Do People Like Coulter Actually Personally BELIEVE What They Say?

[arwalden]

Or are they just the equivalent of circus performers who are feeding the selected audience what that audience most wants to hear?

Do they actually believe that Dubya is intelligent?
Do they actually believe that Democrats are unpatriotic?
Do they actually believe that Muslims should be converted or shot?

Do people like Coulter exist because their followers are already out there? Or do people like Coulter actually CREATE and NURTURE the hatred and vitriol of their followers and fans? She's so over-the-top that I can only rationalize that she makes a conscious effort to be a ridiculously hateful and bigoted as she possibly can be... yet phrase her bigotry and hatred in the most "intellectual" way possible so as to sell books and to appear to be legitimate.

Why anyone gives her airtime or print space is beyond me. She's a circus clown. The political equivalent of a shock-jock. The Howard-Stern of politics.

-- Allen

[ewagner]

1. From all rumors

I think she actually believes what she says.

On your other question, I think the market for vitrol and hate was always there but the more it is published (much less tolerated) the greater the market becomes.

[mreilly]

2. As long as there is money to be made...

... selling hatred, blame and ignorance to idiots, people like Coulter, Hannity, Savage, Limbaugh and rest of the faceless horde will say whatever, whenever, and repeat ad nauseum. It's profitable for them to screech right-wing garbage because dummies out there will listen to them. If it were profitable for them to espouse progressive and compassionate ideas of merit and logic, then they would do that instead (assuming they could learn and recite the appropriate phrases

Make no mistake, these people are circus performers who believe in one thing: getting paid. Ideology is a masquerade behind which lurks a person entertaining an audience of dullards for a paycheck.

[elfwitch]

4. still confused

I am more confused by the masses who believe the crap they put out there. How is it not obvious that they are just making stuff up to get a rise? There are people who take these psychos word at gospel. It is very sad.

[yolatengo]

14. it's all about power

They will use Any Means Necessary to acquire, hold, and keep power.
The entire world system favors them. They must literally believe that
anyone with a different worldview on distribution of wealth and power
are traitors not only to oppose, but destroy. ANYTHING that stands
between them and the perpetuation of their wealth and power ARE
traitors. They also know that if the ordinary man EVER figures this out,
they WILL rise up and destroy the system.

It's cyclical. The 'royalty' screws over the 'serfs' for N years until they
get sick of it and revolt. The years preceeding N are rife with the
royalty pitting the serfs against one another in a futile attempt to
hold what they have. The last of them come to be True Believers,
becoming more and more desperate to block the cycle and hold
on to everything they have. They never read Santayana or don't
care, just like Bullwinkle:

BW: "Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit outta m'hat!"
R: "Bullwinkle, that trick NEVER works!"
BW: "This time for SURE!"
Tiger: "Rooooaaaaaar"
BW: "Wrong hat, I take a 7 1/2..."
R: " And now here's something we hope you'll REALLY like!"

I think Coulter honestly believes that in this day and age, with
the right wing totally on the offensive and totally in control, can
'break the cycle' in this wonderous, god blessed nation so that
The Other will not ruin her. I'm sure the Vanderbilts, Carnegies
and Astors' KIDS also didn't think the 'fun' would EVER end.

Bigby

[beanball]

7. You are so right its the$$$$$$$$$$$$$

those hateful bastards love those dead presidents.

[madrchsod]

yup it`s

- "a face in the crowd" -

[maggrwaggr]

22. Bash Liberals for FUN and PROFIT! Call 1-800-PUSSYDEMS

It's all about the dollars.

[elfwitch]

3. Maybe some of it...

I'd imagine that to some degree they believe what they are saying. I'm sure they believe some of the stuff they are saying more than other stuff. I think that they possesssome pathological need to be seen and heard. I also think that they are deeply troubled. It is the only thing that could explain why they say some of the really hateful and unthinking things they do. Their affliction is such that the are compelled to defend even their most outrageous statements for fear that they might lose the spotlight if found to be phony.

[sangh0]

5. Do The Back Street Boys really like their own music?

Believe it or not, some people actually like the drek they put out

[madrchsod]

6. she believes what she says.

the problem is she is a "one trick pony" and to sell the new book the lies have to bigger and better than the last book. she will keep writing and talking untill she gets so bad ,even hannity no longer will cum over her. she`ll fade away someday and someone else will take her place...

[mrgorth]

8. I don't think so

not all of it. She's probably a normal conservative kook in person. She happens to know how to write and speak to incite and she knows it sells. I think very few of them believe it all.

[info being]

9. If not, they believe *why* they are saying it

Which has the same effect of being convincing.

