Ann Coulter Finds an Ally in Bernie Sanders Over Right to Speak on Campuses
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Conservative firebrand Ann Coulter found an unlikely ally in Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) over the weekend when the self-described democratic-socialist defended Coulter’s right to speak on a college campus, reports the Blaze.
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Amid the ongoing drama at the University of California- Berkeley over Ann Coulter’s presence, one name has come to the defense of the controversial conservative, that many would not expect. Sen. Sanders expressed his support for Coulter saying she should be allowed to speak on campus without “fear of violence or intimidation.”
“I don’t like this. I don’t like it,” he told the Huffington Post last week when asked about the situation, reports the Blaze.
“Obviously, Ann Coulter’s outrageous ― to my mind, off the wall. But you know, people have a right to give their two cents-worth, give a speech, without fear of violence and intimidation,” he explained.
In recent years, students, mostly liberal and progressive in their politics and worldview, have organized in force to protest conservative speakers claiming that their “hate speech” shouldn’t be allowed on campus. Of course, the hate speech they refer to is hardly hateful and more often than not just an idea or opinion that the students disagree with, said the Blaze.
Still, students have been determined to take whatever steps necessary to shut down speakers they disagree with and whom they deem bring “hate” to their campus. It’s all in the name of silencing “fascists,” the students claim, the Blaze explained.
Sanders however, doesn’t agree with that narrative either. He explained to the Huffington Post the reaction from students toward those who hold differing opinions shows that the students are intellectual lightweights.
“To me, it’s a sign of intellectual weakness,” he said. “If you can’t ask Ann Coulter in a polite way questions which expose the weakness of her arguments, if all you can do is boo, or shut her down, or prevent her from coming, what does that tell the world?”
“What are you afraid of — her ideas? Ask her the hard questions. Confront her intellectually,” Sanders said. “Booing people down, or intimidating people, or shutting down events, I don’t think that that works in any way.”
Beyond Sanders though, another prominent liberal has jumped in to criticize Berkeley and the students shutting down speech. Comedian Bill Maher also voiced his opinion in support of Coulter’s right to speech.
“Berkeley used to be the cradle of free speech, and now it’s just the cradle for f***ing babies,” Maher said, according to the Blaze. “I feel like this is the liberal version of book burning — and it’s got to stop.”
University officials have since rescheduled Coulter’s speech for May 2, a day when students will be deep in books studying for final exams.
Coulter, however, is insistent on giving her speech on Thursday, the originally scheduled day, said the Blaze.
I'm speaking at Berkeley on April 27th, as I was invited to do and have a contract to do. https://t.co/thkiODIsSi
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) April 20, 2017
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