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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 Coulters right to speak on a college campus.

The University of California, Berkeley last week canceled an event where Coulter was scheduled to speak, citing security concerns. University officials fearthat Coulters presence on campus will incite another round ofviolent protests similar to what happened in February something the school and city have become accustomed to in recent months.

Given currently active security threats, it is not possible to assure that the event could be held successfully or that the safety of Ms. Coulter, the event sponsors, audience, and bystanders could be adequately protected at any of the campus venues, university officials said.

But Sanders doesnt believe that what happened to Coulter is right. The former presidential candidate said Coulter should be allowed to speak on campus without fear of violence or intimidation.

I dont like this. I dont like it, he told the Huffington Post last week when asked about the situation.

Obviously, Ann Coulters 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 shouldnt 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.

Still, students have beendetermined to take whatever steps necessary to shut down speakers they disagree with and whom they deem bring hate to their campus. Its all in the name of silencing fascists, the students claim.

But Sanders disagrees. He told the Huffington Post that its just a sign the students are intellectual lightweights.

To me, its a sign of intellectual weakness, he said. If you cant 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 dont think that that works in any way.

Sanders isnt the only noted liberal to come to Coulters defense in recent days. HBO Real Time host Bill Maher slammed the university on his show Friday and labeled the students f***ing babies.

Berkeley used to be the cradle of free speech, and now its just the cradle for f***ing babies, Maher said. I feel like this is the liberal version of book burning and its got to stop.

University officials have since rescheduled Coulters 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.

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Ann Coulter finds unlikely ally in powerful liberal politician after Berkeley cancels speech - TheBlaze.com

April 23, 2017 | :

I believe in free speech, the First Amendment and all that. Thats our starting point on campus, and in America. Its free speech for me and thee, as the saying goes, in a healthy democracy.

Ann Coulter

So lets not make Ann Coulter into a free speech martyr just yet because the University of California, Berkeley switched her speech dates from this coming Thursday, April 27, to a time and place that could assure her safety. That would be May 2.

Instead of being flattered that there are some people concerned for her personal well-being, Coulters not going to have it. In addition, the more she complains, the more it comes off as a less-than-fine whine.

There is good reason for the switched dates. Some people were actually thinking nice things about Coulter and showing concern, which is more than most of the public would. However, such is the price one pays for living life as the ever-provocative right-wing media persona of ones own creation. Shes Bill OReilly in a dress. And Im sure shes upset to not be considered for his replacement. Shell just have to make her noise elsewhere.

As Ive long said, colleges and universities dont have a free speech problem. They have a how to present provocative speakers problem.

And Berkeley has actually come up with a good compromise after it originally cancelled Coulters April 27 appearance.

Berkeleys solution a different date and a safer venue actually makes common sense.

Of course, everyone seems to have a dog in this fight, from the Berkeley College Republicans that sent her the initial invitation, as well as the national conservative group, the Young Americas Foundation (which incidentally reported as footing the vast part of Coulters $20,000 speaking fee). And everyone is threatening legal action.

However, university spokesperson Dan Mogulof said the school was on solid legal grounds and spoke about putting public safety first.

We are concerned about (Coulters) disregard for the assessment and recommendations of law enforcement professionals whose primary focus is the safety and well-being of our students and other members of our campus community, Mogulof told the Washington Post.

I suppose a right-wing, pro-gun fanatic like Coulter would say wed all be safer if everyone just showed up with their own guns. As I write the sentence, the notion is ludicrous.

However, I would like to see how much concerned she would have for her safety at a right-to-carry school like the University of Texas at Austin.

Instead, Coulter is all too willing to put herself up on a stake as if she werethe First Amendments St. Joan. The symbolism is more appealing than anything.

Coulters part of the showbiz realm of politics, which Donald Trump has exploited to the extreme. More than actually speaking to the crowd, Coulter gets her jollies from the process of getting to the podium. The news generated from being cancelled, then offered a substitute venue, and then rejecting that and threatening legal action, does more for Coulter than actually giving the speech.

Whatever she was going to say would not be considered news. Rejectinga substitute venue makes Coulter news.

What gets lost in all the posturing is the real problem of adequate public safety at events that draw large numbers of outsiders and potential disrupters.

