Thank you Ann Coulter.
After two weeks where Sens. Clinton and Obama seemed to steal all the headlines for the manufactured kerfuffle over David Geffen, Ann Coulter has put John Edwards back onto the front page. And all without having even opened his mouth.
Obviously Coulter is a hate-filled moron. This isn't news to anyone here. But her idiocy is going to raise tens of thousands of dollars for Senator Edwards. Her bile lets Sen. Edwards play a victim, while pivoting (as his wife demonstrated) to the broader issue of tolerance for the GLBT community:
...We are sick and tired of people like Miss Coulter thinking that her using loaded words about the homosexual community in this country is remotely humorous or appropriate.
In short, this was a pitch right in our wheelhouse.
Last night I started writing a diary titled "What I want to hear from John Edwards: Nothing." Coulter's insanity doesn't deserve a response. Her ultimate goal is to increase the frequency with which her name is uttered. And once again, she's succeeded. This time, however, she may have gone further than she intended.
Why? Not because this is the most outlandish, outrageous, hate-filled thing she's said. I've neither the desire nor the stomach to generate a greatest hits of hers, but it's out there. But this time, with these words. By attacking another Presidential candidate she’s forced Republican candidates to either repudiate her hate speech or embrace it.
Since Republican candidates rely on coded messages to their supporters to demonstrate their bigot-credentials, Coulter's explicit hatred puts them in a bind. Mitt Romney can either reject Coulter's vile invective, and with it, reject the thousands of gay-hating Republican voters, or embrace her bigotry in an open way sure to turn off everyone else.
Meanwhile other Democratic candidates for President are forced to defend their opponent. Hopefully they will do so in the strongest terms, but no matter how they do it, this is a win for John Edwards.
Update:Here's Sen. Edwards' response:
Ann Coulter's use of an anti-gay slur yesterday was un-American and indefensible. In America, we strive for equality and embrace diversity. The kind of hateful language she used has no place in political debate or our society at large.
I believe it is our moral responsibility to speak out against that kind of bigotry and prejudice every time we encounter it.