On his Political Punch blog, ABC correspondent Jake Tapper is calling out the media who have misquoted Ann Coulter -- but he also suggests Coulter has mischaracterized leftist comedian Bill Maher:
Conservative provocateur Ann Coulter is often unfair, and cruel. But that doesn't mean we in the media are allowed to treat her with equal dishonesty.
Coulter on Monday's Good Morning America, asked about the time she used an anti-gay slur to impugn former Sen. John Edwards, D-NC, said: "I did not call John Edwards the F-word. I said I couldn't talk about him because you could go into rehab for using that word. But about the same time, you know, Bill Maher was not joking and saying he wished Dick Cheney had been killed in a terrorist attack. So, I've learned my lesson. If I'm going to say anything about John Edwards in the future, I'll just wish he had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot."
I've seen major media outlets only quote that last sentence -- "If I'm going to say anything about John Edwards in the future, I'll just wish he had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot."
That's not fair.
Even if you think Coulter is vile, even if you believe her joking about Edwards' death at all is inappropriate, to quote just that last bit isn't an accurate representation to viewers or readers of what she said.
Just because she is one-sided and dishonest does not mean the media is allowed to be when we cover her.
But while we're on the subject of out-of-context quotes, let's take a look at what Bill Maher actually said. Because Coulter was not quoting him accurately. He decidedly did NOT say he wished the Vice President had been killed in a terrorist attack.
Earlier this year, Maher asked why Arianna Huffington of the liberal website the Huffington Post removed postings expressing disappointment that Cheney had not been killed in an assassination attempt in Afghanistan. Others thought it was "hate speech"; Maher thought they should have the right to say that.
When pressed on the matter, Maher said, "I have zero doubt that if Dick Cheney was not in power, people would not be dying needlessly tomorrow."
Asked MSNBC anchor Joe Scarborough, "If someone on this panel said that they wished that Dick Cheney had been blown up, and you didn’t say --"
"I think he did," said Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.
"Okay," said Scarborough. "Did you say --"
"No, no," said Maher. "I quoted that."
"You don’t believe that?" asked Frank.
"No, I’m just saying if he did die, other people, more people would live," said Maher. "That’s a fact."
Now, you might disagree with that thought, but it is NOT - as Coulter would have it - either a joke, nor is it a declared wish that Cheney would die in a terrorist attack.
While Tapper is right that Maher didn't say he wished Cheney would die, it's clear that he said that the world would be a better place if he were dead -- and more importantly, that he was a supporter of the free speech of people who cracked about wanting him dead. Maher's audience laughed at the idea of the bomb missing Cheney, to add more transcript:
Maher: What about the people who got onto the Huffington Post – and these weren’t even the bloggers, these were just the comments section – who said they, they expressed regret that the attack on Dick Cheney failed.
Joe Scarborough: Right.
Maher: Now…
John Ridley: More than regret.
Maher: Well, what did they say?
John Ridley: They said “We wish he would die.” I mean, it was (?) hate language.
Barney Frank: They said the bomb was wasted. (laughter and applause)
Maher: That’s a funny joke. But, seriously, if this isn’t China, shouldn’t you be able to say that? Why did Arianna Huffington, my girlfriend, I love her, but why did she take that off right away?...
Ridley: It’s one thing to say you hate Dick Cheney, which applies to his politics. It’s another thing to say, “I’m sorry he didn’t die in an explosion." And I think, you know…
Maher: But you should be able to say it.
I think it should be obvious to everyone in the talk-show wars that death-wish jokes are more trouble than they are worth, and that free speech doesn't mean that some speech isn't deplorable, and it's our right to speak out and deplore it.
—Tim Graham is Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
It would be nice if Tapper, a
June 28, 2007 - 11:38 ET by Chris NormanIt would be nice if Tapper, and the rest of his cronies, were as concerned with the damage caused by their insertion of liberal bias into the news, as they are with "hate speech". He sounds so noble and fair, on his blog, away from the camera. Why not show some fairness on camera?
The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.
- Arabian Proverb
The bright side is it's astou
June 29, 2007 - 12:56 ET by TruthMongerThe bright side is it's astounding to hear the MSM having to do these kinds of reports - still in a completely BS sort of way - but we're really getting to them now - and of course NB can take most of the glorious credit - thank you all!
