The Politics of Self-Destruction

[Update:  The politcs of self-destruction meets the politics of personal destruction.  I’d be interested in knowing how many of those who  denounced Ann Coulter’s homophobic  epithet are  now  reveling  in this story out of partisan schadenfreude.    Unless Corporal Sanchez has crusaded against homosexuality and pornography while concealing his own past, I can’t think of anything other than the fact of his past homosexual behavior to make this a legitimate story.  I’ll admit, however, that there’s certainly irony in the picture of Sanchez and Coulter posing together.  I wonder if  it was taken after Coulter’s speech.]

*   Part 1:    Can Hillary Clinton win?  Whenever she tries to molt her stiff, crinkly, translucent exoskeleton, she only ends up sounding false, hollow, and condescending.  I admit that other peoples’ accents and dialects can be highly contagious to me, but you absolutely have to listen to Ms. Clinton on this audio to believe how  uncommon her “common touch” really is.  I give African-American voters  — and most others —  credit for being able to see through this.  I don’t think Ms. Clinton does.  And here is where I think she runs into a high wall of negatives she’ll be hard pressed to overcome.  Generally, I’m undecided on next year’s election, but Mrs. Clinton is  one of the  exceptions.

*   Part 2:   After CPAC’s  experience with Ann Coulter at last year’s convention, you have to wonder why  it invited her back.  I confess that I’ve never been a Coulter fan, and I frequently wonder exactly what Ms. Coulter’s histrionics really bring to her side of the debate, though they’re certainly a gift to her opponents.  Not that CPAC cares much what I think, since the candidate toward whom I’m  presently leaning at this early date  didn’t speak at their convention,  but  sign me up  for booing Ms. Coulter off of the national stage.  The freedom to say dumb things  does not convey a privilege  to have them broadcast.  Even had Ms. Coulter been trying to debate homosexuality as a social issue, epithets would have been inconsistent with deep-red conservatives’ “hate the sin, love the sinner” mantra, and  repellent to more liberatarian voters (me among them) who don’t see the need for government to  regulate private behavior among consenting adults.  Ms. Coulter  has become  an anchor.  Conservatives would be wise to cut the chain and let her fall to the abyss, where she can  rest beside Pat Buchanan.