Coulter Jokes About Lynching, Still on CNN

As usual, Ann Coulter's newest round of violence-tinged pundit appearances included going on CNN to call millions of Americans "traitors" (treason is a crime punishable by the death penalty) and suggest that Sen. Barack Obama is a covert terrorist assassin.

What did Ann Coulter do this week to earn this right to appear on the most trusted name in news?

She published a weekly syndicated column laced with violent-rhetoric in which she suggested that an Obama Presidency would result in the destruction of the U.S. by terrorists and--she joked about lynching Africa-Americans.

Is there nobody left at CNN who cares about this situation?  I mean...why is it that a pundit who jokes about lynching blacks is allowed to appear on the largest broadcast platform in America?

A word to the wise at CNN:

When Ann Coulter jokes about lynching blacks in her weekly syndicated column, pull her from whatever appearances she has scheduled for that week.

Better yet, just drop her altogether. 

Some Advice for CNN
One has to wonder how someone as well known as Ann Coulter--who relentlessly promotes her work--can continue to appear on CNN given the violence-tinged, racist, anti-Semitic, false-accusations she regularly publishers in her column?

The only possible answer is that nobody at CNN ever reads Ann Coulter's syndicated column.

If someone at CNN did read Coulter's column, they would never let her on the air out of respect for the reputation of the network, for the business interests of their sponsors, and for their viewers.

So, here is my advice to CNN each week, before allowing Ann Coulter to be a pundit on the network:

READ HER COLUMN.

Just read it. And do not just pass this task off to some unpaid high school intern.  Have a seasoned producer with a long term vested interest in the future of the network read Ann Coulter's column.  And then have a senior member of the  sales team read her column.

It comes out every week late Thursday or early Friday. And it is free to read.

Now, once everyone at CNN  has read Coulter's weekly column, ask a simple question:  Does Coulter joke about lynching black people in the column?  If the answer is "Yes," make a note of that.

Next question:  Does Coulter accuse members of the U.S. government of being terrorist plots to destroy America?  If the answer is "yes," again:  make a note of it.

Final question, does Coulter write something that falsely accuses vast numbers of Americans of high-crimes punishable by death?  ("Yes?" ditto: make a note).

OK.  So far so good.  Having done this homework, if it turns out that the answer is "Yes" to one or more of these question, CNN should send a note to Coulter that reads something like this:

Dear Ms. Coulter:

As part of our new policy with our pundits, before we put you on the show each week we are now reading your syndicated column.

Accordingly, this week we read your column and noticed that you (1) joked about lynching African-Americans and (2) suggested that a sitting Senator would bring about a terrorist invasion if elected president.

We realize that you are entitled to your views, but those views are offensive to 99% of our viewers and issue false charges of the highest order.  In the best interests of our viewers, our sponsors, and the network, we will not be having you on the show this week.

Best Wishes,

CNN

It's a nice enough letter, but of course--feel free to improvise.

As a warning, when you do this, Ann Coulter will turn around and accuse CNN of "censorship" and of violating her First Amendment rights.  And she will sound real convincing.

Do not fall for it.

At this point, ask yourself one question: Where in the Constitution does it say that the largest, most influential news channel in America is required to give their broadcast platform over to a right-wing pundit who uses violent-rhetoric, issues false accusations, and jokes about murdering African-Americans?

Here is the answer:  It doesn't say that anywhere.  Not in our constitution, anyway.

Nowhere in any part of the First Amendment does it say that Ann Coulter or anyone else has a right to go on CNN and accuse a presidential candidate of being a covert terrorist assassin, or accuse millions of American citizens of being traitors.

In fact, the First Amendment right, in this case, lies with the American public--the viewers--to not be forced to endure Coulter's kind of hateful, violent-language--at least without due warning.

Better yet, just leave Ann off the air for the week.

Or forever.

Coulter's Column: Jokes About Lynching
Of course, it is too late for CNN this week.  Coulter's went online Wednesday (as it always does), and she still did the rounds on CNN the next day.

But imagining that CNN had read her column before putting her on the air, this is what they would have found--a joke about lynching:

He said we are a country that sent "over 4,000 American boys and girls of every race to die over a lie." And Wright said it is a country "where I can worship God on Sunday morning wearing a black clergy robe and kill others on Sunday evening wearing a white Klan robe." (Unless, like me, you do all your Klan-related murdering on "casual Fridays.")

The "he" referenced in the first line of the quote is Rev. Jeremiah Wright.  But that does not matter.  The paragraph includes a joke about lynching.

In the same column, Coulter suggests that an Obama presidency would lead to a terrorist invasion:

If it takes Obama 20 years to notice that his pastor is a traitorous, racist nut-job, it will probably take him his full term of office to realize that the U.S. has been invaded and subdued by al-Qaida. Let's just hope President Obama pays closer attention during national security briefings than he did during 20 years of the Rev. Wright's church services.

Now, in the same column, Coulter refers to Sen. Obama as 'B. Hussein Obama' as she always does in an ongoing effort to spread the false lie that a candidate for President is in fact a terrorist.

