IS COULTER A SATIRIST? Reader John Salmon asks a question:
I wonder if it makes sense to consider Ann Coulter a highly partisan political commentator, as your rating system suggests. Yes, she certainly has the partisanship, but is she doing commentary, or satire? It seems to me that she is writing very effective satiric polemics about the Democrats, rather than trying to seriously rebut their views, or endorse Republicans'.
satire: Irony, sarcasm, or caustic wit used to attack or expose folly, vice, or stupidity.
It seems to me that satire is just a technique, one of many, which may be chosen by political pundits to make political arguments. Partisanship is suggested when those political arguments tend to line up exclusively in favor of one party and/or against the other. So if Ann Coulter uses satire to attack only Democrats, doesn't that mean that she is a partisan political commentator?
I'm definitely not qualified to make literary judgements, but Lying in Ponds' favorite rhetorician, Andrew Cline of Rhetorica, doesn't think Ms. Coulter is a satirist. Poking around on her website, you can find some things which suggest that her intent is serious. Bill Maher says : " Even when she's saying something that I think is outrageous, it's what she really believes and she doesn't back off of it." From the book jacket of her book Slander: "With incisive reasoning and meticulous research, Ann Coulter examines the events and personalities that have shaped modern political discourse". My conclusion is that Ms. Coulter is nothing like a Mark Twain or Will Rogers -- her humor is used as a partisan weapon.
| Author/ Affiliation |
Title/ Date |
words | PI | Partisan References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Scheer Creators Syndicate |
What did the president know, and when did he know it? 18 June 2003 |
947 | 57 | 3R+: Nixon White House, John Dean, the president 16R-: Richard Nixon, President Bush, congressional Republicans, White House, Bush, Bush administration, Bush administration, administration, White House, White House, Vice President Dick Cheney, administration, congressional Republicans, Republicans, Bush, The president 1D=, 3R= |
| David S. Broder Washington Post |
Tipping the Republicans' Hand? 18 June 2003 |
964 | 28 | 3D+: Democrats, Democrats, Democratic 2D-: Al Gore, Democrats 13R+: Bush administration, president, Republican, Norquist, Republicans, Republican, Bush, Republican, Bush administration, Bush, Bush, Republicans, Republicans 1R-: Grover G. Norquist 1D=, 19R= |
| Maureen Dowd New York Times |
Bushworld and Hillaryland 18 June 2003 |
957 | 12 | 4D+: Hillary Rodham Clinton, Hillary, The Clintons, Hillary 7D-: Hillary, White House, president, Hillary, Democratic, the Clintons, Clinton 1R+: Bushies 9R-: White House, George W. Bush, White House, president, W. , Republicans, Bushies, Bushies, Bush 9D=, 10R= |
| Linda Chavez Creators Syndicate |
I don't hate Hillary 18 June 2003 |
852 | 12 | 5D+: Bill Clinton, Hillary, Hillary, Hillary, Hillary Clinton 2D-: Hillary, White House 16D=, 2R= |
| Anne Applebaum Inactive |
Just Another One-Horse Town 18 June 2003 |
1029 | 0 | 7D=, 11R= |
| Robert J. Samuelson Washington Post |
Affirmative Ambiguity 18 June 2003 |
1019 | 0 | |
| Collin Levey WSJ OpinionJournal |
The Media Lynch Mob 18 June 2003 |
936 | 0 | |
| Thomas L. Friedman Inactive |
Too Soon to Tell 18 June 2003 |
891 | 0 | 1D=, 4R= |
| Thomas Sowell Creators Syndicate |
The legacy of Eric Hoffer 18 June 2003 |
753 | 0 | |
| Walter Williams Creators Syndicate |
Protecting the environment 18 June 2003 |
685 | 0 |