Nothing But Politics

[teapeebubbles]

David Stoeffler took over as editor of the Arizona Daily Star a couple of months ago, and to his credit, one of his first major decisions was to throw out the trash.

[W]e've decided that syndicated columnist Ann Coulter has worn out her welcome. Many readers find her shrill, bombastic and mean-spirited. And those are the words used by readers who identified themselves as conservatives.

This isn't an example of a newspaper replacing a conservative columnist with a liberal one. Taking Coulter's place will be Fox News' Tony Snow, a former speechwriter for George H.W. Bush.

Regardless, one can only hope this is a sign of things to come. Ezra described perfectly the circumstances that may force Coulter from a variety of op-ed pages.

A few months ago she was on Time's cover, now she's kicked off a Western regional's op-ed page. This, of course, should be expected. Coulter, and others like her, are the red bull and vodka of political pundits. First time you see her she makes you feel weird, but good. Second and third times, there's still novelty, but you're a bit surprised by how strong she is. Give her a couple more chances and you love her — there's never been a columnist this awesome! You could read her forever!

The next morning, you wake up blinded, aching, hating yourself. Just knowing that you indulged in Ann hurls (sorry, bad word choice) you into a pit of self-loathing. More to the point, you hate her for making you feel that way. The Time cover was the peak — politics was drunk on partisanship. But that was just the election afterparty, we were all feeling a bit loopy. Her ejection from the op-ed page is the inevitable next step. She makes us all feel sick, and we want her out of our lives forever.

I'm not saying Coulter doesn't have a right to spew dishonest nonsense; she does. I am saying there's no reason for newspaper editors to pay generously to give her a megaphone.

Here's to hoping the Arizona Daily Star is the first of many.