...it was hard but I managed to keep religion out of it:)...
Ann Coulter says some things
June 28, 2007 - 11:45 ET by KC MulvilleYou're right, KC, Ann can t
June 28, 2007 - 11:52 ET by motherbeltYou're right, KC, Ann can take care of herself. And I have to disagree with you about the "harpies" thing; they would have called it "hate speech" regardless. It just infuriates them that even when they send widows, wounded war heroes, and cancer victims against her, she won't back down, like she "should."
Yeah, I know. I didn't say i
June 28, 2007 - 12:08 ET by KC MulvilleYeah, I know. I didn't say it was fair. And don't get me wrong, I love Ann Coulter. She's guaranteed never to be boring. And unlike the bombthrowers on the liberal side, she can take criticism. She doesn't hit and run. But she's like Jack Dempsey knocking out Gene Tunney ... you don't want to lose the victory because you don't go to the corner when your opponent is down. (How's that for a culture reference?)
mb/kcIt must drive the libera
June 28, 2007 - 12:19 ET by Chris Normanmb/kc
It must drive the liberal professionally-offended crazy that they can't get rid of Coulter with their usual tactics. Can you imagine the outrage they must feel, that not only can't they daunt her, but she has no television/radio show to get her fired from? You can imagine the calls they must make to the outlets trying to get her unbooked from any future broadcast. They must be apoplectic. I'm just waiting for the first reports that they are trying to pressure her publisher from putting out her books and the bookstore chains from selling them.
The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.
- Arabian Proverb
Chris, all the retaliations
June 28, 2007 - 12:44 ET by motherbeltChris, all the retaliations you describe have probably either been tried, or are in the works....
And KC, As to your analogy... you said something about going to your corner when your opponent is down..... you mean like the Democrats do???????
Coulter didn't keep beating on Mrs. Edwards...it was the other way around. Not only that, the "referee" joined in.
Uh-oh. I think we have a meta
June 28, 2007 - 13:19 ET by KC MulvilleUh-oh. I think we have a metaphor meltdown. LOL. No, unlike the Democrats, Ann doesn't run away after saying something. But we all know that the liberals are going to whine and whimper if she says anything pejorative, so why give them the escape? Let the pejorative go.
BTW, talking about hitting and running ... Last night, I caught part of a segment on Hannity & Colmes where Carl Berstein was on to sell his Hillary book. (When Ann Coulter was on Hardball also to promote her book, Tom Shales called her a publicity hound. Wonder if he calls Bernstein the same thing?) Anyway, Hannity said something about Hillary never facing criticism, and Bernstein objected that the Clintons received more criticism and flak than any administration in history. That's a little disingenuous. The Clintons get criticized, but they never face it. They're the ultimate hit and run artists. The Clintons don't address the substance of the criticism, they only attack the critic. They respond to criticism but they don't answer it. Ann Coulter, at least, answers the criticism.
Also, have you noticed that all of the media outlets are praising Elizabeth Edwards for 'taking on' Ann Coulter? They praise her for that, but they don't examine whether she succeeded in her attempt (she didn't). It's like praising the losers for simply showing up.
Chris, Coulter has been "Fired"
June 28, 2007 - 17:28 ET by exLibJust for the record, Coulter was originally asked in 04 to cover the DNC in Boston for USA today and Michaael Moore was asked to do the RNC.
Ann did her thing after the first day of the Dems convention and was told it wouldn't print and don't bother coming back tomorrow.
She posted the article on her site and it was pretty tame.
However, they had no problems with Moore.
That is just more Liberal (
June 28, 2007 - 11:47 ET by motherbeltThat is just more Liberal (depends on the meaning of "is") twisting. He says that he didn't say that he wished Dick Cheney would die. He only said. .."I’m just saying if he did die, other people, more people would live......That’s a fact."
He also conveniently ignores the fact that the whole thing started when he expressed regret that the terrorist attack missed Cheney because he had already left that base. ("the bomb was wasted.")
But, hey, he NEVER, NEVER said he wished Cheney would die.
That's why Ann Coulter said she never called Edwards a faggot. She was throwing the Liberals' own excuse back in their faces.
Precisely Motherbelt!Tapper p
June 28, 2007 - 14:12 ET by stratmanPrecisely Motherbelt!
