"Student Finds Ann Coulter Inspiring"
Powerlineblog gives us the latest news on conservatism's newest sweetheart, Katie Kieffer, the college senior who brought Ann Coulter to St. Thomas College (in that Katie submitted a request to the college, and that allowed the Young America Foundation to dispatch Ann to the school, much like how the Wicked Witch sent out flying monkeys).
Today the St. Paul Pioneer Press gets around to covering the story of the estimable St. Thomas senior Ms. Katie Kieffer, her founding of the St. Thomas Standard, and her work in bringing Ann Coulter to speak at St. Thomas. Pioneer Press reporter Rob Hubbard interviewed Ms. Kieffer and lets her speak in her own words in "Student finds Coulter inspiring."[...]We've heard from several readers who have found Ms. Kieffer herself an inspiration, and they won't be disappointed by the interview.
Yes, they won't be disappointed, in that they probably knew that Ms. Kieffer, a product of the right wing foundations designed to turn out college conservatives, isn't really what you'd call a deep thinker.
But let's learn more about Katie from the St. Paul Press article.
Well, she will graduate this month with a degree in Catholic Studies and philosophy (so, it's a good thing that she's been so active with the College Republicans and the YAF, because it might mean the difference between a job at the Heritage Foundation and starvation).
And she grew up in a very political family. ("I grew up in a very political family, listening to talk radio all the time. Mostly KSTP, Rush Limbaugh, Jason Lewis.") That probably explains why Ms. Kieffer thinks that Ann is a "brilliant woman" -- because if you grow up listening to talk radio all the time, what basis of comparison do you have?
But this was my favorite portion of the piece:
And I've heard so much positive feedback. Ann is bold and sassy, and to have expected her to express her opinions in a way that was not witty or bold would be to have expected her to act differently than who she was. But she was very professional, forthright and politically correct throughout her entire speech. She answered all the questions that were presented to her and had to deal with a lot of haggling from the audience. I was very disappointed in a small minority of the audience members whom I felt were extremely rude to her.
I don't know which I like best: the idea that Katie thinks that Ann will appreciate a defense that claims that Ann was "politically correct througout her entire speech," or the description of Ann as "bold and sassy," like KC Masterpiece barbeque sauce. (And Katie should probably know that WorldNetDaily doesn't think that sassy is a good thing, as demonstrated by their repeated question, "Any sassy children living in your home? Acclaimed book presents biblical, practical tips on training your kids.")
But yeah, my actual favorite part is where Ann has to deal with a lot of haggling from the audience. That made me laugh out loud.
Anyway, like I said, PowerLine readers won't be disappointed to learn that Katie gets haggling confused with heckling, because the blog has presented previous communiques from Katie, such as the email which the "wise beyond her years" young woman sent to a college administrator (and to Powerline). Here's an excerpt from it:
My overriding concern is that there is not enough intellectual diversity on campus; I feel that this is more critical than the amelioration of individual student concerns with Ms. Coulter’s lecture. I know that students would not have been so upset or surprised when a conservative speaker came to campus and spoke her mind if our school had a history of bringing a much more diverse group of speakers to campus.
So, the only reason that anyone would be suprised when Ann described all Democrats as traitors, or upset when she called Ted Kennedy "a human dirigible" and Sen. Barbara Boxer "learning-disabled," is because he or she hasn't been exposed to enough conservative speakers. Sorry, Ms. Kieffer, but I don't expect that to sway the administration of a school that claims to be, among other things, a place of "civility and respect."
Katie goes on to say:
It was very disappointing for me to witness students—particularly those students in the balconies—speak and gesture vulgarly at her, frequently disrupt her with loud and obnoxious outbursts, walk out without waiting for her to respond to their questions, and generally ignore her right to free speech.
Ann's "right to free spech" means that people can't walk out on her? I guess all that listening to Rush Limbaugh gave Katie a warped impression of what the First Ammendment actually entails.
And that wasn't the only example of Katie's writing present by Powerline. Here's part of a report on Ann's speech that Katie wrote for the blog a few days ago:
My sister, Amie Kieffer, the artist for the St. Thomas Standard, and freshman at UST, told me that she felt that the atmosphere prior to, and especially after Ms. Coulter's speech was very oppressive. For example, she said that before the speech, her Old Testament professor told one of the College Republican students in her class--in front of the rest of the class--that she did not hold Ann in high regard--basically degrading the speech before it happened, and saying she wouldn't go.
