Towleroad Guide to the Tube #355

BIZARRE: Ralph Nader campaign ad, in which he talks to a parrot.

ELIZABETH EDWARDS: Talks healthcare at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

CARRIE FISHER: AmericaBlog gets a dressing room interview.

WHO LET THE DOGS OUT: A Beagle makes her escape.

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Elizabeth Edwards Explains Ann Coulter Phone-In: Confront Her

In addition to reiterating both of the Edwards' positions on gay marriage, Elizabeth Edwards comments to Salon on her recent Hardball with Chris Matthews dialogue with Ann Coulter. Edwards phoned in to tell Coulter to stop the personal attacks against her husband. Some folks told Edwards that paying Coulter attention was offering her legitimacy, and publicity.

Edwards responds:

"Ignoring the fact that she exists doesn't make her go away. If it did, you wouldn't hear me utter her name. So I think maybe the better thing to do is simply confront people like her. Are you going to stop them? Under no circumstances will you stop them. But maybe you empower other people to stand up, and maybe that has an effect. When I travel, so many older people thank me for what I did. Because the vile kind of way Ann Coulter thinks and talks, that was not ever part of the public discourse until recently...

...I knew she was doing 'Hardball,' and I knew it was a call-in show. So I called the [Edwards] campaign about getting the number, and they were like, Oh, that's a good idea. And then I mentioned the 2003 column [where Coulter mocked John Edwards' discussion of their son Wade's death in a car crash] and you could see them get worried, like 'Oh, my God, she's carrying around in her mind a 2003 column? Maybe we don't want her calling ...'. And later on, I talked to somebody, not an advisor -- I really don't have anybody advising me -- and not someone in the campaign. She'd been in a previous campaign, and she said, 'Oh, I wouldn't have done that. I think that you put yourself at risk, subject to criticism unnecessarily.' I understand the advice -- if you were advising somebody you might say that -- but that exact attitude is what protects somebody like Ann Coulter. Nobody wants to jump in the mud puddle with her...

...So I got the number in case I wanted to call in. And I sat and watched [the show], and I thought, well, there's really nothing to call in about. It was getting close to the time I had to leave. I might have gotten on a plane and left -- I really might not have ever called. Maybe Chris [Matthews] brought some of those things up because he knew I was watching."

The Salon Interview: Elizabeth Edwards [tr]

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Elizabeth Edwards Rips Bush on Hate Crimes Inaction

In a speech on Saturday in San Francisco, Elizabeth Edwards made note of the 4th of July holiday homophobic murder of Satendar Singh in Sacramento, slamming George W. Bush on his inaction on federal hate crimes legislation.

Said Edwards: "This president talks a lot about good and evil and the need to seek out evil doers. But he doesn't seem to recognize the evil in hate crimes. The right to live without the fear of being murdered for whom we love is not a special right. We were in fact reminded again while we share the lingering memory of a fence post in Laramie, the sorrow of that image is now joined by a park at Lake Natoma in Sacramento. And Matthew Shepard is joined by Satendar Singh as a martyr in that fight for justice."

Singh was attacked while picknicking with friends after a group of Russian men began taunting him with racist and homophobic slurs. The men then punched Singh, knocking him to the ground where his head began bleeding. Singh died of head trauma injuries four days later. He was a Fijian immigrant and had been living in the U.S. for seven years after being awarded a green card.

Edwards also told those attending her speech, which was sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign, that if elected, her husband John Edwards "would help repeal more than a thousand laws that discriminate against same-sex couples."

This is Elizabeth Edwards' second major speech to gay groups in recent month. In the first, she announced that she supports full marriage rights for same-sex couples, an opinion which differs from that of her candidate husband, who supports civil unions.

