The Pendragon's Hall

Despite my disagreement with Ann Coulter on some specifics, the Pendragon would like it noted that I still think her a fine writer and a respected colleague in the conservative movement. One of the reasons for this is the absolute infantile hatred she arouses from the Left. People accuse her of being unsensitive and to quote one person "mean." But consider the reactions of the other side. Boy genius Sean Penn admitted recently he has an Ann Coulter doll: "We violate her. There are some cigarette burns on her in some funny places." If a conservative, like Coulter or Rush Limbaugh, had a Bill Clinton or Barbara Streisand doll that they ritually "tortured," the mainstream press (and most people!) would rightly think them off-their-rocker lunatics who should never be consulted about anything ever again. Yet, strangely, Sean Penn still gets interviews that go nationwide and people actually invite him on talk shows to present his views as if they are sane alternatives that should be considered. Coulter and Limbaugh are left out in the cold. The Pendragon can feel Coulter's frustration that, rather than being matched against liberal intellectuals her own size, she is constantly being called in to rebut the ideas of idiots. Yet she manages to do so without resorting to infantile rage tactics like sticking pins in voodoo dolls. Does she sometimes come on very strongly? Oh yes indeed. But it's simply because she has passionate convictions. I heard a pastor say once he'd rather have to put out a fire than raise the dead, and I know what he meant. I'd rather have people who sometimes get a little too worked up, but essentially are conviction-driven, than people who say, with the majority of my student body, "Oh what the heck?" The Pendragon salutes Coulter for her unique contribution to conservative thought in the United States. I think we should keep her: the liberals can have Sean Penn.