So, if you say that based on what you know of her, you don't hold Ann in high regard, then you're repressing College Republicans?
My sister and I are both tired of repeatedly hearing from students who tell us that they did not attend the event, but think that Ann went over the line—that she’s mean, she’s a hater, she’s full of it, that she said things that were inappropriate, etc. None of these people can point to anything specific that she said...it’s all hearsay. Example: Amie’s other roommate—who hadn’t gone—came into her room saying: "Do you know this girl (Ann)? She is so racist...someone went to her speech and said all she did was diss black people...and who would want to listen to that?"
Hey, I didn't attend the event, but I think Ann is mean, a hater, and said things that were inappropriate. That's what she does. That's why she makes $25,000-$30,000 per campus speech. But if somebody actually called Ann a "girl," it does show that they don't know much about her.
The truth is that Ms. Coulter was politically correct and professional.
Katie, if you keep trying to ruin Ann's shtick, you'll be hearing from her lawyers.
Ms. Coulter was very respectful and would respond with facts to those audience members who asked her questions. Sometimes she would respond with her quick wit, or would move on to the next person, if the questioner became extremely obnoxious.
So, Ann was very respectful AND politically correct -- if word of this gets out to Fox News, she'll never get booked again.
Also toward the beginning of her talk, Ms. Coulter made a reference to Bill Clinton. Upon hearing his name, several people in the balcony kept obnoxiously clapping and cheering for an extended period of time.
I guess they didn't hear the part about Ann's right to free speech requiring them to not applaud anybody that Ann doesn't like.
There were two individuals in the balcony who stood out for their inappropriate conduct during the question and answer session. The first one was a student who asked her: "What do you think about the Bible and especially the Sermon on the Mount?" Ann responded that she agreed with them, but before she was able to continue speaking, he interrupted her and said, "Well if that's all you can say, then Fuck you." He gave her the finger with both hands, and then stomped up the stairs.
Wow, that was disrespectful -- flipping off Ann just because she said she agreed with the Bible and the Sermon and the Mount.
But here's part of Nick Coleman's report on the speech:
Luckily, there were a couple of kids you would have been proud of: One asked Coulter what she thought of the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus said, "Blessed be the peacemakers."She replied that Jesus "did not support sticking a fork into a baby's head" and that Jesus "would be cool with capitalism."
I guess that's what Katie meant when she wrote that Ann said she agreed with the Sermon on the Mount. (Of course, you all recall the part in the beatitudes where Jesus said, "Blessed are the capitalists, for they shall screw the meek out of the earth. But damned are the Democrats, for they believe in sticking forks in the heads of babies.")
Back to Katie:
The second individual waited in line to talk to Ann, and when he got to the microphone, said something like: "How can you call yourself a Christian since Jesus said 'Blessed are the Peacemakers'?" Ann looked a bit confused.
Well, of COURSE she did. The whole idea of peacemaking is totally alien to her.
he then added: "And I love my Muslim Friends too!" Ann responded (as he quickly walked away) that his statements seemed a bit contradictory, and then added: "Is this young man a student at this university, and if so, what are the SAT requirements to get in?" This student left the microphone right after he finished talking. He did not wait to hear Ms. Coulter's response, but immediately walked up the balcony stairs and left. This young man clearly was not interested in having any kind of respectful dialogue with Ms. Coulter. Rather he just wanted a platform to make his own personal--and confusing--statement.
Yes, if he hadn't walked away, they could have had a respectful dialogue about how stupid the kid is to think that Jesus cares about Muslims.
And here's more about the incident from Nick:
Another student stood and said Jesus had told His followers to love their neighbors as themselves and that he loved his Muslim friends at St. Thomas. Coulter ripped him a new one for that, saying it meant nothing."Is he a student here?" she asked. "What ARE the SAT requirements?"I'm sorry to say this was funny to most of the Catholics who were there, Pope. They had a good laugh at that.
Hey, they were just respecting Ann's right to free speech (which requires them to agree with everything she says, and to laugh when she disses people who hold differing views -- hey, it's in the Bill of Rights. Look it up).