Of course, Coulter has every right to accuse anyone she wants of being a terrorist.  But should she get a seat  on CNN for doing that in her syndicated column?

No.

The fact that Coulter went on CNN this week and accused Sen. Obama of being a covert terrorist assassin is not irrelevant to this issue.  But the larger question is this:

Why did CNN allow Coulter on their network just days after she joked about lynching in her syndicated column?

Is CNN now aiming for the market that laughs at lynching jokes?  Doubtful.  Why, then?

The tens of millions of viewers who tune into CNN each hour of each day deserve an answer.

Speak Back

The fact is, we are the viewers of CNN--for now.  Somehow, by some mistaken calculation or simply by oversight, CNN has allowed Coulter to continue going on the air. What can be done?

Speak back to CNN at their feedback page.

Tell them that you are tired of turning on CNN and being accused of treason by their pundit Ann Coulter or of hearing her spin violent theories about a Presidential candidate being a covert terrorist assassin or--of knowing that one of CNN's pundits jokes about lynching in her column.

We are tired of it.

Follow Jeffrey Feldman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JeffreyFeldman

Comments

[tj44]

Ann Coulter is quite simply a sad and sick, self-serving individual. That we are even talking about her on these sites is the only redeeming factor in her life. I am fairly certain that she will die a lonely old, bitter human being , surrounded by some very sad memorabilia of a totally wasted life.

That said, just so you know, I am a repub voter for 40 of my 44 years of voting....­how has the Repub party allowed the nasty likes of Coulter; John (lesbian) Gibson; Pervert O'Reilly; Rush (drugee) Limbaugh; riot in the streets of Denver; Kristol---invade Iraq, Iran and Syria, take control of the Grand Old Party? The Party has been waylaid by a sad and sick group of vile characters, who profess that they are speaking for the vast majority of Americans.­..that could not be farther from the truth. We, Americans, need to stop being led around by idiots like these dolts. If we don't wake up.....we will end up in a 3rd World War; killing thousands more of our young heroes; paying $15- $20 dollars a gallon for gasoline; returning to lynching folks who are different from us and hating anyone who differs in any way with us. If you truly LISTEN to these folks, the message is clear. Thats all they want and preach is HATRED, INTOLERANCE and FEAR in the name of PATRIOTISM. What a load of crap these folks are?

[gregjones]

CNN IS THE NEW FOX !!!! As a news/political junkie I've always noticed how the media has led us like sheep regarding our invasion of Iraq. Daily I'd flip through cable news shows in search of TRUTH. I felt long ago, and Huffington recently exposed, how the military 'experts' were being paid by the Pentagon (aka Bush regime) to lie and mislead the American people regarding Iraq. This means all the cable networks have been part of this manipulation. NOW I'M NOTICING A NEW TREND AT CNN !!!! CNN has quietly made changes that are scary. First, they brought Keran Gentry from Fox. Their overall tone started sounding GOPish. They took Solidad and Miles, replaced them with John Roberts and Campbell Brown (husband works at Fox). Added Tony Snow (formerly of Fox and Bush's Press spokespers­on)...ANN COULTER'S THERE....p­lus the addition of Bush's former spokewoman Francis Townsend. Also, flip from CNN to FOX during Live broadcasts you'll see that they are using the same camera source, ie....WORK­ING TOGETHER !! These changes mean only 1 of 2 things. They expect Obama to get the nomination and want to join Fox (and much of MSNBC) in attacking him......o­r they've been notified by the regime that something big (bomb Iran?) is ahead....E­ither way the manipulative media is getting set for massive lieing.... Fooled us once (Iraq War)....bu­t as they say....NEV­ER AGAIN !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Greg Jones
www.Blacks4Barack.org
(A Multi-Racial, Grassroots Org...Dedi­cated To Truth)

[UndercoverBlackMan]

Uhhh, dude... quit trying to police satire.

[Wanjiru]

...Ann Coulter doesn't surprise me...she is EXACTLY the low-life that she was put here on earth to be...

...what shocks me about this is that there are people who still watch CNN!...

...WHY?...


Obama 2008!!...

.

[Trill]

I agree with Wanjiru. If anyone ever had doubts about demons on the earth, then just turn to...look at...and listen to Ann Coulter. She is a sad example of a "human" being. Actually, she is probably a very sad woman bordering on being psychotic. Truthfully. Watch her eyes. Remember, the eyes have it.

[rc1900]

You can't yell fire in a crowded theatre, but you can advocate a black persons demise on a Worldwide News channel. Only in America is freedom of speech truly free. A true American would not stand for this behavior, but silence is confirmation. Frankly, with all the race baiting that has been going on in the media with this election, I think the media as a whole needs to take a step back and check itself.

[pabstskater]

Violent humor is a Republican value.

[TheRightAngle]

If Bill Maher was telling the same jokes about President Bush or The Pope the hypocritical ultraliberals would be falling on the floor wetting themselves laughing.

