Ann Coulter
The “Mugged” Interview
with Kam Williams
Beware the Coultergeist!
Born in New York City on December 9, 1961, arch-conservative Ann
Coulter is the author of eight New York Times bestsellers and of a
nationally-syndicated column for Universal Press Syndicate. She also
serves as the legal correspondent for Human Events and is a frequent
guest on such TV shows as The Today Show, Good Morning America, The
Early Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Sean Hannity, The O'Reilly
Factor, The Glen Beck Show and HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher.
The ever-controversial, flame-throwing firebrand has been on the
cover of Time Magazine and profiled in publications like TV Guide, the
Guardian, the New York Observer, National Journal, Harper's Bazaar, and
Elle Magazine, too. In 2001, she was named one of the top 100 Public
Intellectuals by federal judge Richard Posner.
A Connecticut native, Coulter graduated with honors from Cornell
University and received her J.D. from University of Michigan Law School,
where she was an editor of The Michigan Law Review. Here, she talks
about her ninth book, Mugged: Racial Demagoguery from the Seventies to
Obama.
Kam
Williams: Hi Ann, thanks for the interview.
Ann Coulter:
Thank you, Kam.
KW:
I’m a fellow Cornellian, but I went there a decade ahead of you.
AC:
Wow! It was such a beautiful campus. But were you there during all the turmoil?
KW:
No, I arrived the year after the famous, black student takeover with guns that
made national news. But while I was there, we did have plenty of strikes,
takeovers and demonstrations about everything from Apartheid to the War in Vietnam. There
was so much chaos on campus it seemed like finals were cancelled every spring
semester.
AC:
Didn’t you people ever learn anything? [Laughs]
KW:
Rather than reminisce, let me get right to the questions, since my readers sent
in more than I could ever get to. Troy Johnson was upset by a quote from your
book where you counter Michael Moore’s Stupid White Men by asking: “Shall we
compare SAT scores, cultural contributions and inventions?” Troy
wonders whether you’re aware of all the cultural contributions that can be
traced back to Africa, including Christianity?
And are you aware that blacks tend to outperform whites from similar
socioeconomic backgrounds on standardized tests?
AC:
Yes, in fact, in an early chapter of Mugged, I rely heavily on Thomas Sowell’s
magnificent book, Black Rednecks, White Liberals. He points out that blacks in
the North perform better, academically, than whites in the South where they did
not have much of an emphasis on learning. But please note that I’m not the one
making that argument in that section about Michael Moore. And by the way, I’m
not a man. White men have done a lot. It’s silly to write a book titled, Stupid
White Men.
KW:
Filmmaker Kevin Williams, director of Fear of a Black
Republican asks: Why do you think the Republican Party doesn't reach out more
to African-Americans on its own terms today? Have you seen the
documentary?
AC:
No, but I’ve heard of it.
KW:
It’s excellent. You figure prominently in it. So does Michael Steele. Kevin says he’d like to get you a
copy.
AC:
Oh, I would love that, and I love Michael Steele.
KW:
Kevin’s basic thesis is that the Republican Party is hurting itself by failing to
court the black vote.
AC:
Oh, I don’t believe that’s true at all. Republicans have reached out so much to
black Republicans because it’s part of our tradition. Blacks have been in this
nation longer than most other Americans with the possible exception of WASPs.
The first blacks in Congress and the first black Governor were all Republicans.
It was Republicans who fought the Civil War over slavery and who introduced the
Civil Rights legislation over the next hundred years. So, suggestions to the
contrary drive Republicans like me crazy.
KW:
Marcia Evans says she agrees with your recent comment that
the U.S.
is only indebted to African-Americans. What prompted that statement?
AC:
I was being a little cross with a right-wing black friend for throwing in the
Hispanics and the Asians into a Jesse Jackson-type Rainbow Coalition. No! No!
Blacks have a special history, since they were enslaved and were here as early
as the first Americans. I hate to sound like a liberal but these are facts.
