Ann Coulter has a right to say and write whatever she pleases - the Alito SCOTUS hasn't wrested that right from our hands yet. How does she make money spewing her venom? She has two primary revenue sources: publishing and personal appearances. The question for us is: What can we do to slow/stop these revenue streams?
Well, since I'm fairly certain we Kossaks aren't buying any of her books or booking her for speaking engagements, where do we begin? First, let's look at a bunch of false starts:
Advertisers - The left has effectively convinced sponsors not to advertise on her website. While this is/was an important step forward and a symbolic victory, it didn't really deprive her of a lot of cash. When Coulter appears on television, she is promoting the Ann Coulter brand. This brand, to quote Tweety "sells books" and speaking engagements. My first impulse was to try and organize a boycott of the corporations who sponsor the shows on which she appears. The problem here is that when sponsors buy ad time, they're not buying it from Ann Coulter, nor are they buying specifically for the shows she appears on. For example, when a company buys ad time on "Hardball", they're not purchasing airtime for the Ann Coulter segment, she just happens to be on the show - for ONE day. Effectively boycotting a sponsor because of this type of "incidental" patronage is nearly impossible. We could never find lasting support for for such an indirect connection.
Broadcasters: Remember what Tweety said. Broadcasters make the lion's share of their money from advertisers, who pay more money for more viewers. Ann Coulter, unfortunately is a huge draw. And frankly, we have to admit to ourselves that a lot of lefties are going to watch Coulter just to see what ridiculous thing she says next. More eyeballs = More dollars. Again, trying to organize a boycott of MSNBC is unrealistic.
Print Media: At this point, any publications who continue to publish her articles have made the calculated decision that they have more to gain by said publishing than they stand to lose. Either their readership is primarily Coulter-friendly or, much like the aforementioned false starts, advertisers aren't explicitly buying ad space because of Coulter.
This leaves perhaps the least likely (and most lucrative) of revenue sources - speaking engagements. I know, I know - we're not booking her nor are we often attending (or invited to) said events. What can we possibly do here?
CONNECT THE DOTS: If I, god forbid, wanted to book Coulter, I could directly contact her literary agent at William Morris, but then I'd have to do a lot of the legwork myself - having a lawyer look a the contract and riders, arrange for travel, convey my agenda, etcetera etcetera... More likely, I would use the services of a booking agency - I explain my needs, wants and budget to them and they handle all the specifics with WMA. Premiere Speakers serves Ann Coulter in this capacity. (http://premierespeakers.com/ann_coulter)
This is wherein the rub lies: Premiere Speakers also represents Al Franken. WHile both Coulter and Franken are also both William Morris clients, it is unrealistic to think that we and Al Franken are going to persuade WMA to drop one of their hot properties. They are just too big and powerful. Premiere Speakers, on the other hand, is a more realistic target. Don't get me wrong - Ann Coulter makes a lot more money for Premiere than Al Franken does - but Al Franken has a powerful voice - perhaps he could sway other Premiere clients, such as Steve Wozniak, Mia Hamm, Star Jones, Sarah Ferguson, Lance Armstrong and Dr. Christiane Northrup, to name a few. The threat of losing all these clients and their obligatory fees might make them listen.
If nothing else, this would give Franken (and his '08 Senate campaign) some good PR and force people to think twice before contracting the services of Premiere Speakers. If this begins to, or even seems to have the serious potential to start costing Premiere bookings and money, perhaps they would consider dropping Coulter as a client. And if this move, or even the negative publicity surrounding it costs Coulter even ONE $50,000 speaking engagement, I'll feel that it was worth my time and effort.
So, what do y'all think?