Coulter is due to speak at Berkeley on April 27th. The administration cancelled the speech amid threats of violence, but then re-invited her to speak on May 2nd. But Coulter says she is coming to Berkeley on Thursday.
In an interview with The Huffington Post following a speech in Omaha, Nebraska last Thursday, the Vermont socialist said:
Obviously Ann Coulter’s outrageous ― to my mind, off the wall. But you know, people have a right to give their two cents-worth, give a speech, without fear of violence and intimidation.
But Sanders wasn't done there:
To me, it’s a sign of intellectual weakness. If you can’t ask Ann Coulter in a polite way questions which expose the weakness of her arguments, if all you can do is boo, or shut her down, or prevent her from coming, what does that tell the world?
What are you afraid of ― her ideas? Ask her the hard questions. Confront her intellectually. Booing people down, or intimidating people, or shutting down events, I don’t think that that works in any way.
Minnesota Congressman & DNC Deputy Chair Keith Ellison echoed Sanders' sentiments:
Absolutely protest these people you don’t like, absolutely write against them, denounce them,” the deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee advised progressives angry at right-wing speakers. “But the solution to bad speech is good speech, the solution to bad speech is more speech. Once you start saying, ‘You can’t talk,’ then whoever’s in power gets to impose that on whoever’s not in power and that’s not good.
This was exactly my approach when I went to hear public speakers whose views I did not share. I asked them questions - including Ann Coulter. I saw her speak at Boston College in December 2004, asked her a question & the world did not end.
What I wonder is if Sanders and Ellison will get blowback for their defense of Coulter's right to speak. Will they have to apologize like Martin O'Malley did after he had the gumption to say "All Lives Matter?"
If Sanders and Ellison apologize or walk back their comments then their words in defense of freedom of speech will ring hollow. But if they stand their ground then it demonstrates there is hope for The Left. It won't stop them from imposing speech codes on college campuses, but it might give some campus activists pause before rejecting the principle of freedom of speech altogether.
Minnesota Congressman & DNC Deputy Chair Keith Ellison echoed Sanders' sentiments:
Absolutely protest these people you don’t like, absolutely write against them, denounce them,” the deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee advised progressives angry at right-wing speakers. “But the solution to bad speech is good speech, the solution to bad speech is more speech. Once you start saying, ‘You can’t talk,’ then whoever’s in power gets to impose that on whoever’s not in power and that’s not good.
This was exactly my approach when I went to hear public speakers whose views I did not share. I asked them questions - including Ann Coulter. I saw her speak at Boston College in December 2004, asked her a question & the world did not end.
What I wonder is if Sanders and Ellison will get blowback for their defense of Coulter's right to speak. Will they have to apologize like Martin O'Malley did after he had the gumption to say "All Lives Matter?"
If Sanders and Ellison apologize or walk back their comments then their words in defense of freedom of speech will ring hollow. But if they stand their ground then it demonstrates there is hope for The Left. It won't stop them from imposing speech codes on college campuses, but it might give some campus activists pause before rejecting the principle of freedom of speech altogether.
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