June 14, 2006 6:06 AM

Another refugee from Attention Whores 'R' Us

Is Ann Coulter only bashing widows for the publicity?

Deadly Intent: Ann Coulter, Word Warrior

For those who practice the art of outrageousness, there seems little downside to upping the ante — that’s what their audiences want and expect. In other words, the old adage pretty much holds: There’s no such thing as bad publicity.

There is nothing particularly new or original about Ann Coulter’s strategy when it comes to promoting her new book. All she’s really doing is taking a page is borrowing a page from the book used by so many loudmouth Conservatives before her: Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Michelle Malkin, etc., ad infinitum, ad nauseum. Make outrageous claims, pass off wild, mean-spirited accusations as trenchant analysis, and aggreessively defend your position- no matter how silly, offensive, or pure hokum it may be. Then sit back and watch the royalty checks roll in.

Perhaps the saddest aspect of this who sordid affair is that it really is a commentary on our collective IQ. When bombast, ignorance, and fear-mongering are all it really takes to sell a few million books, it should be taken as a clear indication that as a nation we have lost our desire to think critically. Of course, it IS much easier to react emotionally and draw a maximum of conclusions based on a minimum of hard and/or accurate information. Thinking critically means having to evaluate what someone like Coulter is saying, and determing whether there is any truth in it or whether it’s just total BS.

My dismay is not so much with Coulter and her modus operandi, abhorrent though it may be. No, I’m much more concerned with the reality that so many Americans buy into what she’s peddling. If people merely ignored her, she would either adapt or fade away into the obscurity she so richly deserves. Unfortunately, a sizable portion of the American sheeple will buy anything outrageous, particularly if stated with enough conviction and vitriol. Such is the sorry state of our public discourse.

In the TV-talk world, where Coulter thrives, the phenomenon is especially troubling, says popular culture analyst Jerry Herron.

“A patient, thoughtful, analytical person is made invisible in this world of sustained screaming,” says Herron, a professor at Wayne State University. Nowadays, he says, you need to be “an ideologue with a very nice haircut.” Or, perhaps, with long blond hair and a little black dress.

For those who practice the art of outrageousness, is ANY publicity bad publicity?

“Pretty much no, apart from a perp walk and a guilty verdict,” says Jeff Jarvis, author of the BuzzMachine blog.

Nowhere in this analysis is there any place for, nor any mention of, truth. Perhaps that’s the saddest aspect of Coulter’s fame and success. She can put together an outrageous, indefensible argument, and because she’s a highly intelligent person, she can construct her argument to sound authoritative. That’s all it takes to make her an authority figure in the eyes of far too many sheeple who are congenitally unable and unwilling to sort things out for themselves. Why should they, when someone like Coulter is there to give them easy, pat answers and convenient scapegoats. Sure beats the hell out of thinking, eh?

And you wonder why Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader has been calling 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. home for the past five years??

WE DESERVE BETTER.

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on June 14, 2006 6:06 AM.

It's all about taking care of your base was the previous entry in this blog.

Why can't we just be what we are? is the next entry in this blog.

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