The schools solution made sense. Hold it during day hours when the dark of night is not an ally to protestors. And have it during a break period. Fewer students, sure, but those students who desperately want to meet Coulter will be there. And those who dont will be away. Such a move also lowers the net potential liability to actual university community members.And the ones who want to see her and show up will be adequately protected by university cops.

Related: Rainy day blues at UDC: furloughs, pay cuts and tuition hikes at the University of the District of Columbia - University of the District of Columbia

A fair compromise. Personally, I would have had it while class was in session during the day. In a classroom, students who did want to ask questions and challenge Coulter could do so.

But again, thats not really what Coulter or the young conservatives are interested in. Its not about the public discourse. Its all about the public show, and exploiting the legacy of Berkeley, the great public university that has its symbolic legacy of protest and free speech. And now they have a weeks work of buildup before any speech or discourse occurs.

Coulter gets much pub.And likely will get to keep a chunk of her $20,000 fee whether she speaks or not.

If shes really interested in free speech, lets see her volunteer to show up at a class. Forget the fee. Go to a lecture hall and teach without portfolio. (What does Coulter know compared to say Robert Reich, the former Clinton labor secretary who teaches there?) Talk for a while and take questions. Make it a class, not a rhetorical circus for media attention. Act like a scholar with something to say, instead of a blonde mannequin with something to sell books, an image, a right-wing viewpoint. Lets see if she actually belongs up there with the best professors speaking to the students of arguably Americas finest public university.

Who knows what will happen this week?

But if Coulter wants to keep playing free-speech saint, Id settle for her showing up unannounced on Bancroft and Telegraph during the day with a bullhorn next to the mobile falafel stand. Lets see who draws more Coulter or the chickpea balls.

Related: Tuition freeze celebrated, but cost of campus living increases

That would be interesting if she were really about free speech, exchanging ideas or engaging with students in public. Next to a food truck. But thats not Ann Coulter.

Coulters the $20,000-a-speech right-wing media star, with nothing to say, but always happy to be the center of attention.

Berkeley should stick to its stand, offering her a way to speak, but putting public safety first. Its a good common-sense compromise.

A conservative like Coulter should be more appreciative of the schools cautious approach.

Emil Guillermo is an award-winning journalist and commentator. He writes for the civil rights group, AALDEF, at http://www.aaldef.org/blog.

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Guillermo: Ann Coulter No Free Speech Saint - Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

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Posted: Apr 23, 2017 12:01 AM

Theres an important lesson for conservatives in the news this week, if theyre willing to learn from it. Appeasement always fails. Always.

Throughout history people have been desperate to avoid conflict. Many are willing to do anything to stave off a fight. In politics it is no different.

Corporations have spent untold millions in donations to radical environmental groups or hustlers such as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton in the hope of buying some goodwill should any unexpected controversy arise. Its never worked.

When something went wrong, as it always does, or some controversy (real or contrived) breaks, the very people they had cultivated were out in front of a bank of cameras demanding justice, which usually comes in the form of another, larger, check.

The same thing happens in the news business. Fox News let Bill OReilly go this week because people who never watch their network, who never would watch their network, pressured companies to pull their advertising from the top-rated show in cable news history.

That the companies caved isnt a surprise -- caving to left-wing mobs is what companies do. But if Fox had not caved, advertisers would have come back to OReilly. It would be financial malpractice to avoid running ads to the largest audience possible, and companies dont remain successful committing financial malpractice.

But bad publicity always trumps spine.

The mob that went after OReilly is the same mob that went after Glenn Beck and the same that always has gone after Fox. Letting Beck go, then Roger Ailes, did not appease them. Neither will O'Reilly.

To the fascistic left, Fox News cant do right because its existence is wrong. As long as it exists, they will find something to be upset about and demand action on. And advertisers will cave.

I dont know what Bill OReilly did or didnt do, but I do know nothing was proven.

Companies pulled their ads not over proof, but over allegations. Youre supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, but conservatives are simply guilty. Meanwhile, Democrats such as Bill Clinton, who were proven guilty, are still praised as if they were innocent.

I have to wonder how many of the companies who pulled their ads from OReillys show have donated to the Clinton Foundation? How many executives of those companies donated to Hillarys campaign? Or paid for speeches from either of them?

It doesnt matter. Liberals dont hold other liberals to different standards; they hold them to no standards. Standards are reserved exclusively for conservatives, mostly because they know we have them and they mean something.

