In a speech a few weeks ago to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Ann Coulter jokingly referred to presidential candidate John Edwards as a "faggot." Her reckless and mean-spirited comment was rightfully condemned by both Republicans and Democrats. Numerous individuals have contacted the organizers of CPAC to request that Coulter not be invited to speak at next year's conference.
Now imagine the outrage if a candidate for statewide office in Minnesota had made similarly hateful comments. The thought of Coulter being a political candidate for any office sends shivers up my partisan back.
But a Coulteresque political candidate with a similar history of mean-spirited and divisive attacks is running for office right here in Minnesota. That candidate is Al Franken.
Aside from frequent appearances on TV, both Franken and Coulter have written numerous books on politics and current affairs. In fact, in December 2003, TIME magazine wrote that Franken and Coulter were part of the "American anger industry":
In an interview with the Harvard Crimson 1976, Franken joked about the murder of a gay man who had been a part of Harvard's theatrical group, The Hasty Pudding. Franken told the Crimson: "I just don't like homosexuals … I was glad when that Pudding homosexual got killed in Philadelphia." In an interview in October 2006, Franken called U.S. Senator Norm Coleman a "butt boy," a term some view as a slur for a homosexual. When Franken was a writer for "Saturday Night Live," he co-wrote a skit about the murder of a gay woman that according to the book "Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live," "provoked dozens of outraged letters from gay groups and others who wanted to know what was so funny about killing homosexuals."
A small number of Franken's allies have scrambled to his defense by claiming that most of the statements Republicans have highlighted were jokes and that Franken is a satirist. The problem with the "It Was A Joke Defense" is that Franken and his allies will need to explain the humor in the brutal murder of a gay man or woman. Franken will also have to explain what is funny about Anne Frank hiding from the Nazis in a cramped attic with her family.
I'm confident that Democrats would hold Coulter accountable for her hateful comments and jokes if she ever decided to run for office. It would be fair if they did. Likewise, a Coulteresque candidate like Franken should be held accountable for his past hateful comments and jokes.
Minnesotans have a sense of humor, but I think most voters won't find Franken's Coulteresque jokes funny at all.
Now imagine the outrage if a candidate for statewide office in Minnesota had made similarly hateful comments. The thought of Coulter being a political candidate for any office sends shivers up my partisan back.
But a Coulteresque political candidate with a similar history of mean-spirited and divisive attacks is running for office right here in Minnesota. That candidate is Al Franken.
Aside from frequent appearances on TV, both Franken and Coulter have written numerous books on politics and current affairs. In fact, in December 2003, TIME magazine wrote that Franken and Coulter were part of the "American anger industry":
I'm afraid scientists have not invented a machine capable of desensitizing Mr. Franken. Nor Bill O'Reilly, Michael Moore, Ann Coulter, Molly Ivins, Laura Ingraham and the rest of the authors and TV and radio hosts divided by beliefs but united by a common employer: the burgeoning American anger industry.But while Coulter's use of a homosexual slur to describe John Edwards is universally condemned by the right and the left, Franken's use of equally offensive language has yet to be condemned or even challenged by the vast majority of left-leaning bloggers and liberal activists in Minnesota.
In an interview with the Harvard Crimson 1976, Franken joked about the murder of a gay man who had been a part of Harvard's theatrical group, The Hasty Pudding. Franken told the Crimson: "I just don't like homosexuals … I was glad when that Pudding homosexual got killed in Philadelphia." In an interview in October 2006, Franken called U.S. Senator Norm Coleman a "butt boy," a term some view as a slur for a homosexual. When Franken was a writer for "Saturday Night Live," he co-wrote a skit about the murder of a gay woman that according to the book "Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live," "provoked dozens of outraged letters from gay groups and others who wanted to know what was so funny about killing homosexuals."
A small number of Franken's allies have scrambled to his defense by claiming that most of the statements Republicans have highlighted were jokes and that Franken is a satirist. The problem with the "It Was A Joke Defense" is that Franken and his allies will need to explain the humor in the brutal murder of a gay man or woman. Franken will also have to explain what is funny about Anne Frank hiding from the Nazis in a cramped attic with her family.
I'm confident that Democrats would hold Coulter accountable for her hateful comments and jokes if she ever decided to run for office. It would be fair if they did. Likewise, a Coulteresque candidate like Franken should be held accountable for his past hateful comments and jokes.
Minnesotans have a sense of humor, but I think most voters won't find Franken's Coulteresque jokes funny at all.