This book is supposed to be a compendium of the many ways liberals slander conservatives. But to me it appeared to be a long list of slanderous statements to be applied to anyone having the temerity of calling himself a liberal.
Coulter says liberals cannot reason, which is why they resort to slander. After working my way through this book I could not find any example of good reasoning. Most of her "reasoning" goes something like this:
So-and-so is rich
So-and-so is a liberal
Therefore, all liberals are rich
Substitute any of the following for "is rich" and you will get the tone of a good portion of the book:
Is a bigot
Is a liar
Is a snob
Hates America
Hates religion
Is against free speech
Does not read books
Controls the media
Here are a few unbelievable quotes that demonstrate better than I can say, Coulter's hatred of liberals:
"Liberals hate America, they hate 'flag wavers,' they hate abortion opponents, they hate all religions except for Islam (post 9/11). Even Islamic terrorists don't hate America like liberals do. They don't have the energy. If they had that much energy, they'd have indoor plumbing by now."
Evidently it is Coulter that is filled with hate.
"The Klan sees the world in terms of race and ethnicity. So do liberals! Indeed, liberals and white supremacists are the only people left in America who are neurotically obsessed with race. Conservatives champion a color-blind society. They don't even get to the first step with racists."
You just read an example of Coulter's fine reasoning.
"That's the whole point of being a liberal: to feel superior to people with less money."
This is obvious since all liberals are rich snobs. Poor people cannot be liberal. See?
With reference to the Bush vs. Gore case, Coulter says:
"The Supreme Court, normally revered by the left for its capacity to bypass democracy, had thwarted the will of the determined liberal press."
Not only does she swing at liberals, she beats up the Supreme Court, though the majority of its justices are conservatives.
One more outrageous quote:
"Everyone knows that it's an insult to be called a 'liberal,' widely understood to connote a dastardly individual."
There is so much more. But this last quote neatly summarizes her attitude, her "reasoning," and why she wrote this book. She is trying to dehumanize liberals.
Though she trashes liberals throughout the book, nowhere does she define a liberal. From her examples - she includes the New York Time, practically every newsmagazine, the New Republic and even Andrew Sullivan and Senator McCain - it appears that a liberal is anyone to the left of Coulter. From her viewpoint, the country is deluged with liberals.
I am a liberal. None of the adjectives Coulter hurls at me are true. I can say the same for all the liberals I know. The title of the book is highly appropriate: It slanders every liberal.
