De Pasquale’s Dozen: Ann Coulter

by Lisa De Pasquale
http://www.humanevents.com/
05/26/2010

This story is first in a series from Lisa De Pasquale. Check back for her story every Wednesday!

Have you ever wondered what movie line Ann Coulter recites in the bathroom mirror? What pop culture souvenir Marco Rubio cherishes? How about the first rock concert Mitt Romney ever attended?

Each week I’ll present 12 questions to a conservative leader. During such an incredibly important political year, some may wonder “Why these questions?” Simply put, anything that reveals a sense of humor, self-reflection, quirkiness or savage wit will make political and cultural warriors more appealing—and thus more persuasive—to the masses.

Of course, the inaugural interview must be with HUMAN EVENTS legal affairs correspondent and most popular columnist, Ann Coulter. She is the author of seven New York Times bestsellers. She frequently speaks on college campuses and at Tea Parties across the nation and writes a weekly column often cited by Sarah Palin and other leaders.

I first met Ann Coulter at CPAC 2000. We had exchanged a few emails, but finally we had the chance to meet among thousands of other conservatives. Since then I’ve been lucky enough to call Ann a friend and mentor. I’m continuously amazed by her mental quickness and loyalty. She’s continuously amazed at the great handbags I manage to find at Target.

Over the past ten years, Ann has sold millions of books and appeared on nearly every cable and network news program. She has managed to tick off liberals (in person) in at least two countries while maintaining a powerfully sharp wit. Read on…

1. If there were a television channel that only showed one movie over and over, what movie should it be?

COULTER: You mean like the Sundance Channel does with An Inconvenient Truth?

2. What’s one of your favorite movie quotes?

COULTER: It's this incredibly sexy monologue by a handsome leading man whose name I can't remember. I don’t remember the whole speech, but the last few words of the line are, "Well, do ya, punk?"

3. In A Clockwork Orange, Malcolm McDowell is strapped in with his eyes propped open and forced to watch images until he was "cured." If you could give President Obama, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid the "Clockwork Orange treatment," what movie would you make them watch?

COULTER: The Passion of the Christ.

4. What pop culture souvenir do you own that people would be surprised to learn that you cherish?

COULTER: Believe it or not, Hitler's staff car. Out in my garage right now. It was surprisingly affordable.

5. What's your current “guilty pleasure” non-news television show?

COULTER: My favorite non-news television show is "The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric." It is absolutely hilarious. They have this chirpy, left-wing ninny who pretends she's a real journalist, and...well, you just have to see it—it’s a regular laugh riot every night.

6. Which movie, television or rock star would cause you to lose your ability to speak if you ever met?

COULTER: Bono, because he would never let me get a word in edgewise.

7. What was the first rock concert you ever attended and where did you sit and who went with you?

COULTER: It was a Grateful Dead concert. You don't sit at Grateful Dead concerts and I can't remember who went with me, but at some point he or she began to resemble the love child of Jack Nicholson and Parliament Funkadelic front man George Clinton. Just kidding, I never did drugs—I don't even trust herbal tea. Among my first concerts was seeing The Ramones at the Palladium in NYC. Everyone in the audience was wearing black leather, torn clothes and safety pins, but I was a 15-year old kid from Connecticut, so I was attired in wide wale, lime-green corduroy pants. (and I knew all the words!) The late, great Johnny Ramone, incidentally, was a right-winger.

8. Tell me about a public or private moment when you thought to yourself, "This is what Elvis felt like every day.”

COULTER: That would probably have been during my "free speech tour" of Canada, when I almost got sent to prison for giving a speech. Every time I turned on the TV in Canada it was either a hockey game or me.

9. What are you two favorite non-news websites?

COULTER: The New York Times and the New York Times Online.

10. What’s the coolest thing you’ve been able to do because of your role in the political arena?

COULTER: I got an amazing offer to help a wealthy Nigerian prince once.

11. What question do you wish reporters would ask you? What’s your answer to that question?

COULTER: "What do you think of Keith Olberman?" and "I think he's a girl."

12. Tell me about the moment you decided to enter the political arena.

COULTER: It was a Thursday, I believe, in April. I had just gotten home from kindergarten and I realized that my teacher was just completely wrong on the causes and objectives of the Vietnam War.

Miss De Pasquale is CPAC director at the American Conservative Union. The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is the nation�s largest annual gathering of conservatives.