If the allegations against OReilly had been proven, thats one thing. But they werent. And some of them were garbage anyway. One woman reportedly said he leered at her. Leered? Another said he got a guests name wrong and made a blonde joke about it. Seriously, get over yourself. And a third said he asked her to come back to his hotel room. After she refused, he stopped having her on his show.

Did it happen? Who knows? Was he otherwise obligated to have her on his show? No. If it happened, was it cool? No, it wasnt. Was it something that should end his career? They werent even co-workers.

But when a lawyer like Gloria Allred gets involved, or in this case her daughter, Lisa Bloom, forgive me if Im skeptical. They strike me as lawyers you go to when you want publicity, not justice. When you want to harm a conservative, not seek what is right.

Fox chose to go another route. Maybe its leaders know more than is public. Or maybe, as has been reported, the wife of one of Rupert Murdochs kids convinced him he had to do it because shes liberal. Whatever the reason, it happened and it wont unhappen.

But the fascistic left wont take a day to savor this scalp -- the largest in its recent collection. Lefties already are back at it, on the hunt for more. Always more.

And theyll get more because, unlike the right, theyre relentless. No fascist ever said, Well, we showed those people who think differently from us. How about we call it a day? No, they are relentless. They purge. They destroy. They still get visibly angry when someone speaks favorably about Ronald Reagan, and hes been dead for more than a decade.

Conservatives will continue to add scalps to the collections of these thought-Brownshirts just as their ideological comrades, the Blackshirts, will continue to collect scalps on college campuses, keeping them pure from differing opinions.

Where are elected Republicans on this? I get remaining silent about Fox. Its a private business, and what News Corp chooses to do is, ultimately, irrelevant to government.

But the Nazi march across publicly funded college campuses to prevent students from inviting conservative speakers is a government issue. Its a direct, unambiguous violation of the First Amendment. Wheres the outrage? Where are the public statements of condemnation? More importantly, where is the legislation to defund these indoctrination centers?

God bless Ann Coulter. When her speech at UC Berkeley was cancelled, Ann had the guts to say shes going anyway. She said shes going to speak, and if the school wanted to stop her it could have her arrested. The school has (at least for the moment) un-canceled the event, though it tried to schedule it on a different day. That wont work for Ann, and shes still planning on showing up Thursday.

If elected Republicans had anything but air in their shorts, theyd recess Congress and the entire caucus would be out there to escort her onto campus. Democrats in California and Washington, D.C., dont give a damn, and the states sniveling governor should send security but won't because he's rooting for the other side.

Itd also be helpful if President Trump spoke out against this and threatened action.

Is Ann Coulter the only person willing to stand up to the modern Gestapo?

A line must be drawn, because appeasement only leads to emboldening fascists. Don't look to the private sector -- its job is to profit, not ensure constitutional rights. Don't look to Democrats -- the mobs are their base, and although they'd be out in force if someone had to break stride to get into an abortion clinic, this is not their way.

It has to be Republicans. More specifically it has to be conservatives. A stand must be made because appeasement never works.

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Is Ann Coulter The Last Conservative With Guts? - Townhall

Berkeley used to be the cradle of free speech, and now its just the cradle for fing babies, the Real Time host said

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Bill Maher Slams Berkeley for Canceling Ann Coulter Speech: Liberals Version of Book Burning

Although Bill Maher admits that he and conservative commentator Ann Coulter have never agreed on anything, he came to her defense on Friday nights Real Time in reference to an issue thats near and dear to his heart: the First Amendment.

Ann Coulter ran into a little problem this week, Maher began. I was the speaker at Berkeley a couple of years ago and they dis-invited me, and they got their act together and I wound up doing it. Apparently, thats whats going to happen with her, I think.

Coulters planned speech at the University of California at Berkeley on April 27 was called offbecause of safety concerns. Given current active security threats, it is not possible to assure that the event could be held successfully, Vice Chancellor Scott Biddy wrote in a letter to Berkeley College Republicans, which were sponsoring the event.

Also Read: Ann Coulter's Speech Canceled by Berkeley Over Fears of Violence

Berkeley used to be the cradle of free speech, and now its just the cradle for fing babies, Maher said. I feel like this goes on all over the country on campuses they invite somebody to speak thats not exactly what liberals want to hear and they want to shut her down. I feel like this is the liberals version of book burning. And its got to stop.

