Will the real Ann Coulter please stand up?

Now this is the Ann Coulter I like. The Ann Coulter I admire. The Ann Coulter the general public seldom sees. She is bright, articulate (Can I say that about a woman?), and absolutely masterful at crafting an argument. However, she has a propensity for taking pleasure in the “shock factor” and that is where I disagree with her approach and do not excuse what she has recently said.

Before you completely demonize her, it is critical to remember what she is and isn’t. First and foremost, she is NOT a public servant, journalist, or even a political analyst. Her words should not and do not dictate political decision making. What she is is an author and political satirist. Ms. Coulter makes a living making fun of political figures and selling books. Is this wrong? No. Comedians throughout time have made a living poking fun at political figures, often using words far worse than the word Ms. Coulter used. So why was she raked through the coals (sorry I cannot come up with a more eco-friendly analogy)?

As Ms. Coulter correctly points out in her vulgarity free column, shooting elephants in a barrel, it is a crime to be a Republican. If there is one undeniable aspect of politics, it is that liberals and conservatives are treated very different both in the media and in the court room. Unfortunately for conservatives, we usually draw the short stick. I could go on and on and whine that this is unfair, but it won’t do any good. All we can do is do our best to point out the facts. Time after time, column after column, speech after speech Ann Coulter does a brilliant job at doing just this. However, as long as she focuses more on shocking and offending people into buying her books than on building a rock solid argument, her genius will be lost.