Elizabeth Edwards decries beating death of Sacramento man [ap via san jose mercury news]

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Coulter's Hate Speech a Financial Windfall for Edwards Campaign

Ann Coulter's hate speech is raising lots of dough for John Edwards, according to the Associated Press:

"When Coulter appeared Tuesday on MSNBC's 'Hardball,' Elizabeth Edwards called in to ask Coulter to stop making personal attacks on her husband. The exchanged deteriorated, with Coulter shouting over Mrs. Edwards and demanding that the campaign stop using her name to raise money if they want her to stop personal attacks. Response to the controversy was so large that it repeatedly crashed the server for MSNBC's political blog Wednesday.

...Mrs. Edwards followed up with an e-mail to supporters Wednesday morning that included a clip of their exchange and a donation request. The campaign also sent a text message to supporters' cell phones, asking them to call to hear a recording of the clip and an appeal from Mrs. Edwards to donate. The campaign said it raised more money this week than from any previous e-mail campaign but declined to give a total."

Maybe that will shut up her up. Unlikely.

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Elizabeth Edwards to Ann Coulter: Stop the Personal Attacks [tr]

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Towleroad Guide to the Tube #148

PARIS HILTON: Gives most boring interview ever to Larry King.

MIKA BRZEZINSKI: MSNBC reporter won't lead with Paris Hilton.

JOHN and ELIZABETH EDWARDS: CNN covers their differing opinions on gay marriage.

IVRI LIDER: Gay Israeli pop star's first U.S. single, "Jesse". More on Lider at AfterElton.

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Elizabeth Edwards to Ann Coulter: Stop the Personal Attacks

Elizabeth Edwards called in to Hardball with Chris Matthews to tell Ann Coulter to stop the personal attacks against her husband and her family and deal with the issues.

Chris Matthews: You know who's on the line? Somebody to respond to what you said Edwards yesterday morning -- Elizabeth Edwards. She wanted to call in today we said she could. Elizabeth Edwards go on the line you're on the line with Ann Coulter

Elizabeth Edwards: Hello, Chris.

Matthews: You wanna say something directly to the person who's with me?

Edwards: I'm calling you … in the South when someone does something that displeases us, we wanna ask them politely to stop doing it. Uh - I'd like to ask Ann Coulter -- if she wants to debate on issues, on positions -- we certainly disagree with nearly everything she said on your show today -- but uh it's quite another matter for these personal attacks that the things she has said over the years not just about John but about other candidates. It lowers our political dialogue precisely at the time that we need to raise it. So I want to use the opportunity … to ask her politely stop the personal attacks.

Ann Coulter: OK, so I made a joke -- let's see six months ago -- and as you point out they've been raising money off of it for six months since then.

Matthews: This is yesterday morning, what you said about him.

Coulter: I didn't say anything about him actually either time.

Edwards: Ann, you know that's not true. And once more its been going on for sometime.

Coulter: I don't mind you trying to raise money. I mean it's better this than giving $50,000 speeches to the poor.

Edwards: I'm asking you.

Coulter: Just to use my name on the Web pages…

Edwards: I'm asking you politely…

Coulter: ...but as for a debate with me, um yeah, sure. Yeah, we'll have a debate

Edwards: I'm asking you politely to stop personal attacks.

Coulter: How bout you stop raising money on the Web page then?

Edwards: It didn't start it did not...

Coulter: No you don't have cause I don't mind

Edwards: It did not start with that you had a column a number of years ago

Coulter: OK, great the wife of a presidential candidate is calling in asking me to stop speaking...

Matthews: Let her finish the point...

Coulter: You're asking me to stop speaking, stop writing columns, stop writing your books.

Matthews: OK, Ann. Please.

Coulter: OK

Edwards: You wrote a column a couple years ago which made fun of the moment of Charlie Dean's death, and suggested that my husband had a bumper sticker on the back of his car that said ask me about my dead son. This is not legitimate political dialogue.

Coulter: That's now three years ago --

Edwards: It debases political dialogue. It drives people away from the process. We can't have a debate about issues if you're using this kind of language.

Coulter: Yeah why isn't John Edwards making this call?

Matthews: Well do you want to respond and we'll end this conversation?