[William Seger]

25. It's "culture war" propaganda

Conservatives don't use the term "culture war" as an analogy -- it is a war to them. And in a war, you use propaganda to dehumanize and demonize your enemy, because it fires up the troops and simultaneously "justifies" fighting the war in the first place.

But Coulter, Limbaugh, Hannity, Savage, etc., are also classic demagogues: They intentionally use "evil doer" stereotypes -- foreign and domestic! -- to feed upon "conservative" fears, prejudices, and paranoia. They want as many people as possible not just disagreeing with liberals, but literally hating them, and they want people blaming liberals for their own misery and lack of success in life. It's no coincidence that if you take Coulter's spew and substitute "Jew" for "liberal", it reads like NAZI propaganda.

Whether or not those hate mongers believe what they're saying, I think they believe in what they're doing -- which is even more sickening.

[newyawker99]

26. Hi William Seger!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[farmbo]

10. I like Al Franken's theory: It's the equivalent of a porno peepshow.

She gives her readers-- right wing Neanderthals-- enough prurient stimulation to get their (political)rocks off, and keep them coming back for more.

Does Ann Coulter actually believe the tripe she writes?

Does Ron Jeremy really seduce those porn stars with his good looks and powers of persuasion?

Not hardly.

[arwalden]

12. Wonderfully Explained!

Thanks.

-- Allen

[Selwynn]

11. I think they do believe - that's what's so scary

I think its like a kind of mass psycosis, or like brainwashing. If you say something long enough, or reherse talking points in your head for enough time, eventually you can't even remember what's true and isn't.

No, I definately think she believes what she says. But those beliefs are based completely on irrational foundatons rather than any kind of critical reasoning capacity.

I'm glad Al too her to task on that one radio interview that was posted here a while back.

[Clete]

13. If Rush Limbaugh is a litmus test, probably not.

Rush has proved he doesn't live his life like he pontificates on his show. On the other hand I do believe both are very irrationally prejudiced about many things including race, feel the only people who should have a quality of life are themselves and people like themselves and are willing to villify scapegoats to prove their points.

[Stargleamer]

15. Yes, but...

I believe she really is as reactionary as she portrays herself to be. However, since she is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, I also believe she knows that the level of reasoning she demonstrates in her articles and books makes them not worth the paper they are printed on. She knows that what comes to her off the top of her head is on a number of levels deficient.

[forgethell]

16. Convert or shoot

Muslims was probably hyperbole. She probably believes the rest of it, including that we Democrats are traitors. I think.

[DuctapeFatwa]

17. When they say "I'd like to make a deposit, please"

They mean every word.

[ShimokitaJer]

18. She believes in the goal of trashing the Democrats at any cost

Of course she doesn't believe what she writes. In order to get her so-called incriminating "quotes" from liberals to say what she wanted them to say, she had to wade through what they were actually saying. She carefully selected the parts that make liberals look hypocritical and put those together in her book. There is no conceivable way she could believe her own argument because that argument didn't exist until she constructed it, deliberately and deceptively.

Yes, you can say that Coulte, Limbaugh, O'Reilly, etc. are just "playing to the crowd," but that 's not entirely true. They are telling the crowd that all those dirty little thoughts that they've been told are bad, anti-social, racist, sexist, etc. are actually just fine. In fact, they're downright patriotic! The right-wing pundits reassure their listeners that they are not bad people and they are not alone -- they are just under attack by the liberals, who are just as bad, but are hypocritical because they pretend not to be.

It's pandering to the lowest common denominator and fostering the worst human prejudices... and it seems to be quite profitable.

[DieboldMustDie]

19. They're all on drugs!

:evilgrin:

[IranianDemocrat]

20. I reaaly doubt she actually believes all that bullshit.

If she does, then she belongs in a mental institution.

[Cocoa]

21. another of her purposes is to piss us off

In addition to all the things you say she's there for, which I agree with, she's also there to provoke us.

I find myself mentally debilitated when I listen to her or Limbaugh, or whoever. It's important to pay attention to these people up to a point, but past that point it's better to ignore them.

[maggrwaggr]

23. Do WWF wrestlers believe what they say? Of course not.

It's all an act, part of their schtick, keeps them famous, rich, and in the spotlight.

She's the biggest media whore out there.

[arwalden]

24. I Almost Used A WWF Comparison In My Original Message...

... but I edited it out because some folks really take their WWF seriously. --- I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees a similarity with the over-the-top antics and hyperbole.

-- Allen

[David Zephyr]

27. She Believes in Making Herself A Lot of Money

That's all.

[Silverhair]

28. Yes.

I am convinced that she actually believes what she says. This does NOT means that I agree with her, only that I think she agrees with herself.