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Michael Fitzgerald Record columnist @Stocktonopolis

Ann Coulter, the conservative provocateur whos been called a hate crime in heels, is coming to Modesto to speak to the Republican Central Committee. Big Stink.

I cant imagine why. She is the sage who said:

We should invade their countries, kill their leaders, and convert them to Christianity.

I think the government should be spying on all Arabs, engaging in torture as a televised spectator sport, dropping daisy cutters wantonly throughout the Middle East and sending liberals to Guantanamo.

Theres a cultural acceptance of child rape in Latino culture that doesnt exist in even the most dysfunctional American ghettos. When it comes to child rape, the whole family gets involved.

liberals are always against America. They are either traitors or idiots, and on the matter of Americas self-preservation, the difference is irrelevant.

Which is why a comedienne recently said of her, Ann Coulter has written 11 books, 12 if you include Mein Kampf.

Equally funny to me is Stanislaus County Supervisor Jim DeMartini, who also chairs the Republican Central Committee: I dont think Ann Coulter is that divisive.

Right? DeMartini, a farmer, employs Latinos. Ask them what they think, sir, about being called peasants whove never flushed a toilet. Just stand clear of the hoe.

Coulter is a rare bird. Shes whip smart. But she foregoes thoughtful conservatism for shock talk. Despite her books, shes less of an intellectual than an entertainer. Only instead of the Borscht Belt she plays the conservative circuit.

Shes a symptom of our times, not the disease. The disease is the urge to caricature and hate people who disagree. Even to hold them to be as Coulter does less patriotic, even treasonous.

Here are a couple responses that made the Modesto Bee. First, two outraged guest editorialists, Debbie Avila and Rebecca Ortega-Harrington.

Jim DeMartini is encouraging the criminalization and dehumanization of communities of color. He is helping to perpetuate a culture of hatred that can, and has, led to violence.

Next, a conservative letter-writers rebuttal.

The real hate speech is coming from the likes of Debbie Avila and Rebecca Ortega-Harrington. Their opinion piece encourages violent protests as we saw in Berkeley last month.

So, bringing Ann Coulter to Modesto can lead to violence, while opposing bringing Ann Coulter to Modesto encourages violence.

Either those hotheaded Modestans easily go beserk, or people fear the polity has become so polarized, the American mind so narrow, that it can no longer withstand provocative speech.

The northern California ACLU sent me a refresher on free speech. You may criticize the President, the Congress, or the chief of police without fear of retaliation, it says. But this right doesn't extend to libel, slander, obscenity, 'true threats,' or speech that incites imminent violence or law-breaking.

It adds, If you grab a megaphone during a riot and yell 'shoot the cop' or 'loot the shop,' you may reasonably expect trouble.

Coulter doesnt do that. She just throws red meat to Republicans, for which she will receive $25,000.

I personally believe forgive me if I can only come up with something trite that America is neither conservative nor liberal. America is the argument between them.

So it helps to listen. Even if the speaker is a genius at pushing your buttons. And when all is said, to distill the shock talk to the serious underlying ideas, if there are serious underlying ideas, and offer better ideas if you have them.

If you dont, read the Federalist Papers, Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville and biographies of the founding fathers. Read a few things by people with whom you disagree.

In any case, enjoy the show. Youre a part of it.

Contact columnist Michael Fitzgerald at (209) 546-8270 or michaelf@recordnet.com. Follow him at recordnet.com/fitzgeraldblog and on Twitter@Stocktonopolis.

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Fitzgerald: Don't lose your cool over Coulter - Stockton Record