NY Times: GOP Presidential Candidates Criticize Coulter. Too bad Sean Hannity won’t

This article courteously of the New York Times.

Two stories by Fox News deal with Howard Dean calling for a denouncement of Coulter by GOP candidates and leaders and a story on how John Edwards is using the attack to raise money.

Imagine if Hillary Clinton had called President Bush a drunk or a cokehead?

I’m waiting for Limbaugh and Hannity’s shows Monday to see how they dismiss this. I’d like OC’s GOP to comment on the Coulter slur and whether they agreed with the laughter and clapping that followed her comment at the GOP event this past week.

March 4, 2007

G.O.P. Candidates Criticize Slur

by Conservative Author

By ADAM NAGOURNEY

WASHINGTON, March 3 — Three of the leading Republican presidential candidates on Saturday denounced one of their party’s best-known conservative commentators for using an antigay epithet when discussing a Democratic presidential contender at a gathering of conservatives here.

The remarks by Ann Coulter, an author who regularly speaks at conservative events, were sharply denounced by the candidates, Senator John McCain of Arizona, Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York and Mitt Romney of Massachusetts. Their statements came after Democrats, gay rights groups and bloggers raised a storm of protest over the remarks.

Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference before an overflow crowd on Friday, Ms. Coulter said, “I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word ‘faggot,’ so I — so kind of an impasse, can’t really talk about Edwards.”

Mr. Edwards’s aides responded with an e-mail message that attacked Ms. Coulter and urged supporters to donate to Mr. Edwards’s campaign. “John was singled out for a personal attack because the Republican establishment knows he poses the greatest threat to their power,” said his campaign manager, David E. Bonior. “Since they have nothing real to use against him, Coulter’s resorting to the classic right-wing strategy of riling up hate to smear a progressive champion.”

Ms. Coulter, asked for a reaction to the Republican criticism, said in an e-mail message: “C’mon, it was a joke. I would never insult gays by suggesting that they are like John Edwards. That would be mean.”

At the conference, she said she was likely to support Mr. Romney.

The criticisms by the Republican candidates put them in a difficult position because the Conservative Political Action Conference has been gathering for conservative and Republican leaders for over 25 years.

The speakers this year included Vice President Dick Cheney and most of the presidential candidates, whose presence suggested the political influence the group holds in the party’s nominating process. Mr. Cheney was not at the event on Friday.

Of the major Republican candidates, only Mr. McCain did not attend, but he denounced her remarks on Saturday morning. “The comments were wildly inappropriate,” said his spokesman, Brian Jones.

Mr. Giuliani said, “The comments were completely inappropriate and there should be no place for such name-calling in political debate.”

Kevin Madden, a spokesman for Mr. Romney, said: “It was an offensive remark. Governor Romney believes all people should be treated with dignity and respect.”

Mr. Romney preceded Ms. Coulter at the event and mentioned that she was speaking later — he jokingly referred to her as a “moderate.” But he was not in the room when she spoke, Mr. Madden said.

Conservative pundit Michelle Malkin covered the event and actually wrote how inappropriate Coulter’s remarks were. She interviewed conservative host Sean Hannity about the incident.

MM: Ann Coulter was here yesterday. She gave a very, mostly funny, speech, and at the end of it, dropped a stinker where she used the term “faggot.” And I’m glad, I have to honestly say, I’m glad I didn’t bring my children here because that’s not the kind of language I would use. What was your reaction to that? Because, predictably, the left is in high dudgeon about it. Howard Dean wants every presidential candidate in the Republican Party to renounce it. Do you think that was a really bad move on her part and should be condemned?

SH: I didn’t hear it. I’d rather see it before I comment on it and whatever. You know, no other person is responsible for what a person says except that person. And so, if they have a problem with what Ann Coulter says, blame Ann Coulter. You can’t blame somebody else for what she said. So I didn’t see it.

MM: Except that we’re all role models here. And there are so many young people they inspire–

SM: –I don’t use that term, so that’s my answer to you if she used it.

Sean must have no idea how to use YouTube. And for him to say “you can’t blame somebody else for what she said” means he doesn’t listen to his own show. Sean regularly plays the “who said this” game and asks Democrats to denounce the statement on a regular basis. This occured with every black Democratic leader after the NAACP aired a TV spot highly negative of President Bush. It’s a matter of do as I say, not as I do.

I want to hear from Rep. Campbell, Rep. Royce, Rep. Rohrabacker (who should be sympathetic to this given his hiring history with staffers), Rep. Issa, et al on this. While we’re at it, what does Chuck DeVore think about this? Van Tran? How about Matt Cunningham and Jon Flesichman? What do you all think about the cheers and applause after she uttered her lines about the term “faggot?”