adding absolutely nothing to the already fractured political discourse in this country."
Uhhh. . . news flash. That's what Right-Thinker LIKES about her.
ramsrevenge (anonymous) says…
7 Stones.
4 chugged, 3 medium-pace.
Roadkill_Rob (anonymous) says…
I love the strategies that neocons like Anne Coulter use. They're so arrogant, self-important, and self-righteous that they have this delusion that they have a huge following and people hang on their every word. So, they make ignorant statements that backfire big time and helps the opposition.
It's quite amusing to watch and see how they never learn...or, they've have too much pride and usually just dig themselves a bigger hole.
Locally, we have our very own Anne Coulter, who goes by Right_Thinker.
Keep it up!
Agnostick (anonymous) says…
Maybe Edwards (and all the other non-NeoCon candidates) should try something like this:
http://www.cjonline.com/stories/04210...
'Course, if we had a 1/10th of a penny for every hate-spewed word right_thinker mindlessly droned on since joining LJWorld... we'd all have been millionaires last Christmas.
Agnostick
agnostick@excite.com
http://www.uscentrist.org
Roadkill_Rob (anonymous) says…
right_thinker wrote:
"Talk about spewing, since I expressed my opinion about Ann, I (and Ann) have been besmirched in no less than four separate posts by four separate far-left hate-mongers."
Just like Anne Coulter...picking a fight then playing the victim. Keep it up!
Confrontation (anonymous) says…
"Is it just me, or does Ann "we've wrapped up most of Al Qaeda" Coulter look totally wasted in this clip from last month?"
**temperance-I completely agree that she looks wasted. She's so wasted that she could be Paula Abdul's twin.
I'm actually convinced that Coulter looks so much like a man that she probably is another one of Cheney's daughter.
Kontum1972 (anonymous) says…
whats with the hair thing she has going...flip here ...flip there...move it right...then to the left...then straight back.....then to the side again..it looked like jr high hair flipping...girl get some meat on those bones....jeez
kneejerkreaction (anonymous) says…
Some of the right wingers I don't listen to: Ann Coulter;Rush Limbaugh; The NRA
Some of the left wingers I don't listen to: Michael Moore;Al Sharpton;Jesse Jackson;
The answer is somewhere in the middle. All these people/orgs spew their own mindless blend of ****. And they make a lot of money by constantly stirring up left & right wingers.
ndmoderate (anonymous) says…
"Ann Coulter just can't be one-upped by the idiotic leftthat's why the far-left hates her."
No, no one else is dumb enough (or mean enough) to say the kinds of hateful things she says, so "one-upping' her is impossible.
Why does she get away with speaking untruths?
dorothyhr (Dorothy Hoyt-Reed) says…
RT Go back and read the article. I think Edwards is one uping her with all the donations.
purplesage (anonymous) says…
I wouldn't vote for John Edwards under any circumstance. But Ann Coulter has crossed the line in bringing the tragedy of his son's death into the fray. Last time I checked, making threatening remarks like being killed by terrorists brought all kinds of law enforcement over reaction. I am surprised a SWAT team didn't storm the set. And that is across the line, too.
EmJones (anonymous) says…
right_thinker (Anonymous) says:
Ann Coulter just can't be one-upped by the idiotic leftthat's why the far-left hates her.
Why RT, you sound just like her!
They must hate me because I'm so smart, waaaaaah!
It isn't hard to one-up a bottom dweller.
Stain (anonymous) says…
Ann Coulter has no class, period.
Stain (anonymous) says…
right_thinker,
It's thrilling that we "far left" have so much control over what you think!
jonas (anonymous) says…
Stain: Of course, the opposite is true as well. Right-Thinker, and Ann Coulter for that matter, say something that is not only insulting, it also has no real meaning, so the facts can't be attacked, because, well, there are none. Then you fling yourself against them in mad rage, more or less impotently, as the only thing that you can respond to is their tone, and generally by matching theirs, which brings you down to their level. No one's mind is changed, nothing of value is exchanged except for one thing: they get their attention, which is really just what R-T and Ann want.
Of course, Ann also wants money, for sure, which she, for sure, gets out of the deal. At the assumedly mediocre cost of severe damage to our national dialog. Which, of course, brings more of the same crap.