Maher went on to quote former Vermont governor Howard Dean, who tweeted Friday, Hate speech is not protected by the First Amendment.

Maher vehemently disagreed. Yes it is! Threats are not protected by the First Amendment. This is why the Supreme Court said Nazis could march in Skokie theyre a hateful bunch. But thats what the First Amendment means. It doesnt mean Shut up and agree with me.'

Hate speech is not protected by the first amendment. https://t.co/DOct3xcLoY

Howard Dean (@GovHowardDean) April 21, 2017

Berkeley announced Thursday that it had reversed its earlier decision to cancel Coulters appearance and now will allow her to speak at the school on May 2.

Coulters lawyers, however, sent the university a letter, demanding they honor its obligation to respect the First Amendment rights of its students, without regard to their political preference or affiliation, by ensuring that Ms. Coulter be allowed to speak on campus on April 27.

Read original story Bill Maher Slams Berkeley for Canceling Ann Coulter Speech: Liberals Version of Book Burning At TheWrap

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Bill Maher Slams Berkeley for Canceling Ann Coulter Speech: 'Liberals' Version of Book Burning' - SFGate

Conservative pundit Ann Coulter says she will still go to the University of California at Berkeley despite the university canceling her speech over safety concerns. In February, riots occurred when conservative Milo Yiannopoulos was asked to speak by a group of campus Republicans. (Reuters)

Ann Coulter rejected an offer to speak at the University of California at Berkeley on a new date after the university canceled her event because of safety concerns, then quickly reversed itself, saying it would reschedule her speech.

Coulter said she cant attend on the new date and accused the university of continuing to try to place restrictions on her free speech. The student group that invited Coulter is now threatening to sue the school.

The university first announced Wednesday that it was canceling Coulters April 27 appearance following several political protests in Berkeley that turned violent. But amid mounting criticism and national attention, the school reversed its decision Thursday, saying that it had found a safe venue to hold the speech on a different date, May 2.

Coulter and the college Republican group that invited herrejected the new arrangement.

In a series of tweets Thursday night, Coulter criticized the university, saying Berkeley officials were adding burdensome conditions to her speech. She said she had already spent money to hold the event on April 27 and was not available to appear May 2. She also pointed out that the later date would coincide with a reading period before final exams, when there are no classes on campus and fewer students are around.

Instead, she vowed to speak inBerkeley on April 27 whether the university approves or not.

A leader from the college group that invited Coulter said that the group plans to hold the event April 27 only if the university provides a venue. But, the group leader said, a national conservative group, the Young Americas Foundation, is separately working with Coulter to explore spaces off-campus where she could speak April 27.

An attorney for the Berkeley College Republicans group that invited Coulter sent a letter late Thursday to the university threatening litigation if the university does not allow Coulter to speak on campus April 27. In the four-page letter, the attorney demands that the university find a venue near the center of campus for Coulter and allow her to speak in the evening rather than during the day. If that does not happen, the letter says, we will seek relief in federal court, including claims for injunctive relief and damages.

University spokesman Dan Mogulof responded to the lawsuit threat, saying, We are confident that we are on very solid legal grounds.

Mogulof said the university does not have a venue open April 27 that campus police think can host Coulter without risk to those involved.

We are concerned about her disregard for the assessment and recommendations of law enforcement professionals whose primary focus is the safety and well-being of our students and other members of our campus community,Mogulof said.

Coulter and the college Republicans groupaccused the university of placing strict conditions on the event. But aBerkeley spokesman rejected the claim, saying the one main request the university made in extending itsnew invitation was to hold the event in the afternoon.

In itsoffer to Coulter to host her speech on campus on the new date, the university has asked for the event to end by 3 or 3:30 p.m., Mogulof said.Holding the event later in the day would risk protests and potential violence stretching into the evening, when the campus tends to get crowded with commuters and students.

Everything were doing is so the speaker and students can actually exercise their rights without disruption, Mogulof said. Its hard to understand this display of disdain and disregard for the assessment of law enforcement professionals, particularly when their primary concern is the safety and well-being of college students.

[Berkeley gave birth to the Free Speech Movement in the 1960s. Now, conservatives are demanding it include them.]

