Will conservatives stand by Coulter?
Some say her latest idiotic outburst is just a tempest in a teapot, and doesn't stand out that much from the rest of the verbal exrement she shits out of her mouth on a regular basis. But Coulter may have finally reached the Tipping Point with those conservatives who are truly aghast at what their movement has morphed into over the past decade; the reserve of morons, bigots and religious nutbars. Coulter plays to that element and puts that face on conservatism, and many more reasonable conservatives have decided that they've had enough. They're starting to realize that they'll never reclaim the conservative movement from the imbeciles if they don't stop letting idiots like Coulter represent them.
Several right-wing bloggers have started a petition calling on CPAC to drop her from next year's convention. Commendable yes, but in the long run will it help turn the tide against the politics of smear and outrage that's defined american conservatism for so long now? Not likely. Coulter's not worried, and with good reason -- there's no denying she's popular with conservatives. The truth is, many more conservatives like Coulter and applaud the bombs she throws than not. She appeals to them for the same reason that Bush playing dressup in a flight jacket appeals to them: for the simpleton element of conservatism, the politics of theatre always win out over the more liberal politics of nuance. When Coulter says "Conservatives will stick by me", she's probably, sadly, right. For every conservative that denounces her, there are probably 10 who'll excuse and even support her.
Several right-wing bloggers have started a petition calling on CPAC to drop her from next year's convention. Commendable yes, but in the long run will it help turn the tide against the politics of smear and outrage that's defined american conservatism for so long now? Not likely. Coulter's not worried, and with good reason -- there's no denying she's popular with conservatives. The truth is, many more conservatives like Coulter and applaud the bombs she throws than not. She appeals to them for the same reason that Bush playing dressup in a flight jacket appeals to them: for the simpleton element of conservatism, the politics of theatre always win out over the more liberal politics of nuance. When Coulter says "Conservatives will stick by me", she's probably, sadly, right. For every conservative that denounces her, there are probably 10 who'll excuse and even support her.
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