That makes blacks a special group and I really don’t appreciate all these
hangers on coming along. Yes, of course, black Americans are a special group,
and I’m disappointed that they’re not Republicans, given our traditions. We’re
not getting much love in return, despite our efforts.
KW:
Why do you think that’s the case?
AC:
Part of the reason is that it’s really hard to be a black Republican. I see
what they go through. It’s a good little trick the entire mainstream media has
pulled by describing Republicans as “Racist! Racist! Racist!” and then turning
around and laughing at us for not having more blacks in our party. That’s why I
hope a lot of black people will read my book because I think it will change minds.
KW:
One discussion I found interesting in Mugged was where you point out that Strom
Thurmond was the only segregationist U.S. Senator to change his affiliation
from Democratic to Republican. I would’ve guessed that there had been a
wholesale flight of Southern conservatives to the Republican Party.
AC:
Thurmond’s the only segregationist anyone can name. Meanwhile, the Democratic
Party had former Klansmen, members of a terrorist group that was lynching and
murdering black people. That was an outgrowth of the Democratic Party. FDR put
a Klansman [Hugo Black] on the Supreme Court, and Democrat in good standing Bob
Byrd [U.S. Senator Robert Byrd] was a recruiter for the Klan.
KW:
Nonetheless, I still have the sense that most of the Southerners who would’ve
been segregationists in the Fifties and Sixties are now in the Republican camp.
AC:
No, that’s only because liberals say this over and over and over again to hide
the actual history, which is why I go through the specifics on the big
segregationists in the United States Senate, the ones who signed the Southern
Manifesto and the ones who voted against the 1964 Civil Rights Act. There’s a
panoply of issues to consider. These were aggressively-liberal Democrats who loooooooved big
government when it came to The New Deal and Great Society programs. The first
time they objected to the Federal government doing something was when it came
to civil rights legislation. This is in stark contrast to the very few
Republicans who voted against the ’64 Civil Rights Act.
KW:
Harriet Pakula Teweles asks: What do you hope will be people's reaction to being
"Mugged" by you?
AC:
[LOL] I like that! Two reactions. The main point is: don’t make the mistake, America, of
voting for Barack Obama who, by the way, does not come out of the American
black experience and everything white Americans feel guilty about. He’s a
Hawaiian born in 1961. Weirdly enough, the best thing that ever happened to
black people in the last twenty or thirty years was the O.J. verdict because it
shut down the white guilt bank. And white guilt has never led to anything good.
It’s brought us spiraling crime rates, mostly with black victims, and a
permanent underclass living in public housing projects. For years, liberals
cried that “law and order” and “welfare reform” were racist code words. Yet,
when Republicans were finally able to push through tough policies on crime and
welfare which they’d supported for decades, they were magnificent successes for
the entire country, but especially for black people. Release us, and great
things will happen!
KW:
Yale grad Tommy Russell asks: Are you familiar with Dr. Nina
Jablonski and her important work that helps debunk the myth of race? Do you
feel it's important to get past the notion of race as something that separates
us, and use our understanding of its at times painful history to move forward
as a country, civilization and world?
AC:
I have not heard of her work, and I have not thought about the issue in those
terms, but I would say “Yes!” based on the way it was phrased in the question.
KW:
Tommy also asks: As a former smoker, do you feel a special
kinship with President Obama?
AC:
[LOL] Yes, though I think he’s a little more uptight than most smokers. We’re
usually pretty relaxed.
KW:
Why do you make the point in the book that he might have slave trader
ancestors?
AC:
Because of all our presidents, Obama is the one most likely to be descended
from a slave trader, since Kenya
had a major slave-trading port, and the Muslims were heavily involved in the
slave trade. Right before The Civil War, only 8% of white people owned slaves.
Some plantations would have hundreds and hundreds of slaves, but the vast
majority of whites didn’t have any.
