Thank Ann Coulter A Huge Success!

Coulter draws yawns, not jeers

The Xavier College Republican Club paid Coulter $20,000 - all of it raised through private donations - to speak in a closed-off, 3,000-seat section of the basketball arena.

Exactly 1,273 people - many of them Xavier students, along with hundreds of others whose college days were decades behind them - filed into the Cintas Center for the 7 p.m. lecture.

Several hundred yards away, in front of Husman Hall, a coalition of liberal groups held a "Counter-Coulter" rally that drew about 200 people. It was aimed at celebrating the $26,000 raised on the Internet for six liberal campus groups - money donated by people who oppose Coulter's hard-right views.

"Thanks, Ann Coulter," read an enormous banner.

Coulter delivered a 35-minute speech that bounced from topic to topic - from Sen. Larry Craig's bust in a Minnesota airport bathroom to some Clinton bashing, and her argument that Democrats want the U.S. to lose the war on terrorism.

The speech was a series of one-liners, the kind she uses regularly on the cable talk show circuits:

Democrats, she said, "believe public restrooms are only for snorting coke." She called former President Clinton "a rapist" and said his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, has "chubby legs."

On Iraq, she told the audience that "there are more aspirin overdoses in America every year than there have been deaths of American soldiers in Iraq." Terrorists, Coulter said, "are Democrats with more gumption."

But unlike at many Coulter campus appearances, there was no hooting and hollering from the audience and very little applause or laughter at her one-liners either.

Josh Jones, a 19-year-old Xavier sophomore from Union, Ky., describes himself as a conservative, but said he came to the lecture - free for students, $5 for everyone else - mainly out of curiosity.

"I've seen her slip up and get frazzled sometimes on TV," Jones said. "I just wanted to see if she was like that in person."

Across the way at the "Counter-Coulter" rally, the crowd heard a series of speakers from the organizations receiving the $26,000 - groups as diverse as the Black Student Association and the Xavier Women's Center.

"Ann Coulter is entitled to her opinion," said Dan Drent, the vice president of Equality Cincinnati, a gay rights group. "But we're here to show that not everyone in this city thinks the way she does."

Lynn Worpenberg of Democracy For Cincinnati, a liberal Democratic group, said the groups at the rally made a conscious decision to forego a confrontation, "which is what she wants."

"She has a right to talk," said Worpenberg. "So do we. And we thought this was a much better alternative than standing in there yelling and waving signs."

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - August 30, 2007

Contact: Bo Shuff, Equality Ohio (614.224.0400 or bo@equalityohio.org)

Over $25,000 raised for Xavier University progressives;
"Thank You Ann" rally and celebration Thursday

Cincinnati, OH – A coalition waged a "Thank Ann Coulter" campaign to raise money – over $25,000 to date – for Xavier University progressive student groups working for the causes Coulter regularly bashes. Equality Ohio, ProgressOhio, People for the American Way, and other sponsoring partners announced the latest total today after a month long effort.

Checks will be presented to student groups at Xavier this Thursday, September 6, 2007 at a celebratory rally on the Xavier Greenspace at 7:00 p.m. That is about the same time Coulter is due to speak at the Cintas Center on the opposite side of campus.

"She has every right to speak her mind, even if it is divisive and hurtful rhetoric," said Bo Shuff, Director of Education and Public Policy for Equality Ohio. "This campaign was designed to give Xavier's students who promote diversity, inclusion and tolerance the resources they need for dynamic programming over the upcoming year."

Ann Coulter typically is paid between $20,000 and $30,000 for her appearances. That works out to about $5 for every Xavier student. Most contributions for the "Counter Ann Coulter" Campaign have been just $5-$10. The $25,000 raised will be donated to student groups like the Xavier Alliance, the Xavier Women's Center, and the Black Student Association, among others.

"Xavier is a diverse and welcoming campus," added Patrick McNearney, President of the Xavier Alliance. "This support will help us create programs and events that celebrate that part of Xavier. We are so excited to be a part of this effort."

On Thursday, September 6 at 7:00 p.m. students, supporters, and sponsoring organizations will gather on the Xavier Greenspace for a celebratory rally and an announcement of the final total raised. Final speakers and entertainment details are being finalized.

"When someone like Ann Coulter brings a message of division to Ohio, we want to empower people to look for the common good in all of us," said Brian Rothenberg, Executive Director of ProgressOhio. "The last time I checked, you can't fight fire with fire; you fight fire with water."

