Review: Ann Coulter's Slander

by Tyler Carey

One has to throw their own political beliefs (whether conservative or liberal) out the window as they open this text. It seems that Coulter could care less whether you voted for Bush or Gore (although she does provide several amusing pages of anecdotes that she claims prove the former's brains and disprove the latter's). She seems more interested in showing how statistics and hearsay can be and have been bent to prove any arguments the 'liberal' media feel are worth proving, while casting out any similarly awkward stories that would paint the opposition (the Right, in Coulter's beliefs) in a better light. That perhaps is the one logical leap that some people will have to make to appreciate the book - that the mainstream American media is fairly liberal, and is embarrassed by its conservative components. "What about the patently conservative railroading of Wen Ho Lee?" you might ask. Well, read on, and you'll realize that for every Wen Ho Lee who has been harassed by the media, there are a dozen more figures from the right who have been utterly misrepresented. At least according to Coulter... It will be fascinating when a review of her book finally applies her own methods to her own research. Since she seems to primarily rely on Lexis-Nexis stats, it shouldn't be too hard to show her up.

Slander reads like a freshman college textbook on critical analysis. Hopefully, it will end up in a few classrooms, as the contemporary examples given by Ms. Coulter (including references to the 2000 election and the media interpretation of 9/11) are certainly much more accessible than many of the historically lost references and potentialities I can hazily recall from Foucault and Saussure. The two examples that clearly illustrate Ms. Coulter's approach and content are as follows. Firstly, she tackles the belief that the Christian Right is a large almost Masonic group that pulls the strings of much of the media and culture outside of cosmopolitan America. By examining campaign contributions from groups that are classified as religious right organizations, and then contrasting their sums with those issued by large companies and unions ('big business' for those of you tracking the conspiracy theory associated groups), Coulter destroys the argument that the Christian Right controls the Republican party (at least fiscally...). The Christian Coalition's donation to one particular election was only $250,000, contrasted with a donation of over $7 Million from a single (left-leaning, she alleges) trial lawyer's association. The second most telling anecdote dealt with the average donation of the everyman to the two big parties. The Republicans (bastion of the really rich and really poor, by many peoples' standards) subsist on an average donation of $50 from their members. The Democrats? Well, they refuse to say, despite frequent prodding. Sure, maybe the hefty donations made by the Democrats' friends in Hollywood (the Spielbergs, Streisands and so forth) may have thrown off the average, but wouldn't the Christian Coalition's hearty contribution have swayed the Republican average? Oh, that's right - they only gave $250,000.

Each chapter has an amusing anecdote placed smack dab in the middle. My personal favorite was a transcript from Fox News Channel's "Hannity and Colmes", illustrating the knee-jerk beliefs (on both sides of the fence) that have replaced well-thought arguments for many people. Alan Colmes, the liberal co-host, for those of you who do not watch Fox networks because they only have conservatives on, was to discuss the alleged overwhelming conservative bias in the media with a liberal protestor on an April 2001 broadcast. He admittedly was fairly gentle with her despite what came out during the debate. Only a few moments in to the conversation, the protestor owned up to having never watched Fox News Channel, despite the fact that they are one of the primary targets of her poorly conceived watchdog group. Adding insult to injury, the wannabe scion of journalism counters Colmes' disappointment in her arguments by citing the case of John Ellis - a cousin of George W. Bush who works for Fox News and was working the night of the 2000 election, leading some to spuriously suggest that he threw the election in Florida after the polls were closed. Colmes chewed up the protestor in a show of logic over illogic that would charm anybody who's ever been strong-armed by a pencil-necked geek with a clipboard and petition in the park.

This book will not convert you from a Democrat to a Republican. Coulter approaches mainly statistics, lack of coverage and misquotations that make the Republicans look worse than they actually are. In fact, her far too candid coverage of the Republican Party's stance on abortion may steel your liberal leanings even further. But, this is an important book to read, if only to re-familiarize yourself with critical thinking, and to also reestablish what it is you thought you knew. The subtitle to the book, "Liberal Lies about the American Right", will probably drive off the very people who need to read this book. Folks like many of us hoboes who automatically believe that Republicans are evil rich hatemongers, and that Democrats are the proud upholders of the working class, environmentalists and everybody outside the Bible Belt. Whether any of that is true remains to be seen. Ann Coulter's book helps to remedy some of the confusion, and prepare you to deal with whatever's yet to come.

In closing, no I didn't come away believing that the 'liberal media' had whitewashed the fine upstanding citizens of the Christian Right (which Coulter still believes do not exist). But, I think it's important to hear the discourse of a conservative individual, if all you're used to is The Nation and NBC. You very well may end up laughing at most of her arguments, even more than you laugh at the admittedly amusing anecdotes. That said, I think her points that unbiased journalism is shot, and that America goes a lot deeper than a two party system are more than valid. Perhaps you should bookend this one with Michael Moore's Stupid White Men for a pundit-fest.

-Tyler Carey, reader of The Nation, The National Review and the thankfully unbiased Action Comics - starring Superman.