Don’t Chide Her, Fire Her

Posted on February 18, 2004 in Journalists & Pundits

Voice for Change tells me that I should write a nasty letter to Ann Coulter because she disparages the war record of Max Cleland who has committed the heinous act of criticizing her idol, George W. Bush. This extract — riddled as always with Coulteresque falsehood — doesn’t deserve a letter to Coulter. It calls for a letter to the syndicate and the newspaper which run her column. It calls for nothing less than cancellation of subscriptions, boycotting of advertisers until her columns no longer appear and she is a pariah on the pundit scene:

“Cleland lost three limbs in an accident during a routine non-combat mission where he was about to drink beer with friends. He saw a grenade on the ground and picked it up. He could have done that at Fort Dix. In fact, Cleland could have dropped a grenade on his foot as a National Guardsman – or what Cleland sneeringly calls ‘weekend warriors.’ Luckily, for Cleland’s political career and current pomposity about Bush, he happened to do it while in Vietnam.”

Cleland’s Silver Star commendation mentions that he lost his three limbs when he jumped out of a helicopter to give first aid to wounded comrades during the seige of Khe Sanh. He did pick up a live grenade, but not because he was drunk, but because he thought he’d dropped it in the jump. That miscalculation in the heat of battle is what cost him his limbs. He became a triple amputee because while going to rescue other servicemen, he made a mistake. His Silver Star citation says that while under:

heavy enemy rocket and mortar attack Captain Cleland, disregarding his own safety, exposed himself to the rocket barrage as he left his covered position to administer first aid to his wounded comrades. He then assisted in moving the injured personnel tob covered positions.

Whatever you think of the war in Vietnam, these things are apparent:

• Max Cleland did not shirk his duty. He followed his conscience.
  
• He put himself in the line of fire and, in the confusion of a heavy rocket and mortal attack became severely disabled.
  
• Ann Coulter is so embarassed by Bush and Cheney’s service records that she has resorted to the new low of attacking those who actually did something.

I am not suggesting that this is a course of logic, but add up these facts and I think we can safely conclude that Ann Coulter’s calumnies represents a serious threat to the Truth. She should be out of a job for this.

If you want to demand that she apologize, click here.