Ann Coulter Jokes About Lynching, Still on CNN

Posted by Jeffrey Feldman, Huffington Post at 1:02 PM on May 2, 2008.

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.