The mean girls

I was thinking along similar lines the other day, but was too lazy to blog about it. Damn you, Somerby!

Gore and Edwards are big girlie-men! Dowd delivers this message to the New York Times crowd—and Coulter sends the message to losers.

Example: On Sunday morning’s Washington Journal, C-SPAN devoted its first forty-five minutes to a discussion of Coulter’s remark. And a string of Coulter-defenders called in to explain away her conduct. This gave us a chance to understand the role Coulter plays in our world. (Eventually, the clip will be posted here.)

The “explanations” offered by Coulter’s fans simply beggar description. About 35 minutes in, a broken soul from Vermont topped things off; he explained that his dictionary has two definitions of “f*aggot,” and until someone asks Coulter which one she meant, it’s unfair to criticize her comment. (And yes, he actually quoted the definition in which a “faggot” is a bundle of sticks.) Host Steve Scully isn’t allowed to comment, but he questioned the caller as to which definition he thought Coulter had meant. But the caller kept explaining away Coulter’s comment. There was no sign, of any kind, that his call was some sort of a put-on

These calls help us grasp a key point—one that’s almost never discussed. Many voters are breath-takingly stupid, and their tribalism will take them to the ends of the earth. These are the people the GOP has learned to address and marshal through Coulter (and through others like her). Speaking in her famous direct way, she tells these people that Dem males are just big girlie-men (“f*ggots”). Speaking in more mellifluous tones, Dowd sends this message to others.

Repeat: Dowd and Coulter have the same message. They just send it to two different groups.