KW:
Larry Greenberg says: When
Alan Ball launched the HBO-series True Blood with his pilot "Strange
Love" episode, he mentioned right in the script that he wanted the
conservative commentator on the show to be as much like Ann Coulter as
possible. How did you feel about that and about how you are portrayed,
vis-a-vis vampires coming out of the coffin?
AC: I had no idea.
I’m not familiar with show. As soon as the subject moves to TV shows and
movies, I’m a total failure. And I‘d been paying for all those premium channels
for years, but recently cancelled them, since I never watched any of those
networks. Now, I may have to get them back. As far as True Blood, I haven’t
seen my portrayals, but I could guess that I probably wouldn’t like ‘em.
KW:
Richie the intern asks: What
did you think of how the cartoon The Boondocks depicted you?
AC:
I’ve at least heard of The Boondocks. But again, I have no idea how that was
done. I wouldn’t know all that I do about history, if I spent my time watching
cartoons and other TV shows. [Chuckles]
KW:
Richie was also wondering what Christian
denomination you are affiliated with.
AC:
I don’t really talk about it much, but I’m a Presbyterian.
KW:
Ilene Proctor says: Beware the Coultergeist! She asks: Why
did you recently say that civil rights should only be limited to
African-Americans?
AC:
Because, historically, that’s what civil rights were. The Democrats pretended
to care about black people for about five minutes to help their electoral
process, and then civil rights suddenly became abortion on demand, gay
marriage, rights for the homeless, etcetera. Frankly, I’d be a little ticked
off if I were black that, after the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow, everybody
else wants to get to the head of the parade. Well, no! Listen, I like white
women. I am a white woman. But we didn’t go through slavery and Jim Crow. Knock
it off with this stuff!
KW:
What inspired you to write this book?
AC:
I was morose that the Era of Obama has returned us to a period where everything
is racist, everyone is walking on eggshells, and you get the moral preening from
white liberals who don’t actually even know any black people. But, oh, do they
love to get on their high horses and accuse Republicans of being racist for
opposing very liberal government policies and a very liberal Democratic
president. It’s an extension of the civil rights label being slapped on gay
marriage and abortion. Allow me to be bi-partisan for a moment, and love this
moment because it won’t last long. In my last chapter, among the public
officials I mention who I think are spectacular and unaided by white guilt is
the Democratic Mayor Cory Booker of Newark.
He was Mau-Maued for not being black enough. He’s been like Giuliani in Newark. He’s got to become
a Republican.
KW: Kate Newell asks: Would you consider debating Stephen Colbert ala the upcoming face-off between John Stewart and Bill O'Reilly? What do you think of the use of satire in getting your views across?
AC: Obviously, I’m a fan of satire. I’d debate anyone, but it would have to be the actual person. That would be my only hesitation about debating Colbert. If he were playing a character, it wouldn’t really work. But I’d pretty much debate anybody. I prefer to debate smart liberals. I’m not saying this about Stephen Colbert but, unfortunately, the most famous liberals generally aren’t the smartest ones. I have a list of the smarter liberals I recommend.
KW:
Fellow attorney, fellow
Cornellian and, in his opinion, fellow fiction writer Peter Brav says: Where
do I start? I worked really hard to
come up with a question for you, telling myself that your act is just an act,
that you might actually help my wheelchair-bound mother across the street and
not push her into traffic to help reduce the Medicare deficit, because I don't
want to risk Kam’s not making it onto your website's short list of seven
"Interviewers Who Are Allowed to Interview Ann Again.” But I just
couldn't.
AC: [LOL] Read the book, Peter!
You’ll come up with a lot of questions. I don’t know why liberals find it
comforting to say this is an act. If you like saying that, okay. But it’s an
act that apparently you can’t respond to, and an act that is intellectual and
well thought out enough that you don’t have a response to, otherwise you
would.
KW: Peter’s
wife, Professor Janet Brav says: Since
things are not going as well as you might have hoped for Mitt Romney, with
the benefit of hindsight, whom would you have preferred to head the Republican
ticket this year?