And here's the part of the report that shows why Katie has a brilliant future ahead of her as a Catholic philospher for the NRO:
The second to last person to ask Ann a question was a Vietnam veteran. He shared that he had served our country for over 30 years and said, "Thank you from the troops in Iraq" to Ms. Coulter. Before he was finished talking, someone in the audience obnoxiously shouted, "What is your question?" Not only did the audience fail to respect the speaker—Ms. Coulter—they had the boldness to mock a man who had served his country, and the rest of the U.S. troops!
Wow, that's practically treason! Here we have a guy who claims to have been a Vietnam vet, and yet somebody dared to interrupt him! And because he said something about the troops, interrupting him is like spitting in the faces of the rest of the U.S. troops. Anybody who does that should be shot! (Hey, I bet the obnoxious shouter was one of the people who haggled Ann.)
Anyway, Ex-Hindrocket concludes with:
It might have been a thoughtful gesture for the president of St. Thomas to contact Ms. Kieffer for her perspective on the event before he issued his condemnation of it.
Patrick Coyle, head of YAF's lecture program, concurs:
Fr. Dease never called event organizer Katie Kieffer to ask for her opinion. You would think before making a statement Fr. Dease would at least contact the event organizers to hear their points-of-view.
As we hum a few lines about rain on your wedding day, and a free ride after you've already been paid, we bring you part of a piece from the Aquin, the St. Thomas student paper. It's from Dec. 2003, and it's about the first edition of a new conservative paper called the St. Thomas Standard:
Liz Klages, professor of political science, was named in the Standard’s article about the political science department and said she was disturbed by it.
[...]"I cannot understand how they can make a statement about what goes on in my classroom without being there,” Klages said. [...][Katie] Kieffer said her article is not misleading because it is a critique of the syllabi, not the classroom atmosphere, and that the Standard will print a correction notice if it prints anything that is clearly misleading.
“The syllabi can reasonably be taken to be indicative of the classroom atmosphere” she said.
So, maybe the president of St. Thomas was criticizing Ann's speech based on the syllabus, and so doesn't have to have actually been there in order to say that the atmosphere was hateful.
(Oh, and it seems that Katie's article about the atmosphere of the syllabus contained some errors -- Katie claimed that the class was required to read “Elizabeth Klage’s ‘Rouge Nation.’" However, Klage said that the book is actually Rogue Nation, and "it was written by a conservative, Clyde Prestowitz." So, I think this article reflects both the professionalism and respect exemplified by Ann Coulter , who really does seem to have inspired Katie.)
Anyway, speaking of the St. Thomas Standard, here's a bit more from the Pioneer Press piece about Katie:
Q. What inspired you to start the St. Thomas Standard in 2003?A. I saw the success that other conservative newspapers had had across the country, like the Cal Patriot at (the University of) California-Berkeley. And I wanted to do something similar in order to create a forum on campus for open political debate and discussion.
From the Aquin article we learn that the Standard, which isn't an official college paper, is "privately funded and supplemented by advertising." So, who funds the thing?
Well, the most recent edition of the The Aquin Online quotes Katie, and says that she is "the editor of the St Thomas Standard, a publication of Conservative Student News, Inc.
Of course, Katie has been active with the Young America Foundation, and is a member of their Club 100 (she has 100 points -- which may or may not include the 30 or so points she would have received for scheduling Ann's visit -- and is therefore eligible for all kinds of freebies, to include a trip to Ronald Reagan's ranch, and a whole cartload of remaindered Ann Coulter books). So, maybe the paper received the bulk of its funding from YAF's National Journalism Center, which helps start conservative campus papers via funding, training, and "story ideas."
Interestingly, Ann Coulter's conservative college activitives were sponsored by both the Collegiate Network and the National Journalism Center. So, maybe this is another way that Ann inspired Katie. In fact, I can even see Katie playing Eve Harrington to Ann's Margo Channing someday -- and I think that would be the perfect ending to this story.
Anyway, it's great that PowerLine is helping Katie to use her 15 minutes to become the latest conservative martyr/example of fine, Republican youth. I hope she does get the job at Townhall that she deserves.
Read More About It: Your internet has lots of information about YAF and its ilk. Here are just a couple of links to start you out:
5:03:28 AM
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