Anyone who interviews Ann Coulter should expect things to go south…and quickly. The lady has made a name – and a fortune – for herself by deliberately cultivating the “pretty girl who says shocking things” persona. So when Geraldo Rivera invited her to debate anti-obesity advocate MeMe Roth over New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s public health initiatives, he should not have been surprised that the debate deteriorated into a discussion of sodomy.

Coulter’s confusion about the topic began as the discussion drifted to the indoor smoking ban. Bloomberg’s proposals keep cigarettes out of view of storefronts. Somehow, Coulter took this as a cue to began talking about gay sex in bathhouses and single mothers.

Coulter: “I think you’re going to have to do something about the gay bathhouses because AIDS is very expensive, and if I’m paying for it, how about discouraging that behavior?” She later said to Roth “If your argument is ‘Smoking: we all have to pay,’ then why not “Sodomy: we all have to pay.” (Salon)

Rivera agreed with Coulter about AIDS being a “gay problem” (yes, he really did…) but he clearly didn’t want his show to digress into the “Sodomy Special,” so he attempted to get things back on topic.

Rivera: “Can we get off sodomy for a moment?” (Salon)

But Coulter wasn’t done. She took the discussion to the children of unwed mothers.





“The behaviors that liberals approve of, they will not stigmatize,” Coulter once again explained. “Illegitimacy, they are very upset Bloomberg is stigmatizing. Sodomy… they won’t stigmatize. But smoking… if we’re looking at it for health costs, there are plenty of other things.” (Mediaite)

I pity MeMe Roth, a serious person who wants to get up in the morning and accomplish something that doesn’t involve selling her soul to devil to make a buck. She tried to stay on topic, and used reason and logic (gasp!) that supports many of Mayor Bloomberg’s initiatives. She said that she admires the mayor for being a “student of behavioral psychology” and understanding that “increasing the inconvenience just a little bit” contributes towards consumers making better buying decisions (Mediaite). But alas, business is business, and she surely didn’t want to be upstaged by Coulter, so she jumped on the loony-boat and agreed that, yes, racial profiling – another of the mayor’s initiatives, known as the “stop and frisk” policy – is probably a good thing.

Roth: “I think profiling is necessary. That’s the times we live in.” (Salon)

I guess the crazy rubs off if you’re around it enough. Another day in paradise.

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I am an unapologetic member of the Christian Left, and have spent a lot of time working with “the least of these” and disadvantaged and oppressed populations. I’m passionate about their struggles. To stay on top of topics I discuss, visit my blog, subscribe to my public updates on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter. Find me somewhere and let’s discuss stuff.