Howard Dean, Ann Coulter, and John Edwards

Howard Dean has resurfaced.

He'd gone missing. It seems like weeks since he's had anything to say.

Who brought Dr. Dean out of hiding?

Ann Coulter.

NEW YORK -- In recent years she has suggested that Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and Al Gore have or may have homosexual tendencies. Now columnist/author Ann Coulter has targeted former senator (and current candidate for president) John Edwards.

Speaking today at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference CPAC) in Washington, D.C., Coulter closed her remarks with: “I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word ‘faggot,’ so I -- so kind of an impasse, can’t really talk about Edwards.”

Audience members appeared startled, then many clapped, and she opened the floor to questions. The event was carried on C-SPAN.

Democratic Party chief Howard Dean weighed in later: "There is no place in political discourse for this kind of hate-filled and bigoted comments. While Democrats and Republicans may disagree on the issues, we should all be able to agree that this kind of vile rhetoric is out of bounds. The American people want a serious, thoughtful debate of the issues. Republicans -- including the Republican presidential candidates who shared the podium with Ann Coulter today -- should denounce her hateful remarks."

While I agree with Dr. Dean that Ann Coulter's comments were terribly inappropriate, I think only she is responsible for what she says.

She needs to be held accountable, not the Republican Party or any of the Republican presidential contenders.

Ann Coulter is not the voice of the GOP; and last I heard, she's not running for president.

I'm not defending Coulter at all, but I do find it laughable that Dean is bent out of shape over "vile rhetoric." It seems whenever he opens his mouth something vile dribbles out.


"I hate the Republicans and everything they stand for."


Does that qualify as a "hateful remark"?

Here's a few more choice Deanisms:

Dean: “I’m Tired Of The Ayatollahs Of The Right Wing … (Josie Huang, “Dean Calls For End To ‘Culture Of Corruption’,” Portland [ME] Press Herald, 10/23/05)


Dean: “Republicans Always Divide People.” (Carla Marinucci, “Dean: The Mouth That Won’t Stop Roaring,” San Francisco Chronicle, 6/8/05)


Dean: “These Guys [Republicans] Are Bad For Democracy. They Are Not Interested In Ideas But Interested In Power And They Are Not Interested In The Best Interest Of The American People.” (MSNBC’s “Hardball,” 10/6/05)


Dean: “The R.N.C. … They Love To Play The Victim. The Truth Is They Are A White Christian Party.” (ABC’s “The View,” 9/15/05)


Dean: “These Guys [Republicans] Are Bad For Democracy. They Are Not Interested In Ideas But Interested In Power And They Are Not Interested In The Best Interest Of The American People. That’s Why They Will Be Gone In 2006.” (MSNBC’s “Hardball,” 10/6/05)


Dean: “I’m Not Sure He [Chief Justice Roberts] Loves The American People.” (CNN’s “The Situation Room,” 9/9/05)


Dean: “New England Republicans Are Different Than Most. They Are More Reasonable And Thoughtful …” (Cole Manning, “Dean Works To Energize State’s Democratic Party,” Foster’s Online, 8/11/05)


Dean: “You Know, The Republicans Are Not Very Friendly To Different Kinds Of People. They’re A Pretty Monolithic Party. (Carla Marinucci, “Dean: The Mouth That Won’t Stop Roaring,” San Francisco Chronicle, 6/8/05)


Dean: “They [Republicans] All Behave The Same. They All Look The Same. It’s Pretty Much A White Christian Party.” (Carla Marinucci, “In S.F., Dean Calls GOP ‘A White Christian Party,’” San Francisco Chronicle, 6/7/05)


Dean: “[L]ord Knows This Administration Is Beginning To Erode The Core Of Our Democracy.” (DNC Chairman Howard Dean, Remarks At Campaign For America’s Future “Take Back America Conference,” DC, 6/2/05)


Dean: “[R]epublicans … A Lot Of Them Have Never Made An Honest Living In Their Lives.” (DNC Chairman Howard Dean, Remarks At Campaign For America’s Future “Take Back America Conference,” DC, 6/2/05)


Dean: “I Hate What The Republicans Are Doing To This Country. I Really Do.” (NBC’s “Meet The Press,” 5/22/05)


Dean: “Republicans Are All About Suppressing Votes ...” (DNC Chairman Howard Dean, Remarks At Campaign For America’s Future, “Take Back America Conference,” Washington, D.C., 6/2/05)


“Appearing On The Liberal Air America Radio In Minnesota, Dean Said Republicans Are, Quote, ‘Mean. They’re Not Nice People. They Want To Run Nearly Every Aspect Of Your Life,’ End Quote.” (Fox News’ “Special Report,” 4/5/05)


Dean Called Republicans “Brain-Dead.” (Peter Gorrie, “Spreading The Message,” Toronto Star, 3/20/05)


Dean On Republicans And Democrats: “This Is A Struggle Of Good And Evil. And We’re The Good.” (Joel Mathis, “Dean Roars Into Town,” Lawrence [KS] Journal-World, 2/26/05)


“During A Meeting … With The Democratic Black Caucus, Dean … Questioned Republicans’ Ability To Rally Support From Minorities. ‘You Think The Republican National Committee Could Get This Many People Of Color In A Single Room?’ Dean Asked To Laughter. ‘Only If They Had The Hotel Staff In Here.’” (Nancy Benac, “Dean Ready To Take Charge Of Democrats,” The Associated Press, 2/11/05)


And then there was that little misunderstanding about gay marriage. Dr. Dean misstated the Democrat Party platform while courting evangelicals. You might call it a lie.

Dean: "The Democratic Party platform from 2004 says that marriage is between a man and a woman. That's what it says." (David Brody, "Howard Dean: Democrats Have Much in Common with Evangelicals," CBN News, 5/11/06)

I'm sure that someone on the Left could match every idiotic thing uttered by Democrat Party Chairman Howard Dean with something idiotic uttered by Ann Coulter.

It should be remembered that their comments do not carry equal weight. Ann Coulter is not a spokesperson for the Republican Party. She speaks for herself.

Furthermore, I don't hear Ann Coulter demanding that Democrats and Dem presidential candidates apologize for what Dean says.

I also don't hear Dean calling for his ranks to apologize to Michael Steele, Condoleezza Rice, Clarence Thomas, and other conservative African-Americans for throwing all those ugly racial slurs and oreos at them.

Dean doesn't demand that former President Carter apologize for his anti-Semitic remarks.

Dean doesn't insist that Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson apologize for making ethnic slurs.

Clearly, Dean cherry picks when it comes to denouncing "vile rhetoric."

He's a hypocrite.

Still, the ugly truth about Howard Dean in no way excuses Ann Coulter.

It's unfortunate that she keeps pushing the envelope, trying to "out-Coulter" herself.

It was in incredibly bad taste to make that joke about John Edwards. There's plenty to criticize about Edwards. Her comment was a cheap, offensive shot. I think that was intentional.

Coulter is an intelligent woman. She knew exactly what she was doing.

Coulter seems to be more interested in grabbing attention and headlines for herself than in furthering conservative principles.

Her shtick may win her some fans and help her books become best-sellers, but she's hurting the conservative movement by giving libs ammunition. Obviously, she doesn't care.

The fact is the current level of discourse in politics, thanks to the likes of Howard Dean and Ann Coulter, is not good for the country.

Lots of apologies are in order.