Tapper pointed out the power of semantics in language when referring to Maher. Yet, Tapper willfully avoids the similar recognition of semantics in Coutler's language.
Maher never directly said he wished Cheney dead as Coulter never directly called Edwards a "faggot". By inference, though, each did.
Coulter never directly or indirectly wished Edwards dead. It was a premise of an argument and not a desire verbalized. Coulter used phrasing that reflected Maher's language which had eluded media criticism almost entirely. The premise was if what Maher said or implied was acceptable to the Left and MSM, then speaking in kind about Edwards could, amazingly, be acceptable too. It was an argument for exposing double standards.
The whole premise of Tapper's "report" was to reinforce the demonization of Coulter and the Right. It was an unabashed "hit" piece:
I think in the journalism business that's referred to as "hammering it in".
And this little turn of a phrase perverts Coulter's meaning and context: "...even if you believe her joking about Edwards' death at all is inappropriate...". Notice Tapper didn't say "... you believe she was joking...", which confers an understanding of the possibility that people may misinterpret Coulter as people missinterpreted Maher. By stating "you believe her joking.." Tapper implies Coulter was in fact joking. Tapper wants us to believe that Coulter is callous, depraved or indifferent because she "jokes" about Edwards being killed. Coulter was not "joking", she was using irony in exposing Liberal hypocracy.
Now comes the brazen yet patently false self-agrandizement and propaganda pitch:
Nice platitudes. The problem is Tapper made quite sure to behave in opposition to these codes of conduct. What a transparent schmuck
Coulter would have grounds for defamation of character except that Tapper's hit job will only bring more wealth to Coulter.
Right on Stratman!
June 28, 2007 - 18:01 ET by exLibYeah, I got the same thing out of the piece.
The MSM would do similar things during the election by saying the would be "Fair" and point out one lie by Bush and one lie by Kerry in the Presidnetial debates.
The problem was the Kerry "lies" were minor and not important to anything while the Bush "Lies" where usual significant and had to do with promises or policy.
I think there was a expose on how the Preisdent of ABC News programming sent out a memo saying they should do exactly that.
Motherbelt
June 28, 2007 - 17:05 ET by Noel SheppardMB,
As the person who proudly broke the Maher story, I am thankful somebody gets it.
What idiots on the left -- including Maher himself -- didn't get was that I did not accuse Maher of saying he was sorry. I said he was sorry.
In fact, if you read the set-up paragraphs to my article, you will not find a statement that Maher said he was sorry:
See any statement of mine that Maher said he was sorry? None, correct? And, here's the headline: "Bill Maher Sorry the Assassination Attempt on Dick Cheney Failed."
It doesn't say, "Bill Maher Says He's Sorry.." It says "Bill Maher Sorry..."
Unfortunately, since the reading comprehension skills of most liberals including Maher is that of a first-grader -- maybe! -- most folks on the left couldn't understand this distinction.
However, as I explained in a follow-up post after reading Maher's non-denial denial at the Huffington Post the next day, humans express regret in many ways without ever saying they're sorry. And, it was quite clear to me when I watched that program that night, and again in the morning as I began to put the piece together, that Maher was sorry Cheney wasn't assassinated.
Furthermore, as this has suddenly cropped up again, having re-watched the video, and re-read the transcript, I stand behind my headline and my piece: Bill Maher was sorry the assassination attempt on Dick Cheney failed. Period. ns
Correct Noel
June 28, 2007 - 17:32 ET by exLibAlso, as I understand it Ann Coulter and Bill Maher are friends and Bill hasn't rushed out in the 24 hours to deny what Ann said has he?
I mean "Real Time" is on like every day on HBO isn't it, maybe 3-4 times a day if you count all the sub-HBO channels.
Perhaps a list of Maher's worst 100
June 28, 2007 - 12:54 ET by Gary HallTim. Perhaps a list of the 50, or 100, most offensive quotes uttered on the Bill Maher show would serve a purpose in here someplace, including making Coulter look rather tame.
After all, it's not simply Maher who spouts off at the mouth with bigoted and hateful comments about others; it's usually his guests - most all of which, the MSM would hold in much higher esteem than Ann Coulter - who are saying the nastiest of things. Ben Afflect, Baldwin, and many other guests who include journalists, politicians, columnists, anchors, editors, perhaps hedge fund managers, etc.