The Rantings Of Ann Coulter

Environment
"God gave us the earth. We have dominion over the plants, the animals, the trees. God said, 'Earth is yours. Take it. Rape it. It's yours.'"
Hannity & Colmes, 6/20/01

"The ethic of conservation is the explicit abnegation of man's dominion over the Earth. The lower species are here for our use. God said so: Go forth, be fruitful, multiply, and rape the planet — it's yours. That's our job: drilling, mining and stripping. Sweaters are the anti-Biblical view. Big gas-guzzling cars with phones and CD players and wet bars — that's the Biblical view."
Oil Good; Democrats bad; October 12, 2000

Freedom of Speech
"They're [Democrats] always accusing us of repressing their speech. I say let's do it. Let's repress them. Frankly, I'm not a big fan of the First Amendment."
University of Florida speech; October 20, 2005

GLBT
"I don't know if [former U.S. President Bill Clinton is] gay. But [former U.S. Vice President] Al Gore - total fag."
Media Matters; July 26, 2006

"I was going to have a few comments about John Edwards but you have to go into rehab if you use the word faggot."
Conservative Political Action Conference

Veterans
To a disabled Vietnam vet: "People like you caused us to lose that war."
MSNBC

Women
"I am emboldened by my looks to say things Republican men wouldn't."
TV Guide 8/97

"I think [women] should be armed but should not vote...women have no capacity to understand how money is earned. They have a lot of ideas on how to spend it...it's always more money on education, more money on child care, more money on day care."
Comedy Central; Politically Incorrect; February 26, 2001

"It would be a much better country if women did not vote. That is simply a fact. In fact, in every presidential election since 1950 - except Goldwater in '64 - the Republican would have won, if only the men had voted."
[13]; May 17, 2003

"I think the other point that no one is making about the [Abu Ghraib] abuse photos is just the disproportionate number of women involved, including a girl general running the entire operation. I mean, this is lesson, you know, number 1,000,047 on why women shouldn't be in the military. In addition to not being able to carry even a medium-sized backpack, women are too vicious."
Fox News; Hannity & Colmes; May 5, 2004

Islam/Muslim
"Not all Muslims may be terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims."
Her syndicated column, September 28, 2001

"We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity."
[7]" September 12, 2001

"Point one and point two by the end of the week had become official government policy. As for converting them to Christianity, I think it might be a good idea to get them on some sort of hobby other than slaughtering infidels. I mean perhaps that's the Peace Corps, perhaps it's working for Planned Parenthood, but I've never seen the transforming effect of anything like that Christianity."
The Drudge Report; June 26, 2002

"They're never very high in anyone's caste system, are they? Poor little Pakis."
[8]; August 16, 2004


Referring to expatriate Pakistanis
"Bumper sticker idea for liberals: News magazines don't kill people, Muslims do."
[9]; May 18, 2005

"One [cartoon] showed Muhammad turning away suicide bombers from the gates of heaven, saying "Stop, stop — we ran out of virgins!" — which I believe was a commentary on Muslims' predilection for violence. Another was a cartoon of Muhammad with horns, which I believe was a commentary on Muslims' predilection for violence. The third showed Muhammad with a turban in the shape of a bomb, which I believe was an expression of post-industrial ennui in a secular — oops, no, wait: It was more of a commentary on Muslims' predilection for violence ... Muslims are the only people who make feminists seem laid-back."
Calvin and Hobbes – and Muhammad; February 8, 2006

Regarding the cartoon controversy
"I think our motto should be, post-9-11, 'raghead talks tough, raghead faces consequences.'"
At CPAC Conference; February 10, 2006

"You know, ok. I made a few jokes — and they killed 3000 Americans. Fair trade."
At CPAC Conference Q&A; February 10, 2006

In response to using the term "raghead"
"The amazing part of the great Danish cartoon caper isn't that Muslims immediately engage in acts of mob violence when things don't go their way. That is de rigueur for the Religion of Peace. Their immediate response to all bad news is mass violence. That's a "dog bites man" story and belongs on page B-34, next to the grade school hot lunch menu and the birth notices. After an Egyptian ferry capsized recently, killing hundreds of passengers, a whole braying mob of passengers' relatives staged an organized attack on the company, throwing furniture out the window and burning the building to the ground. Witnesses say it was the most violent ocean liner-related incident since Carnival Cruise Lines fired Kathie Lee Gifford. The 'offense to Islam' ruse is merely an excuse for Muslims to revert to their default mode: rioting and setting things on fire."
Muslim Bites Dog; February 15, 2006

"Perhaps we could put aside our national, ongoing, post-9/11 Muslim butt-kissing contest and get on with the business at hand: Bombing Syria back to the stone age and then permanently disarming Iran."
Muslim Bites Dog; February 15, 2006

African American
"I think we had enough laws about the turn-of-the-century. We don't need any more." Asked how far back would she go to repeal laws, she replied, "Well, before the New Deal...[The Emancipation Proclamation] would be a good start."
Politically Incorrect 5/7/97

"Kwanzaa itself is a lunatic blend of schmaltzy '60s rhetoric, black racism and Marxism. Indeed, the seven 'principles'of Kwanzaa praise collectivism in every possible arena of life – economics, work, personality, even litter removal."
Ann Coulter, TownHall.com, Dec. 26, 200

Education
"...a cruise missile is more important than Head Start."
Ann Coulter, Nov. 2001 speech rebroadcast by C-Span in Jan. 2002