On Monday’s Joy Behar Show on HLN, guest Ann Coulter answered host Joy Behar’s tendency to link the Tea Party to racism as the HLN host brought up former DNC chairman Howard Dean’s recent accusations that the Republican party are "appealing to its racist fringe." Coulter noted the vicious attacks the far left made against President Bush and alluded to the double standard that liberals try to hold the Tea Party to: "It`s silliness comparing Obama to Lenin and Hitler. Okay, it`s overheated, it`s not racist. And let`s go back to the Bush era. He was called not only a Nazi and Hitler all the time, he was called a monkey all the time. I`m not endorsing these signs, I think they`re stupid, but don`t scream racism over every stupid sign or every liberal plant at a Tea Party."
Behar had posed the question: "This Breitbart thing, in a way, is a perfect example of what Howard Dean, former DNC chairman, is talking about because the GOP is appealing to the racist fringe in order to get back in power. Am I wrong or right?"
Before noting Bush’s treatment by liberals, Coulter responded: "The more recent history is, consists of constant false accusations of racism against the Tea Party just like you made. The claim that John Lewis was called the ‘N’ word 15 times at an anti-Obama rally, well, that`s been as proved false as anything could be."
She continued:
And, by the way, John Lewis never said that himself. I looked it up at the time because John Lewis, – I`m sorry he`s a liberal, but he is a genuine American hero. And I was shocked by that. He never said that himself. The black congressman who claimed he was spat on walked it back. There has been a $100,000 reward, and this is as they`re voting on health care. There are thousands of cameras all over Capitol Hill. There`s a $100,000 reward if anyone can produce a videotape of John Lewis being called the "N" word one time, and still that gets repeated on every network, in the New York Times-
Behar later gave Coulter the chance to suggest questions to ask President Obama for his interview on ABC’s The View:
JOY BEHAR: Now, Ann, let`s face it. You`ll never get an interview with Obama, so, through me, you can channel through me. What would you like me to ask him?
ANN COULTER: I got a lot for you. Why he lied about the health care bill not covering abortion, why he lied about the health care bill not covering illegal immigrants. Also totally serious again, I think he would like this question, what exactly on foreign policy does he think McCain would be doing differently and why was he ginning up those MoveOn.org lunatics during the campaign saying he was going to shut down Guantanamo and pull troops out of Iraq when he hasn`t done that.
Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Monday, July 26, Joy Behar Show on HLN:
JOY BEHAR: Let`s listen to what DNC chairman Howard Dean said yesterday on Fox News.
HOWARD DEAN, FORMER DNC CHAIRMAN, CLIP #1: I think Fox News did something that was absolutely racist. They took a, they had an obligation to find out what was really in the clip.
DEAN CLIP #2: Look, the Tea Party called out their racist fringe, and I think the Republican party has to stop appealing to its racist fringe.
BEHAR: Well, you know, this Breitbart thing, in a way, is a perfect example of what Howard Dean, former DNC chairman, is talking about because the GOP is appealing to the racist fringe in order to get back in power. Am I wrong or right?
ANN COULTER: You are wrong, and, in fact, I think that is, I mean, you talk about is Breitbart not familiar with this one woman`s history? Well, the whole world is now, but the more recent history is, consists of constant false accusations of racism against the Tea Party just like you made. The claim that John Lewis was called the "N" word 15 times at an anti- Obama rally, well, that`s been as proved false as anything could be.And, by the way, John Lewis never said that himself. I looked it up at the time because John Lewis, – I`m sorry he`s a liberal, but he is a genuine American hero. And I was shocked by that. He never said that himself. The black congressman who claimed he was spat on walked it back. There has been a $100,000 reward, and this is as they`re voting on health care. There are thousands of cameras all over Capitol Hill. There`s a $100,000 reward if anyone can produce a videotape of John Lewis being called the "N" word one time, and still that gets repeated on every network, in the New York Times-
BEHAR: But you have said in your column that there`s imaginary racism in this country. Were those pictures of the monkey, was that my imagination or did I see that or didn`t I?
