The Liberty Papers

It’s taken several years during which she’s called for the conquering and conversion to Christianity of the entire Muslim world, and used the phrase “raghead” to describe every Muslim, but it seems that conservatives are finally beginning to realize that Ann Coulter is someone they don’t want to be associated with:

The legendary conservative thinker Richard Weaver wrote a book entitled Ideas Have Consequences. Rush Limbaugh has said again and again that “words mean things.” Both phrases apply to Coulter’s awful remarks.

Coulter’s vicious word choice tells the world she care little about the feelings of a large group that often feels marginalized and despised. Her word choice forces conservatives to waste time defending themselves against charges of homophobia rather than advancing conservative ideas.

Within a day of Coulter’s remark John Edwards sent out a fundraising email that used Coulter’s words to raise money for his faltering campaign. She is helping those she claims to oppose. How does that advance any of the causes we hold dear?

Denouncing Coulter is not enough. After her “raghead” remark in 2006 she took some heat. Yet she did not grow and learn. We should have been more forceful. This year she used a gay slur. What is next? If Senator Barack Obama is the de facto Democratic Presidential nominee next year will Coulter feel free to use a racial slur? How does that help conservatism?

It doesn’t, of course. And the more conservatives come to realize that the reactionary ideas of people like Ann Coulter and Pat Buchanan don’t help them, the more they may come realize that the conservative-libertarian alliance that seemed to come into it’s own during the Reagan Administration (only to be snuffed out by Bush 41 and people like Pat Buchanan) is the only hope for political viability that conservatives have today.

Basically, conservatives have two choices. They can talk, and govern, like Ronald Reagan; in which case they may actually have a chance of winning. Or they can talk like Ann Coulter; in which case they have no chance at all.

Update: In addition to denunciations from her fellow conservatives, it looks like Coulter will pay a financial price for her stupid comments:

WASHINGTON (CNN) — At least three major companies want their ads pulled from Ann Coulter’s Web site, following customer complaints about the right-wing commentator referring to Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards as a “faggot.”

Verizon, Sallie Mae and Georgia-based NetBank each said they didn’t know their ads were on AnnCoulter.com until they received the complaints.

Good.