[Adapted from the latest Radio Derb, now online for free at VDARE.com.]
A side story from Wednesday night’s GOP candidates’ debate—covered more thoroughly in the full Radio Derb posted today—was the fuss about Ann Coulter getting exasperated with all the candidates’ asseverations of solidarity with Israel and tweeting, “How many f—ing Jews do these people think there are in the United States?”
The beep that Radio Derb listeners will hear, by the way, is Ann’s, not mine. Her actual tweet said “f-hyphen-hyphen-hyphen-i-n-g.”
How many f---ing Jews do these people think there are in the United States?
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) September 17, 2015
This caused a lot of shrieking and swooning, especially of course from ethnocentric Jews. Actor Seth Rogen told Ann that, quote, “You are a horrible f—ing idiot.” John Podhoretz harrumphed back on Twitter.
Novelist and former British Member of Parliament Louise Mensch, who is Jewish by marriage, predicted that the offending tweet would end Ann’s career.
.@AnnCoulter One more thing to thank the Jewish people for - your career is over.
— Louise Mensch (@LouiseMensch) September 17, 2015
I seriously doubt that. Those of us who love Ann—and to judge by her book sales, our numbers are legion—love her for the same reason people love Donald Trump: she breaks the mold of conventional political rhetoric.
Trump does the same. The more he does it, and the more the Establishment pundits say “That’ll finish him for sure!” the higher his poll numbers go. I predict the same for Ann’s book sales.
And the mold of conventional political rhetoric has needed breaking. For more than a generation now—for thirty or forty years—politicians have observed the PC proprieties, walking on eggshells around anything that might give offense to anyone, pandering to favored groups and influential donors. The result has been that important issues don’t get discussed in the political arena—immigration policy being the outstanding example.
From the point of view of those of us who are fed up with that style of political diction —half mealy-mouthed schoolmarm prissiness, half unctuous fawning—Ann’s Wednesday tweet was a scream of protest against the latter: against unctuous fawning on what GOP candidates seem to think is a key voting segment.
Why do they think that? Estimates of the proportion of self-identifying Jews in the U.S.A. range from two to four percent, depending on whom you ask; and not all of them are fans of Israel. Why so many shout-outs from GOP candidates to such a tiny demographic? That’s a politer form of Ann’s question.
What’s the answer to Ann’s question? The answer is of course that Ashkenazi Jews punch way above their demographic weight in media and intellectual circles, and in big-money political donations, because their high average intelligence brings them success in the relevant fields.
That’s a fact of life in the U.S.A. I don’t myself think it’s a particularly deplorable one. Whether it is or not, it surely doesn’t justify the shameless and blatant pandering that Ann was targeting.
That pandering just fortifies the impression that our candidates, when they speak, are speaking to wealthy donors and influential commentators, not to us dull-witted, no-account proles: precisely the impression that is driving Donald Trump’s success.
Ann’s tweet was of course well-received by anti-Semites, opening her up to charges of guilt by association. Is she herself an anti-Semite?
A good place to go seeking an answer to that question would be Ann’s recent book, ¡Adios, America!
The book has 12 index references to Israel. Some are duplicates, references to the same passage under different headings. Here is a very brief summary of the eight referenced passages.
That’s all Ann has to say about Israel in her book—not exactly a catalog of frothing Jew-hatred. The main impression you get about Ann’s attitude to Israel is that she admires their politicians for doing what ours will not do: defending their national sovereignty and keeping their ethnic balance intact. See Ann Coulter Calls Fury Over Jewish-Debate Tweet "Fake Outrage": "I'm Pro-Israel", by Paul Bond, Hollywood Reporter, September 17, 2015.
And as Ann has been pointing out in response to the fuss over her tweet, mass Hispanic immigration, which GOP candidates like Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio have also been pandering to, is simply terrible for the Jews. [Ann Coulter Defends ‘F—king Jews’ Rant, By Jay Michaelson, Daily Beast, September 18, 2015 ] Hispanics have high levels of anti-Semitism. Where do you think all the old Nazis retired to? [In Argentine Haven for Fugitive Nazis, April Means Chocolate Eggs and Hitler Parties, By Meredith Hoffman, Tablet, April 29, 2014]
That’s not even to mention the mass immigration of Muslims into the U.S.A., which is giving anti-Semitism the kind of boost that mass immigration of rabbits would give to sales of lettuce.
Ann lays into that in her book very vigorously, under headings like Muslim Rape Culture and Muslim Terrorist Farmworkers.
If Ann’s down on the Jews, why isn’t she welcoming all these Jew-haters we’re bringing in?
Bottom line here: I call this a storm in a teacup based on a willful misrepresentation of a shout of frustration. I note that Ann’s tweet came near the end of Wednesday’s three-hour, Hamlet-length debate-a-thon. Any intelligent patriot has a right to be frustrated at such a time. If I had watched the wretched thing, the wise Mrs. Derbyshire would have known to hide the key to my gun safe at around the one-hour mark.
And no, I don’t believe for a minute this will hurt Ann’s career—although I doubt we’ll be seeing her byline in future issues of Commentary magazine.
John Derbyshire [email him] writes an incredible amount on all sorts of subjects for all kinds of outlets. (This no longer includes National Review, whose editors had some kind of tantrum and fired him. ) He is the author of We Are Doomed: Reclaiming Conservative Pessimism and several other books. His most recent book, published by VDARE.com com is FROM THE DISSIDENT RIGHT (also available in Kindle).His writings are archived at JohnDerbyshire.com.
Readers who wish to donate (tax deductible) funds specifically earmarked for John Derbyshire's writings at VDARE.com can do so here.