So, my recommendation is simply to laugh, unless you really feel the need to sharpen your claws on an easy target. They definitely are that.
pelliott (anonymous) says…
Ann Coulter is probably the most intelligent of the conservatives, she speaks clearly and you can understand what she says when she says it. She is only voicing the emotions of a certain segment of the population. They truely hate liberals and any people who oppose the current regime. She would dance if her dreams came true and the terrorist or someone would wipe out the democrat candidates. She would rejoice if only hate rang in the halls of congress and the senate. She believes that much in her hate. She and many conservatives really think other voices in the country should be silenced.. It really is the voice of facism, sometimes they speak of a race, a religion, a nationality, a political party, socialism, a class, sexual orientation, communism, any ism that they can denigrate with hate. people have died over and over again in wars fighting that kind of hate mongering. it really has to be fought. Strangely enough it can be fought with open discussion, with not demonizing a group of people even the conservatives. They have to choose if she is speaking for them. A lot of people aren't conservative or liberal they are just working and hoping they can raise their kids and keep their homes.
Stain (anonymous) says…
Pilgrim:
I don't believe I have ever read one of your posts that did not include a toddlerish insult, or that did consist entirely of rational arguments and facts.
Why is that?
EmJones (anonymous) says…
So many of the people in here who speak out to defend Ann Coulter talk just like her. Imagine that.
If anyone took Coulter seriously they would sue her for making public death threats and committing slander. But she isn't worth it. She doesn't have that much credibility. Her books are filled with plagarism and factual errors, and they are nothing but empty rants. She thinks she is entertaining; I think she is a symbol of illogical hate, who epitomizes what is wrong with America.
Stain (anonymous) says…
Summers_Eve:
You try being in the public eye 100% of the time and not having somebody blow out or proportion or distort something you did or said - every day.
And so what if he lives in a mansion? He's a poor boy who got rich. In America, you are allowed to do that. Unlike some candidates, he got rich by working. Get over it.
Not everyone who cares about the poor happens to be poor. But it helps if they can remember what it was like to be poor. I respect Edwards for that.
Stain (anonymous) says…
right_thinker:
A $400 haircut is not the same as yellowcake and coming up on 3,600 American troop deaths plus at least 10x as many wounded. Your love for GWB blinds you to the difference.
stuckinthemiddle (anonymous) says…
~chuckle~
The "pro-lifers" speak out... again...
Amazing...
ndmoderate (anonymous) says…
Does every haircut Edwards get cost $400? Somehow I doubt it. Oh, and how much did Laura Bush spend on a haircut once? Oh yeah! $750!
Edwards is rich and priviledged? How about every other presidential candidate? Oops.
ndmoderate (anonymous) says…
"As for Maher, he's out of a job in 2008..."
What the hell are you talking about? Um, Bill Maher is not an elected official. He's just a tv personality/comedian. Good lord.
Stain (anonymous) says…
Summers_Eve says:
he trails so far behind and continually says and does ridiculous things
What ridiculous things does he say and so? Are any of them important?
Stain (anonymous) says…
ndmoderate (Anonymous) says:
Does every haircut Edwards get cost $400? Somehow I doubt it. Oh, and how much did Laura Bush spend on a haircut once? Oh yeah! $750!
I wonder who pays for Laura's face lifts and butt tucks, and George's $10,000 suits. I think it's we the taxpayers.
pelliott (anonymous) says…
And what has all this fuss to do with the real problem, Dandelions, they are out there. it is a problem that will consume us all, those little yellow flowers, well wait, they will bloom and all will be lost.
stuckinthemiddle (anonymous) says…
~chuckle~
Hey folks... take a good look at the field of candidates from both parties and try and convince me that Maher and Stewart don't have job security for at least 6 more years...
ndmoderate (anonymous) says…
Here's some urine for you cereal: Bill O'Reilly respects Bill Maher.
drewdun (anonymous) says…
rt, foaming at the mouth again.
Dude, take your Prozac.
erod0723 (anonymous) says…
Catherine Coulter is an extremist, a racist, a bigot, and a sexist to boot. She believes a woman's rightful place is in the home, and that the "real world" is a man's bidding. Maybe it is she who should be killed by terrorists.
blackwalnut (anonymous) says…
erod723 says ...She believes a woman's rightful place is in the home
Like Phyllis Schlafly, Coulter talks a lot about wanting to keep women down, then chooses a nontraditional life for herself. Hypocrites, the lot of them.
