Ahh. To quote Phil Collins, which really is the best way to start a post, I've been waiting for this moment all my life.
Uber-conservative political columnist, author, and Ann Coulter’s outrageous antics have finally put a dent in her credibility with fellow Republicans. On June 10, Editor and Publisher reported that The Gazette of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a conservative daily paper that has run Coulter’s column for 14 months, suddenly dropped her column and picked up conservative writer David Limbaugh.
The dump comes just a month after Coulter, who has been called "the Republican Michael Moore" and "Rush Limbaugh in a miniskirt,” first came under fire for suspected plagiarism. New York Post reported that John Barrie, CEO of iParagigms and the creator of some high tech plagiarism detection software, found at least three examples of what his programs deem as bootlegging in Coulter’s book "Godless, the Church of Liberalism." Barrie’s software also noted some suspicious passages in her recent columns.
After Barrie unleashed the beast, other plagiarism peeps have come forward with a reported list of 25 examples of possible plagiarism from Coulter’s work. Universal, which syndicates Coulter's column to more than 100 major newspapers worldwide, is standing by their golden child, who coincidentally is known for her legs — I don't get it!
According to E&P, The Gazette is the first paper to take such drastic measures of ditching the Coulter, who is staple on primetime cable news networks and is known to make shocking conservative remarks — such as “If we're so cruel to minorities, why do they keep coming here? Why aren't they sneaking across the Mexican border to make their way to the Taliban?” or “Liberal soccer moms are precisely as likely to receive anthrax in the mail as to develop a capacity for linear thinking.”)
The Gazette’s Opinion Page Editor Doug Neumann told E&P, “Our decision was made before the plagiarism allegations. It did come after the publication of [Coulter’s] book, but I would say it didn’t directly play any role on our decision.”
Neumann added that Coulter’s book may have played an “indirect” role in the drop and that some of the paper’s conservative readers felt their views were being “misrepresented” by Coulter’s opinions.
Freedom of speech or not, is there really anyone who has sympathy for the woman who said her “only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times Building”? That’s just wrong. More wrong than the world waiting months to see little Suri.
Article comments
1 - Baronius
About 4 years ago, National Review dropped her column. NR carries a lot more conservative clout than some paper in Cedar Rapids.
2 - Brent
Agree or disagree--and more often than not, I disagree--the charges of plagiarism have all been dropped. Shouldn't you have more important moments to look forward to in your life than worrying about a pundit getting hers?
3 - Dave Nalle
Even without caring a bit about Coulter except as a curiosity, I do find the smear campaign launched against her with these bogus plagiarism accusations particularly vile. Some bloggers basically made the whole thing up and the New York Post legitimized it by printing it, when the truth is that there was never a bit of substance to the accusations. It was just a hate-driven hatchet job that didn't quite come off.
Dave
4 - JP
Brent, the importance varies depending on how influential the author thinks her work is...
5 - malcontent
Wow shocking. You mean people are capable of waging hate filled hatchet jobs? I would have never known it. Will wonders never cease!.
All kidding aside, the best to way to deal with these republitards is with a bullet in the head. If you are anti gun then poisoning also works plus it has a certain degree of irony given their hostility to environmental laws.
6 - Maurice
I buy all Ann Coulters books as soon as they come out. She is a great writer and has a great sense of humor. Her outrageous statements are designed to make you think (and sell books). The fact that people hate/love her means her schick works.
7 - Steve
How in the heck is stuff like this winding up in "news"?
If you are going to quote someone [Phil Collins], how about actually using quotations?
Waiting all your life? Has Ann Coulter been around longer than the rest of us have realized?
The news paper article you are embellishing on also reported to us TWO DAYS AGO that this is mainly due to a popular cycle of changing conservative authors.
I love how a newspaper's characterization is conveniently marked as "conservative" when they are dropping Ann Coulter. We then have to remind ourselves that when David Limbaugh writes something as provocative, liberals will be denouncing the "conservative" status just to remark on the bias of the newspaper.
Not to mention the fact that it's the popularity of Ann Coulter versus some newspaper in IOWA.
I think she's gonna be just fine.
8 - Al Barger
Ann Coulter is HOT! Plus she's a lot funnier than this infatuated chick. Don't hate her because she's beautiful.
9 - Rodney Welch
Hate her because she's an asshole.
10 - John
Ann Coulter is the best thing for the Dems!
11 - JP
Al, I'm not that into Adam's apples. And Rodney, I already do.
12 - Spider
Ann Coulter is a horsey-faced hatemonger who's well past her prime and is increasingly desperate for attention.
13 - Kelly
I really don't think there is a dent in her credibility with fellow Republicans...And if this is the best ammo you can think up against her then libs have less power than i thought...cute blog though, you really are trying, aren't you