Op-odds and sods

So Frank Rich has departed the The New York Times for smaller pastures, leaving one wondering who is to replace him on the hallowed—and increasingly right-leaning—op-ed pages of the Grey Lady. Hm...

Ann Coulter would vote for Hillary Clinton? Makes sense to me

Ann Coulter was on Hannity & The Other Guy last night and said she prefers Hillary Clinton over John McCain. Wait, what?

Yes, you heard it right. Check out the vid, which I was made aware of via DownWithTyranny!, props.


Shocked? Puhleez. Why wouldn't Ann campaign for Hillary? If Clinton's elected, it means at least four more years of food on the table for the silence-challenged Coulter. All the right-wingers want Clinton in office. It's their fervent dream. The conservative Mouth of Sauron, Bill Bennett, practically blew kisses to Hillary after the debate last night (emphasis on race-baiting garbage mine):

It was a -- frankly, it was a -- I think, a little disappointing, from my perspective. I think Barack Obama had to do more than he did.

I thought she won -- I will just be crude and say I thought she won the debate. I thought she was in control. He said -- he used the locution, "we both believe," "we both think" too many times.

I think, if it comes out even, if no one has a clear advantage, it's advantage Hillary Clinton. He's the challenger. He's an athlete. He should know that he had to work a little harder.

He's an athlete that has to work a little harder for some reason. Hm, where have I heard that before?

Anyway, conservatives win three different ways whether or not Hillary is elected in November.

1. She loses to a Republican and the Clintons are never heard from again;

2. She wins, reveals herself as a right-leaning, business-friendly, pro-war "moderate," thus the status quo continues and fatcats stay fat and happy;

3. Least likely scenario: She wins, reveals herself as a hardcore liberal committed to reversing the Bush era, and conservatives spend every hour of their waking life gleefully trying to have her removed from office with lies and dirt and rehashes of Bubba's crimes.

Any of those three are enough to make cro-mag conservatives slobber like Rush Limbaugh at a Golden Corral.

The nightmare for the right is the ascension of Obama. And with the shenanigans Bill Clinton pulled in South Carolina seemingly not having much of an effect overall on Hillary's strategery, certain shameless cretins like the aforementioned Coulter might feel they can get away with even more egregiously racist attacks in November, which may well hasten their demise.

And sadly, inevitably, result in a powerful thirst for vengeance of some kind. That's one of the things the far right really specialize in, revenge... but you knew that, yes?

Human Events Thompson nod a non-event

Just over a week ago, the news that the conservative propaganda clearinghouse known as Human Events heartily endorsed Fred Thompson for President barely made a ripple outside the righty blogosphere.

That's probably because Drop Dead Fred, despite his ample frame, has barely made a ripple himself in the primary pool thus far. He's limping along in 4th or 5th place in Nevada right now, beaten once again by Romney, McCain, even the relentless Ron Paul. He might get a boost in South Carolina, where his demonizing brand of redneck swagger unfortunately seems to resonate. Perhaps that's what Human Events is banking on.

Founded in 1944, the magazine has developed a safe Net haven for a murder of right-wing crows, including Newt Gingrich, Bob Novak, Phyllis Schlafly, Pat Buchanan, and the Vladimir Zhirinovsky of the West, Ann Coulter.

This blog has previously noted Mr. Novak's peculiar obsession with Thompson as far back as May 2007, but it was muddled in August when Novak revealed that he'd actually like to see Ron Paul as president. What gives? Maybe Novak has a nameless minion ghostwriting for him too.

At any rate, Thompson coulda used the Human Events nod before Iowa; he's been beaten like a gong in most of the races thus far. Why a late endorsement for a seeming loser? Something Rovian sinister in the works behind the scenes? Will zombie Ronald Reagan rise from the grave to stump for his political descendant? Are Romney, McCain, etc. all going to commit campaign-dooming gaffes in days to come? Is Thompson going to tear open his shirt at the next debate to reveal bulging pecs and a colorful cape?

Maybe it's simply because, as Jay Cost observed in The Wall Street Journal, "Human Events is no longer the significant intellectual force it was three decades ago."

Ouch.

Further accidental humor was evidenced in a recent email distributed by Human Events that is essentially a fundraising pitch for their man Thompson, penned by his campaign manager, Bill Lacy. At the very top of the email appears, "The following is a paid political advertisement. Please note, it does not necessarily reflect the editorial positions of Human Events."

UPDATE 19 NOV 2008: No SC'boost; it was more like a SC'boom. Time for Uncle Hulka to bail.