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And Fisk represents all journalists

26 comments on And Fisk represents all journalists

And Fisk represents all journalists

: The Independent paints Ann Coulter as all too representative of America:

There’s no one like her in Britain, I say, not even on the crazy fringes of the Tory party. “I know,” she agrees, “it’s horrifying what the Conservatives are in England. You make clear that I’m not one of them.”

Is Ann Coulter a nutcase? If she is, she’s one listened to and approved of by a frightening number of Americans. Surely, I say, hoping she will concede that she sometimes provokes to amuse, she doesn’t believe everything she comes out with. “This is the shocking thing for your readers,” she replies. “I believe everything I say.”

26 responses to “And Fisk represents all journalists”

  1. Franky Avatar
    Franky

    I seriously don’t know how you come up with some of your posts.
    “Reactions to her name (which is almost universally recognised in the States) are, unsurprisingly, sharply partisan, and she is cordially detested by the liberals she targets”
    Was that the paragraph that made you think the journalist was saying Couter is representative of America?

  2. Ptolemy Avatar
    Ptolemy

    I think Michael Moore has been far more effective with projecting hate into the mainstream conciousness. In a world with Moore, the Coulter’s of the world are no real problem to anyone. Naturally the “Independent” is not at all threatened by him.

  3. thedragonflies Avatar
    thedragonflies

    I think it is time for political commentary as blood sport to taper off. Coulter on the right, Moore and Chomsky on the left. Hate amongst us in the U.S. is toxic and prevents us from unifying as a nation, which we need to do to survive the deadly, savage attacks of the fanatics. We need to see the honorable intentions in our political opponents, no matter how vehemently we oppose their ideas, it seems to me.

  4. Jack Avatar
    Jack

    I knew Ann Coulter pretty well about 18 years ago, when she was a first year at Michigan Law School, and I was a third year. She showed up at our house early that year tagging along with some other law student. We got to be decent friends that year, probably because conservatives were few and far between in Ann Arbor circa 1985. We killed a fair amount of time in the Michigan Union, shooting the breeze about politics and whatnot. At the time, she was good friends with Dinesh D’Souza, who had been the editor of the Dartmouth Review. He showed up in Ann Arbor a couple of times that year and we would sit around, er, shooting the breeze about politics.
    The truth is, Ann has always had a wicked sense of humor, and has always delighted in saying shocking things. I think she generally believes what she says, but if you carefully parse her most outrageous statements they are usually not untrue or even inherently shocking, above and beyond the particular words she chooses. And she has chosen those words for a long time — she writes and sounds today just as she sounded 18 years ago. My wife (who also knew her at Michigan) and I talk about it often.
    The comparison to Moore is both fair and unfair. Both say inflammatory things about the other side, and both are intensively “fisked” by their enemies. Ann has done some excellent work — her book calling for Clinton’s impeachment was very tightly reasoned, and earned a rare compliment from Richard Posner in his book on the subject. Moore’s work is not comparable, but Roger and Me was very impressive. Ann clearly has a sense of humor about herself — she enjoys engaging with the left, and if they laugh about it she will. Witness her good relationship with Bill Mahar, for example. Moore, on the other hand, does not give the impression that he is willing to endure any humor at his own expense. It really seems unidirectional with him, and you don’t see him personally engaging people on the right in a witty and comfortable way.
    There you have it. I like Ann, although I often cringe at her writing and do not read it religiously (although I read her first two books). I wish her only the best.

  5. Brett Avatar
    Brett

    You know, I read Walter Cronkite’s opinion that those in the world of online media are soon to be held liable for the slanderous things they say.
    http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5727906/
    Cronkite has his head in a dark place.
    Between Limbaugh and Coulter on the right, and Moore and Carville on the left, print and radio and TV offer plenty of no-holds-barred conjecture and opinion.
    Viva the 1st amendment! I’d rather have someone honest and forthright about their opinions than someone who cloaks their words with subtle insinuations and hidden agenda. That’s much more frightening, and frankly more mainstream.
    No guessing about Ann, though. She may be serious about her thinking, but she’s also marketing her schtick. Big deal. She markets to her narrow audience.
    But that’s not how the Independent reporter paints the size of her audience. He’s worse. And also pandering to his market.

  6. standard Avatar
    standard

    Ann Coulter’s point, under the surface, I believe is that her methods of argumentation are a translation on the Right of methods used in everyday discourse on the Left.
    If you are solidly on the Right, or possibly a conservative with fundamentalist Christian beliefs, the major media of this country subject you to a deafening outcry of political correctness, religious discrimination and indignation that matches anything that Ann Coulter dishes out to the Left.
    Certainly it can be said that the major media reacts with violence to her, but with open arms toward Michael Moore and his ilk.

  7. Harry in Atlanta Avatar
    Harry in Atlanta

    Those hacks at the Independent sure are frightened easily.

  8. carsonfire Avatar
    carsonfire

    Thanks for those comments, Jack… you have some of the most useful insights I’ve read about Ann Coulter. She really is funny, and I laugh at her stuff even when I don’t agree with it (unlike Moore’s stuff that is funny only when he’s not doing politics… and when he does politics, his methods are too blatantly unfair to be funny or informative).
    It’s odd that in a world where Theresa Heinz-Kerry can whine about being called “opinionated” at the Democratic convention, Ann Coulter has to be constantly lumped in with the most extreme *male* knuckleheads and hatemongers on the left in order to “explain” her, somehow. You never hear people having to explain hateful nuts on the left in that way, and most certainly never the female hateful nuts on the left; no one ever feels that they have to explain the existence of Molly Ivins, even though she is as extreme and hateful as any Michael Savage (and every bit as funny).