Thats because utlraliberals belive in free speech just as long as you agree with them.

[1question]

IF...IF...­IF...!?!?

[dtrobert]

Problem with your point is: liberals don't tend to joke about lynching. They don't tend to joke about nuking entire regions of the world (Coulter did). They don't tend to express fantasies about the destruction of entire cities (Both Coulter and O'Reilly did). They don't tend to express, post 9/11, wishes about the destruction of major buildings in downtown Manhattan (Coulter did, with the New York Times building).

Even when it comes to less vile and disgusting things, your point is incorrect. When Maher makes his routine misogynist comments, he gets it from all manners of liberals. You should read the comments to his posts here at HuffPo if you don't believe me.

Maher's comments were correct. Mr Ratzinger WAS in fact a Nazi; his excuses sound hollow to most who don't follow him (He was not only a Hitler Youth, but he was also a soldier in the Wehrmacht). It IS a fair question to ask whether his indoctrination as a child and teenager into the Nazi party apparatus, whether he himself was "unenthusiastic" or not, had any effect on the Extreme Right views he espouses today. But worse is the fact that Ratzinger was for 24 years the head of the Inquisition (renamed the "Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith", but it's the Inquisition nonetheless). As for Bush, you'll notice, if you've paid any attention at all to recent polling, that you are part of a very small minority of people who disagree with Maher.

[PhillyQuaker]

..they don't tend to act like they want Dennis Kucinich to be dead!

...they don't tend to act hateful to fathers whose sons have been murdered!

...they don't tend to fantasize about killing Michael Moore.

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2803

[Intelligentia]

RACISM IS TERRORISM; HENCE, UNPATRIOTIC. A racist is as patriotic to our Nation as much as a pedophile Catholic priest is a true Christian. Racism is turning this country into a third world country. Please, open up your eyes. Even though I do not believe that Obama will make much of a difference for Black Americans, in particular, I will still vote for him for the following reasons:

1. What matters is the United States of America, as a whole, and he is the only that can take on the subversives.

2. A leader without credibility and integrity cannot be trusted. Those who are pushing lies as reality in the media are the most dangerous subversives to our democracy. These groups are worse than terrorists, because they are wolves in sheep clothing. At least, we know who the terrorists are and we know how to defeat them. The worst enemy is the one who comes to you with a smiling face. Please, United States of America citizens, keep your eyes open. There are a lot of these subversives in the media. They are the ones pushing lies on Obama, obfuscating the truth about the reality of Clinton’s lack of credibility. Should we forgive Clinton for lying? YES! However, forgiveness comes after repentance. Rather than repent, Clinton resorts to insulting our intelligence by stating that she MISSPOKE. It does not matter who ultimately becomes our President, what matter is that the individual must be trustworthy.

[MrKINOKO]

Excellent post, as was dtrobert's. Credibility and integrity is all, especially to our allies. During my travels in Europe recently, I sensed a palpable excitement about Obama, especially in Germany, Spain and Holland. Europeans are looking forward to trusting us again, and doing business with us again, under Mr. Obama's Pressidency. There is an equally strong dislike for HRC and McCain. The dislike amongst the Europeans I know for Hillary is so thick you could cut it with a knife. When I ask about the Rev. Wright nonsense, they laugh and say "what does that have to do with him?" Simple European logic, which must be commended. But when asked about HRC, well...heh­ehehe....I hear things like "she lied about her personal safety, and caused the military command in charge of the area to look like total fools"...t­hings along those lines. They just don't trust her. And let's not even mention McCain..lo­l.
Bottom line..the WORLD doesn't trust HRC, but DOES TRUST OBAMA...as do I.

[munimula]

But if CNN gets rid of Ann, who will keep Lou Dobbs company?

[MrKINOKO]

Oh, I'm sure there will always be a corner office available for Lou Dobbs over at either FAUX NEWS, or Al Jazeera...­.he'll find plenty of like minded individuals at the former, and can be an excellent counter-point guy at the latter.

[kellygrrrl]

here's the problem:
there are a great many Americans who Trust CNN implicitely
there are a great many people who get all of their information from the TV

[avraamjack]

.
Who cares what she says?
.
She is the only tallish skinny blond chick commentator. That is her value .
.
The Democrats need a tall skinny blond chick commentator too.
.
Then we can have a tall skinny blond chick commentator smackdown.
.
Ratings would be great !
.

[wm1066]

If we had honourable people running the DOJ she would be in jail by now for comments like that.
This would not have been tolerated pre-bush.

[aznurse]

I wonder how much her latest book sold?

[liberalgirl31]

CNN employs the male Ann Coulter, the hateful Glenn Beck, so why should Mr. Feldman be so surprised that the network gives Ann a platform? Ann Coulter is the sympton of our gotcha!, sound-bite media that appeals to the reptilian part of our brains.

[ann1]

Please watch Fahrenheit 9/11 again if you haven't go to your local blockbuster. Our memories need a little refreshing to avoid past mistakes. This election is far too crucial for us to reward those who gave the authorization for this travesty of a war