Edwards: I haven't talked to John about this call.

Coulter: This is just another attempt for –

Edwards: I'm making this call as a mother. I'm the mother of that boy who died. My children participate -- these young people behind you are the age of my children. You're asking them to participate in a dialogue that's based on hatefulness and ugliness instead of on the issues and I don't think that's serving them or this country very well.

[The crowd applauds]

Matthews: Thank you very much Elizabeth Edwards. (To Coulter) Do you want to -- you have all the time in the world to respond.

Coulter: I think we heard all we need to hear. The wife of a presidential candidate is asking me to stop speaking. No.

And finally...

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John Edwards on Wife's Gay Marriage Position: "She Actually Says What She Thinks"

John and Elizabeth Edwards were on The Tonight Show last night and the presidential hopeful told Jay Leno that he does have a difference of opinion with his wife when it comes to gay marriage.

Elizabeth Edwards appeared at a breakfast event for the Alice B. Toklas Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Democratic Club at San Francisco's Gay Pride last week and told reporters after her keynote speech: "I don't know why somebody else's marriage has anything to do with me. I'm completely comfortable with gay marriage...If he's pleasant to me on the street, if his children don't throw things in my yard, then I'm happy. It seems to me we're making issues of things that honestly ... don't matter."

John Edwards told Leno: "It's not the only thing we disagree about. She actually says what she thinks...A lot of people I love and care about feel the same way Elizabeth does. I'm very strong about ending discrimination against gay and lesbian couples. But I'm not quite where Elizabeth is yet."

Saying what you think. Now that's refreshing!

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Elizabeth Edwards Declares Support for Gay Marriage

Following the Alice B. Toklas Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Democratic Club breakfast event which I posted about on Friday, Elizabeth Edwards made it clear that her position on gay marriage differs from that of her husband.

Said Edwards: "I don't know why somebody else's marriage has anything to do with me. I'm completely comfortable with gay marriage...If he's pleasant to me on the street, if his children don't throw things in my yard, then I'm happy. It seems to me we're making issues of things that honestly ... don't matter."

Edwards made a keynote address to 300 at the breakfast, marking the first time a presidential candidate or spouse has ever appeared at a San Francisco Gay Pride event. Mayor Gavin Newsom, District Attorney Kamala Harris and City Attorney Dennis Herrera were also in attendance.

During the stump speech, she reiterated John Edwards' position on the issue: ''John believes that couples in committed long-term relationships should enjoy the same rights, benefits and responsibilities regardless of whether they are straight couples or same-sex couples. He supports civil unions.''

Edwards made it clear afterward that her views are further evolved than her husband's: "John has been pretty clear about it, that he is very conflicted. That's up against his being raised in the 1950s in a rural southern town. I think honestly he's on a road that a lot of people in this country are on. ... They're struggling with this. Most of the gay and lesbian people I know ... have seen their friends and family walking down that same road. It's frustrating, I know, but it's a long distance from where we are now to the pews of a Southern Baptist church. So, John's been as honest as he can about that."

Elizabeth Edwards supports same-sex marriage [sf chronicle]
Mrs. Edwards Comfortable With Gay Unions [nyt]
(image: sf chronicle)

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Elizabeth Edwards to Appear at San Francisco Gay Pride Event

More news about the Edwards campaign today. Elizabeth Edwards is scheduled to appear at the Alice B. Toklas Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Democratic Club breakfast at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel this weekend.

"Organizers say it marks the highest level of presidential campaigning at the annual Gay Pride Parade," according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Political strategist David Mixner, who has given his endorsement to John Edwards presidential campaign, said:

"It certainly is another barrier falling. There's been a taboo on any (candidate)-related Gay Pride events. [However], just like straights at Mardi Gras, there's a wide range of different events, from picnics and political clubs to the parade. The myth of what Pride is will be exploded ... and that taboo will now be removed. And I can't think of a better person to do it than Elizabeth Edwards. She won't let people tell her where she can go and who she can talk to."

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