I keep seeing posts where people say we should ignore the outrageous

[tblue37]

comments Ann Coulter makes. I keep responding with an explanation of why we must not ignore her.

People claim that by responding we only give her attention, and that if we ignore her she will just fade away

Nothing could be further from the truth.

No matter what we do, she will continue to be lionized by the MSM and the Republican party. Ignoring her will not deprive her of the megaphone she commands. If we ignore her she will continue to get plenty of attention, and all of it will be positive.

John Kerry assumed in 2004 that he could take the high road and ignore the Swift Boat Liars. Surely, he thought, their ridiculous accusations would not stand when his public record made them so obviously false.

Well, he was wrong.

We must do what Bill Clinton’s campaign War Room did. They did not let attacks or lies go for even a single news cycle. Instead, they responded fiercely and immediately.

If we don't squawk loudly about the things Coulter says, the MSM will be able to do what it is already doing--it is running articles about how well-received her speech was at the convention, without even mentioning what she said in her speech.

This validates her in the eyes of the American public. But if the American people are actually told what she says, and then if they are made to understand that guys like Mitt Romney and Dick Cheney were there and approving of her speech, and that she is what the mainstream of the Republican party looks and talks like, then a lot of regular people will recoil in revulsion.

But if we don't make sure the news gets out there--not just of what she says, but of how well it is received as their representative message by the core of the Republican party--then the MSM will be able to continue treating her as a respected conservative pundit, rather than as the hateful radical bomb-thrower she really is.

We need to constantly be harping, “At long last, have you no shame?” When we make enough noise, it does eventually get reported, but only if we scream loud and long about the outrages Republicans commit.

[YDogg]

1. I believe she should be confronted directly, as should her supporters ...

... paymasters, advertisers, and others who support this foul-mouthed loser.

[tblue37]

2. Exactly. They should not be allowed to say and do what

they say and do without being made to face public scrutiny. Ignoring them doesn't make them go away. It just lets them get away with it.

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. More than that

it proves to their base that Edwards today, perhaps Obama tomorrow, are weak

A DEMOCRATIC WAR ROOM is needed to respond to any and all slurrs within hours

[Nay]

19. Can I volunteer for the Democratic War Room? I'm a decent writer, and

believe me, I'd love to sling the shit back into these morons' faces at every opportunity. I'll work for free.

[ClassWarrior]

3. We need to constantly point out her connection to the...

...mainstream Rape-Publicanism she represents.

NGU.

[tblue37]

4. Somehow we need to force Cheney to confront what she said.

He was outraged when Blitzer mentined his gay daughter. He was outraged when Kerry and Edwards mentioned her. In all of those cases, the comment was actually supportive and respectful. But when Coulter uses a slur against gay people, at a convention Cheney is attending, then he and his loudmouthed wife have nothing to say about it.

[vankuria]

17. I couldn't agree more

Cheney needs to be publically confronted with Coulter's slander of gays. I plan on contacting every media outlet I can think of to ask why they're not reporting this, may-be I'll start with Wolf Blitzer. Any time a Democrat makes any kind of slip, no matter how benign, the media and the GOP are right there to spin it into something deadly.

[lyonn]

5. No doubt many of us ignore her because she is such a zero. nt

[tblue37]

7. True, she is that, and we hate to even think about her, much less deal with her.

But that is a luxury we cannot afford.

[lyonn]

12. You are probably right. Still, giving her our time on this site

causes me to believe a weirdo like her would take it as a compliment. Yes, she truly needs to be bashed for her insults and threats. No one else seems to get by with it.

[Eurobabe]

15. I agree, when I see anything to do with that thing on DU, I hit ignore X

[tblue37]

16. I can understand why, as an individual, you would choose to avoid reading about Coulter at all.

What bothers me is that so many DUers think it is a good idea for the Democrats and progressives in general to ignore her instead of responding aggressively to her hate speech and smears.

[Eurobabe]

22. When "she" and I use that term loosely ,starts bloviating about JRE being a faggot

that is not even worth the dignity of a response. If she were attacking Kerry about his war service, and swiftboating him -- yes then I think that would be worthy of a counterattack, right across the bow.

But come on people, she isn't worth payin' "no mind" to - she is an vicious, pathetic thing who has nothing better to do than cast epithets and aspersions on the candidates. Until she comes up with something solid, I am putting that thing on ignore. She's not worth another nanosecond of my time. And I'm not going to poison my beautiful mind listening to this crackpot.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. My local radio host is making the same

point

It io time to respond to every one of their outragous comments and face them, within hours at the worst case... best case, within an hour

[tblue37]

9. And yet I see post after post after post by well-meaning DUers who

insist we should just ignore her and that somehow that will make her go away.

That is truly naive--really bad political advice.

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. Some of his callers are saying the same thing

they have not gone away after we have ignored them since 2000, in fact they have gotten worst

Swift boaters anyone?

That should have been the wake up call

[BOSSHOG]

10. Its like ignoring weeds with the same result

I want her to get as outrageous as she chooses to, say whatever the fuck she wants and I want every performance on TV. She is the SPOKESPERSON OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. Please make sure that is intertwined in all of your political conversations.

[givemebackmycountry]

13. Ann Coulter has a right to say whatever it is she wants...no matter how hateful or hurtful...

That's her right as an American citizen.

And WE have a right to take those very same words, and cram them right back down her scrawny neck and make her eat them.

You are always free to say what's on your mind but once those words come out... you own them.

The problem that confronts us today is that no one is stepping up to hold these people accountable for the statements that they make.

I highly recommend you watch the recently released documentary on the Dixie Chicks "Shut up and sing".
The tag line of the DVD cover is...

"Freedom of speech is fine... as long as you don't do it in public"

Apparently, that applies only to liberals and other free thinkers.
If your a Republican, you get to say what you want and no one calls you on it.

THAT NEEDS TO CHANGE!

[tblue37]

14. Always, IOKIYAR. It makes me sick (eom)

[necso]

18. A pos like aa

seeks (makes a living by inducing) two effects: (directly) pleasing the trash of like "mind"; and upsetting those of different mind (and thereby pleasing, although more indirectly, the trash of like "mind"). (A variant of this MO is to do much the same thing (seek (strong) effects on both those who "agree" and those who "disagree"), but to target different groups over time: like, say, sometimes the "left"; sometimes the "right". (Which should sound familiar.))

And the greater the upset and the longer it lasts, the more it has the latter effect (specifically, pleasing trash of like "mind" with others' unhappiness).

Moreover, such remarks typically draw counter-remarks of the same ilk, which leave no mark on the target (that scum, pos), but are divisive among opponents.

Now, of course, such remarks should be countered. But this should be done in calculated proportion --- and should not give any more life than necessary to such stupidity, ignorance and hatred. (Is anyone unaware (unintentionally) that such exists -- and that it's a mainstay of those pigs.)

Otherwise, you're just putting caviar on her cracker. -- A distasteful and self-defeating practice, especially since it's a desired effect of her game.

[ruggerson]

20. Exactly. We've all seen in history what happens when you ignore hate

n/t

[tblue37]

21. See what happens when we squawk?

The rightwing candidates are forced to disown their own best friend. It's a lose-lose for them:

"G.O.P. Candidates Criticize Slur by Conservative Author
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/04/us/politics/04coulter.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

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.”

The right wing would never allow any sort of remark by our side to go unanswered. They would also pressure the MSM to criticize it. By applying appropriate pressure and publicizing it ourselves, we force the issue, just as we should.