Op-Ed: Ann Coulter's Swan Song Daniel Borchers - Guest columnist

Published: Wednesday March 18, 2009





Print This Email This Conservative critic on why Coulter can't, won't write new book



In a BookTV interview postponed from February and airing last weekend, author Ann Coulter said that she will probably stop writing books, citing increasing taxes on the rich by the Obama administration.



Reading between the lines, and in light of greatly diminished book sales for Coulter over recent years, one can conclude two things. First, Coulters essays will continue unabated even as her involvement in politically-oriented projects (e.g., media campaigns, DVDs, etc.) increases. After all, her last book, Guilty, was published three months late  and still rushed to press for a pre-inaugural release  because of Coulters involvement in a series of video projects in 2008.



The second thing which can be gleaned from Coulters surprise announcement is that writing and publishing another book has become both a daunting and a dangerous task for her.



Daunting? Writing all new material  different from her syndicated column  has proven a challenge for Coulter. Slander (2002) and Treason (2003) drew heavily from previously published materials. How to Talk to a Liberal (2004) was a collection. Godless (2006) was released over 2 ½ years after Treason. If Democrats Had Any Brains (2007) was another collection. Guilty (2009) was released over 2 ½ years after Godless. Presumably any future book of original writing would be released in 2011, at the earliest.



Meeting deadlines has always been a challenge for Coulter, who tends to take on more things than she can handle and who, as a last-born, has a tendency towards irresponsibility. Sticking to the regimen of producing a new book amidst the many opportunities afforded her in new and exciting projects would in itself pose a dilemma for Conservatisms diva.



Dangerous? Despite bulk sales, Coulters last two books did not hit the best seller list until after contrived controversies boosted her sales.



With dramatically diminished book sales and the distinct possibility of her next book not being a bestseller, Coulter is already providing preemptive rationalizations to preclude speculation into why there will be no New Ann Coulter book. According to her own paradigm, this would constitute failure  something most feared by this conservative heroine. Moreover, as Coulter approaches fifty, the Age Factor will roundly replace the Babe Factor in impacting future sales. Coulter is keenly aware of those dynamics.



What, then, can we expect from Coulter in coming years? Sporadic controversies thrusting Coulter into the limelight. A continuing mixture of keen insights and polemical ad hominem attacks in Coulters commentary. And an expanded presence on college campuses to tap into the youthful zeal of college conservatives and reap the rapturous praise they provide this pundette who seeks self-glory above all else.



(Daniel Borchers, a conservative, has been a longtime vocal critic of Coulter's work at the CoulterWatch website. Disenchanted by the hypocrisy and corruption which have invaded the Conservative Movement, Mr. Borchers founded Citizens for Principled Conservatism in the fall of 2001. In his role as Executive Director of CPC, Mr. Borchers seeks to reinvigorate principles and ideals within the Conservative Movement and he views the extremist elements within that Movement as both dangerous and self-destructive.).





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