  9. Person of Choler Avatar
    Person of Choler

    To borrow a phrase that H.L. Mencken used regarding G.B. Shaw, Ms. Coulter has made it her life’s work “to announce the obvious in terms of the scandalous”.

  10. HH Avatar
    HH

    This from the same paper that mostly greeted Fahrenheit 9/11 with hosannas.

  11. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    They got it right in part, and wrong in part. Yes, Ann Coulter is a obnoxious fanatic. No, not too many sophisticated people in the United States take her seriously (mostly just ignorant hillbillies, lunatic neocons, and fundamentalist Christian wackos), just like most people don’t take Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity seriously. They

  12. JG Avatar
    JG

    Unlike the sophisticated elitists, we ignorant hillbillies rely on common sense.

  13. shark Avatar
    shark

    Is Ann Coulter a nutcase? If she is, she’s one listened to and approved of by a frightening number of Americans. Surely, I say, hoping she will concede that she sometimes provokes to amuse, she doesn’t believe everything she comes out with. “This is the shocking thing for your readers,” she replies. “I believe everything I say.”
    I love Ann Coulter. Sure, I don’t put stock in what she says, but man, it’s delivered with the perfect knife edge to it. Sort of what Maureen Dowd wishes she could be, but lacks the mindset and skills for. When looking for a right-wing equal to Michael Moore, she’s probably the one to look to (though lets say she isn’t quite the liar fatso is)
    And it doesn’t hurt that the barbs are delivered by a hot blonde, as opposed to a sweaty 400lb man :)

  14. Ptolemy Avatar
    Ptolemy

    I see Michael’s blatant hatred for his fellow Americans continues. He barely mentions the topic and goes straight to trashing millions of his fellow citizens once again. You are a shining beacon of reason and humanity.

  15. James Avatar
    James

    anyone who wants to attack Ann Coulter’s credibility should look no further than Al Franken’s book…he rips her a new one on how she gets her “facts”…..it’s brilliant!

  16. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    ptolemy:
    Wrong again. Read what I wrote, this time carefully. I didn

  17. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    JG:
    >

  18. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    Shark:
    >

  19. rivlax Avatar
    rivlax

    You lefties used to swoon over Nicholas von Hoffman, but you scream bloody murder about Coulter. What gives?

  20. Kim Avatar
    Kim

    The Independent is feigning shock. Stephen Pollard has been sticking his thumb in the lefts eye for quite some time and he blogs. He constantly serves up the left on a platter and yet I would hardly call him a conservative.
    http://www.stephenpollard.net/
    Bashing America comes before the starving (The Times)
    “Let me offer a brief summary of the left-liberal approach to foreign policy: we should stop Africans dying but Iraqis can go to hell. How else can one explain the hypocrisy that surrounds the now overwhelming calls for intervention in Sudan emanating from the same mouths which so opposed intervention in Iraq?”
    The independent may have written hosannas to Moore but he was not that well received by everyone.
    http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,6903,1222496,00.html
    The independent is no more indicative of Britons then the LA Times is of Americans.

  21. Franky Avatar
    Franky

    The right-wing must be really starved for sex if Ann Coulter is their pin-up.

  22. James Avatar
    James

    I know there are probably a lot of media types reading and I don’t mean to offend; but I say thank god (figuratively) for people like Ann Coulter and Michael Moore. We can not trust the media to give us information we may need. It’s so controlled by political interests (Clear Channel et al.) that we need people who are willing to go out on a limb and ask the hard questions. It’s scary how little free speech we have these days…another reason blogs are so important. Did anyone else hear about how Carlysle Group is buying movie houses now? When the next Farenheit 911 get’s picked up by a production company, there may not be any theaters that are interested in playing it.
    Again, Ann Coulter and Michael Moore are important contribuitions to our society.

  23. JG Avatar
    JG

    Michael, using a sophisticated elitist stereotype only demonstrates a complete lack of common sense. This election will be decided by the fly-over states, which you seem to think is composed of stupid hicks. In general, we vote for the person and not the party. Sorry if that doesn

  24. Eric Pobirs Avatar
    Eric Pobirs

    James, you have to be kidding. Movies houses will show anything that promises to do a lot of business. Until the VCR changed the rules, big screen porn was becoming remarkably prevalent, even turning up in drive-ins occasionally and driving up the local market for binoculars in the process.
    There is simply no way for any one entity to control so many screens as to keep a movie from being seen. All that the attempt would accomplish is channel more of the money into DVD sales.

  25. James Avatar
    James

    Eric, you’re exactly right. As a shareholder of Disney, I was livid that they didn’t pick up Farenheit 911 simply because it was a cash cow – unlike America’s Heart and Soul which they picked up instead, but actually lost a ton of money on. However, it all makes sense after knowing that when EuroDisney was tanking a Saudi Royal benefactor came foward with $350mil…more money than “Farenheit” could have made. So, Eisner, in a sense was forced to make a business decision – piss off a huge benefactor or make a few million on a documentary. The same would happen with the Carlysle Group owning movie theatres. Sure there will be some that they don’t own. But, the one’s that they do would never show a movie that would conflict with their intrests or the interests of their investors. Not that Dick Cheney would personally care – a blockbuster movie like “Farenheit” would trump his salary in the White House any day, so I doubt he’d be too concerned with losing his job. However, the middle eastern investors who are something like 75% of that company might withdrawl….making him really careful with which movies he would show. It’s only smart business…I would do the same.
    Again, it’s not likely that Carlysle Group would gobble up EVERY movie house. Clear Channel has not bought EVERY radio station, concert, bway show, etc. Nevertheless, we can still feel the political effects of their monopoly.

  26. Andrew Avatar
    Andrew

    More importantly, what’s being said vs. what’s NOT being said.