If Coulter does appear next week as she promises, it will most likely spark further debate on the campus as the university continues to wrestle with safety, student views and ideological openness.

But finding a venue, even off-campus, could prove difficult. Berkeley, a relatively small city, has only a few venues that could accommodate large crowds, and some property owners would probably be reticent to rent their space, given the violence that has occurred over the past three months when other right-wing groups have staged events in Berkeley.

Reporters at the San Francisco Chronicle called a half-dozen venues Thursday, and none said they could or would host Coulter.

Absolutely not, one owner told the Chronicle. Not only would we not agree with her politics, but we would also be concerned about the kind of crowds that she would attract.

It was the same concerns about violence that led university officials to originally cancel the Coulter event. In a letter to the college Republicans, university officials said that after assessing the violence that flared on campus in February, when the same college Republican group invitedright-wingprovocateur and now-former Breitbart News senior editor Milo Yiannopoulos to speak, they decided to cancel the Coulter event.

On Friday, Yiannopoulos waded back into the controversy, announcing plans in a Facebook post to hold an entire week of events at Berkeley to protest the universitys recent actions. We will hold talks and rallies and throw massive parties, all in the name of free expression and the First Amendment, the post reads. Free speech has never been more under threat in America especially at the supposed home of the free speech movement.

Yiannopoulos did not specify a date for his planned protest, saying only that it would happen later this year.

On Feb. 1, the last time Yiannopoulos was supposed to speak on campus, some protesters set fires, threw rocks and molotov cocktails, and attacked members of the crowd to try to shut down the event. The violence and damage garnered national attentionand forced officials to putthe campus on lockdown.

After the university canceled Yiannopouloss talk, President Trump criticized the school and threatened in a tweet to pullfederal funds from Berkeley.

Clashes between conservatives and liberals have continued since, both in Berkeley and elsewhere. As recently as last weekend, protests again turned violent though in the city of Berkeley, not the university campus as pro-Trump and anti-Trump protestersclashed in the streets. The violence Saturday escalated throughout the day as activists from both the far left and far right joined the fray.

At AuburnUniversity in Alabama on Tuesday, three people were arrested amidprotests and a fistfight that occurred over a speech by self-proclaimed white nationalist leader Richard Spencer.

Still, the decision by Berkeley to cancel both events involving high-profile conservatives was especially notable giventhe campuss roleduring the 1960s and 1970s as the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement and itslong tradition of social protest. But even moresurprising was the schools reversal Thursday.

Chancellor Nicholas Dirks said the April 27 speaking date presentedsafety and venue challenges.

Our police department has made it clear that they have very specific intelligence regarding threats that could pose a grave danger to the speaker, attendees and those who may wish to lawfully protest the event, Dirks said. At the same time, we respect and support Ms. Coulters own First Amendment rights.

Dirks said that after the cancellation was announced, he asked university staff to look beyond the usual venues we use for large public gatherings to see if there might be a protectable space for this event. Fortunately, that expanded search identified an appropriate, protectable venue.

Supporters and protesters of President Trump clashed on Saturday, April 15 in Berkeley, Calif. (Reuters)

[A professor called Trumps win an act of terrorism. The student who filmed her got suspended.]

University officials have emphasized that they are not canceling Coulters eventbecause of her sharply conservative views.

It has nothing to do with anyones political views. We believe in unqualified support to the First Amendment, Mogulof saidWednesday. But we also have an unqualified focus on safety of our students.

The decision to cancel Coulters speech drew sharp criticism from some on campus, such as Robert Reich, a Berkeley professor who served as labor secretary in the Clinton administration.

This is a grave mistake, Reich said in aFacebook post. He said universities should do everything possible to foster and protect free speech, writingthat students should be allowed to hear Coulters arguments and question them.

Its one thing to cancel an address at the last moment because university and local police are not prepared to contain violence. Its another thing entirely to cancel an address before it is given, when police have adequate time to prepare for such eventualities, he said.

Self-proclaimed white nationalist Richard Spencer spoke at Auburn University Tuesday, April 18. His visit sparked protests that turned violent and led to three arrests. (YouTube/Ryan Crumpler)

Perry Stein and Brian Murphy contributed to this report, which has been updated.

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Ann Coulter rejects Berkeleys new invite and a lawsuit ...