AC: No, it’s still Romney. And I
don’t think things are going that badly. I believe the media’s lying. I think
it’s part of their attempted suppression of the Republican vote to discourage
them by announcing that the campaign is over.
KW: Marcia
Evans also asks: What has been your personal relationship with blacks that
qualifies you to write this book about blacks?
AC: Well, Marcia, this is why you
should read the book. It is not about black people. It is about white liberals
using race and lying about race to wreck the country. By the way, there are
many black heroes in this book that you’ve never heard of before, and it drives
me crazy that there aren’t any movies made about them.
KW: Marcia
asks: How do you feel about reparations?
AC: I’m against reparations. At
this point, blacks should just be handing money to themselves. But I am an
enthusiastic supporter of Professor Henry Louis Gates‘ project to get black
people admitted to the Daughters of the American Revolution, of which I am a
member. He’s done some amazing things with DNA testing and tracing ancestry.
KW: Marcia
asks: How do you feel about Bob Dylan’s recent statement that “America
was founded on the backs of slaves" and that the country would be much
further along if slavery had been ended peacefully.
AC: That’s an interesting point.
I was unaware that he’d said that. I’m not sure I disagree with his statement
but, unfortunately, it wasn’t going to end peacefully. It wasn’t going to
happen. You could not get Democrats to stop holding slaves, and America
had waited long enough. It was right there in The Declaration of Independence that the slaves
would be freed. My favorite Founding Fathers, Christians like John Adams, were
absolutely appalled by slavery, and did not own slaves. I think we’re going to
have to call on God’s grace not only for slavery, but for what we’re doing now
with abortions.
KW:
You dedicated your book to “the freest black man in America.”
AC: Yes!
KW:
Who is it?
AC: It’s a Cracker Jack surprise
to trick everybody into reading my book.
KW:
Let me guess. Is it comedian Jimmy “.J’J.” Walker? Many of my readers mentioned rumors
about the two of you being romantically linked.
AC: [LOL] Jimmy started that
rumor. The little sneak.
KW:
Is there any question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone would?
AC: Probably, although we got to
a lot of good ones on this book.
KW: The Tasha Smith question: Are you
ever afraid?
AC: I’m a little afraid right
now, but I think I’ll be calm by November 7th.
KW: Can you give me a good question I
could call the Ann Coulter question when I interview other celebrities?
AC: Oh, that’s a good question.
The only question I’d be interested in is what books they’ve read recently,
which is part of my campaign to promote reading.
KW: It’s
already the bookworm Troy Johnson question: What was the last book you read?
AC: Mugged.
KW: When you look in the mirror, what
do you see?
AC: If I’ve just had my makeup
done for Fox, I see the hottest chick. [LOL]
KW: If
you could have one wish instantly granted, what would that be for?
AC: Mitt Romney as president, or
for lots of people to read my book. One of the two.
KW:
What is it like to be such a controversial figure? There are so many things
you’ve said that have touched a nerve, like when you said Jews needed to be
corrected.
AC: “Perfected.” You, as a fellow
Cornell grad and a fellow Christian, which is another part of your tradition,
should know that “perfected” means “completed.” The Old Testament calls for a
Messiah. You turn the page to the New Testament, and there He is. There was
nothing insulting about it. And who really cares? It was just Donny Deutsch who
wanted press for his TV show. He screamed anti-Semitism, and I was going on
vacation and didn’t really feel the need to respond to point out how the
English language works. And boy they say Jews are smart.
KW:
But that’s not the only statement that’s landed you in hot water.
AC: Usually, they’re my greatest
hits and they make me happy. I give a lot of college speeches, and usually the
Young Spartacus League or the Democrats will put up posters on campus with all
the quotes they consider outrageous. But I think they’re my best quotes. [LOL]
KW:
Well, thanks for the time, Ann. I hope I get added to that short list of
reporters you’ll interview with again.
AC: Yes, I think you will, Kam.
This has been a fun interview.