COULTER: Well, for one thing, as I`ve told you before on this show and, as we know, because liberals come out and say it, a lot of them are liberal plants. And just, by the way, I don’t know about the-
BEHAR: Oh, boy-
COULTER: Oh, no, that is an absolute fact, and the one just shown on Center for American Progress was-
BEHAR: Donna, come on.
COULTER: -and, as for the monkey one, I mean, it`s either nothingness, it`s silliness comparing Obama to Lenin and Hitler. Okay, it`s overheated, it`s not racist. And let`s go back to the Bush era. He was called not only a Nazi and Hitler all the time, he was called a monkey all the time. I`m not endorsing these signs, I think they`re stupid, but don`t scream racism over every stupid sign or every liberal plant at a Tea Party.
BEHAR: Okay, Donna, go ahead, Donna.
BRAZILE: Let me just say that we are living in a very unique period of American history, and we can use this time to begin to have a real cogent dialogue about things that we agree with and things that we disagree. There`s no reason why conservatives or liberals or whoever, we can sit down and have a conversation about race, about sexism, about things that matter to American people, about jobs and health care, without using the race word or talk about racism. And we just have to be able to repudiate those who seek to inject race into the conversation and it`s not about racism.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: I`m back with Ann Coulter and Donna Brazile. President Obama is going to be on the View Thursday, the first time a sitting President has visited a daytime talk show. I think Ronald Reagan might have done one, but he was napping.
COULTER: He liked his naps.
BEHAR: He liked his naps. Now, Ann, let`s face it. You`ll never get an interview with Obama, so, through me, you can channel through me. What would you like me to ask him?
COULTER: I got a lot for you. Why he lied about the health care bill not covering abortion, why he lied about the health care bill not covering illegal immigrants. Also totally serious again, I think he would like this question, what exactly on foreign policy does he think McCain would be doing differently and why was he ginning up those MoveOn.org lunatics during the campaign saying he was going to shut down Guantanamo and pull troops out of Iraq when he hasn`t done that. Also I want to know when he’s going to quit smoking, and how it is, as the most powerful man in the universe, how does it feel to still be living with your mother-in-law?
BEHAR: Why do Republican women talk so fast? Can you explain that to me?
COULTER: Because we`re so used to being cut off.
BEHAR: Donna, let`s just stop there for a second. What do you mean about the health care bill not covering abortion? How is it covering abortion?
COULTER: It`s now being openly admitted that it`s covering abortion.
BEHAR: Is that true, Donna?
BRAZILE: No, it`s not. There`s nothing in the statute that would allow this plan to cover abortions.
BEHAR: Okay, there you have it.
BRAZILE: Using federal money. Using federal money.
BEHAR: Using federal money. It`s all about federal money. No federal funds shall be used.
COULTER: Right, but you go into an account that the state sets up, and everything else is paid for with federal money.
BRAZILE: Even those states. And if you look at some of the recent emails from Planned Parenthood and they`re out there upset that my private money, because I`m self-employed, will not be able to go into a separate fund because many of these states are opting out of that.
BEHAR (ALL START LAUGHING): But do you really want all these liberal babies to be born?
COULTER: Yes, I do. And I would like them adopted into nice born again families.
BRAZILE: You know, Ann, there`s nothing-
BEHAR: That’s scary.
BRAZILE: -wrong with liberal that, liberals are just like conservatives, we want what`s best for America. That`s all we want.
BEHAR: Yes, that`s right. And nice clothes.
COULTER: Only you, Donna, the rest of the liberals, no.
BEHAR: All right, Donna, what should I ask President Obama?
BRAZILE: Well, I want to talk about, Joy, I would ask him about jobs because clearly the American people are concerned about the economy. They`re concerned about their own jobs. They`re concerned about the fate of their communities, so I would really grill him about jobs, the stimulus plan. And, then, of course, I would like to know what are his plans for the future in terms of controlling the deficit? Will he allow the Bush tax cuts to expire because we simply cannot afford them? Then I would go into Mr. President, what have you been reading lately that didn`t come from the CIA? And then I would ask, and what movie have you been able to watch by yourself alone that made you think differently about the work that you`re doing every day? So I would get into those kind of questions.