(It's just as well. Can you imagine Coulter as a mother? Shudder. Her potty mouth alone makes her unfit.)
blackwalnut (anonymous) says…
Bill Maher has been on late night talk shows since his frequent appearances on The Johnny Carson Show. I daresay his career isn't built around George W. Bush. (Bush is such an easy target, though - who can blame Maher for spending time on Bush lately?)
erod0723 (anonymous) says…
I found a startling parallel between the case of Tiller and the presidency of GWB. How is Bush able to ignore laws he deems unconstitutional, but not Tiller? The Kansas abortion law violates the intent of Roe v Wade, and Tiller most likely felt as such. He would then feel compelled to not comply with the state's law.
erod0723 (anonymous) says…
oops, wrong article. My bad folks. I didnt mean to get a baby war goin on in this thread.
Lepanto1571 (anonymous) says…
erod:
"Catherine Coulter is an extremist, a racist, a bigot, and a sexist to boot. "
I had no idea that the marginal novelist where any of these things, much less politically active! News indeed.
As for "Ann Coulter," she might wear those labels as trophies dependent on whom cast them at her.
Lepanto1571 (anonymous) says…
mea culpa above, "where" = were
Sigmund (anonymous) says…
I wonder if the London Mercedes car bomb had a "The War on Terror is Nothing But a Bumper Sticker Slogan" bumper sticker? In any event, two attorney's calling each other names is entertaining. Like the old joke, "One attorney moved to town and starved. A second attorney moved to town and they both got rich!"
Agnostick (anonymous) says…
right_hater spews:
"Intelligent or not, Chief Tongie nailed it- w/out GWB, that little greasy-haired puke Maher would not have a format or a show. He's disgusting. Just like the weasely Jon Stewart, not nearly as obsessed, but again, were it not for GWB, he'd be starving."
___________________________________________________________________
Oooohhhh, a new game! Kin eye play??? Puh-leeeeezzzzz????? :))))
It's called "Fill In The Blanks," right?
"Intelligent or not... w/out 'Slick Willie,' that bloated pill-popping Limbaugh and sex-toy loving O'Reilly would not have a format or a show. They're disgusting. Just like the weasely Matt Drudge, not nearly as obsessed, but again, were it not for Clinton, he'd still be working in a souvenir stand."
Hey, that's FUN!! Easy too!! :)
Agnostick
agnostick@excite.com
http://www.uscentrist.org
P.S. Feeling foolish yet, right_fool? :))
P.P.S. Remember: Laughing *at* you, not with you!
P.P.P.S. Thanks so much for taking the time to read my post!!! :))))))))))))))))
blackwalnut (anonymous) says…
Who cares about Coulter. She has been rabid and petulent, really shrill and whiney, since a bunch of papers cancelled her after the faggott remark. She's resorting to more outrageous talk in a desperate bid for attention - any kind. She's the Paris Hilton of politics - only older and even more tastelessly dressed.
jonas (anonymous) says…
If anyone believes that the leftist comedians will be out of a job if the government becomes solidly liberal, can one of you remind when the conservative punditry lost their jobs when the government was solidly conservative? It wasn't that long ago, you should still remember, you know when you said everything was gonna go great, and that conservatives would stay in power forever because liberal beliefs were on the way out? (chuckle)
The comedians jobs are perfectly secure, no matter whose in power. And though Jon Stewart has a certainly visible leftist leaning, he is pretty equal in his dishing out of comedic slashes and bludgeons. Bush is certainly on a lot but, duh, he's the president, and if you hadn't noticed, he makes a huge number of gaffes in the public eye.
But then, you probably only see the clips that O'Reilly and Hannity play on their shows, don't you?
blackwalnut (anonymous) says…
Somehow I don't think Stewart and Colbert will refrain from satirizing against a president just because he is something other than a neocon - a liberal, even.
MacHeath (anonymous) says…
I would not give a plug nickel for Coulter or Maher. Mean and nasty does not mean funny.
As long as the Media, and the public give more creedance to their remarks then they deserve, the more real issues get clouded.
erod0723 (anonymous) says…
Lepanto,
You got me. It is about time that we fight the oppression that is Catherine Coulter's so called "novels". Having not read them, I can only assume they try to empower women and stifle teh male dominancy. Sorry bout that one. lol