Book Publisher Won't Drop Ann Coulter

While conservative pundit Ann Coulter has been dropped by several newspapers for using an anti-gay epithet regarding Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, she remains in good standing with her book publisher.

The Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House Inc., plans an October release for her next book, "If Democrats Had Any Brains, They'd Be Republicans."

"We have a book with her on our fall list and have no plans on altering our current publication plans," Crown publisher and senior vice president Steve Ross told The Associated Press in a recent e-mail. "Every book we have published with Ann has been a major best seller, and we expect the same with the upcoming title."

Coulter's books include "Treason," "Slander" and "Godless," in which she harshly criticized a group of New Jersey widows whose husbands perished in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. "I've never seen people enjoying their husbands' deaths so much," she wrote.

According to Editor & Publisher, at least eight newspapers have dropped Coulter's syndicated column since her comments about Edwards, a former senator from North Carolina.

On March 2, speaking to GOP activists attending the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, Coulter said, "I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word 'faggot,' so I — so kind of an impasse, can't really talk about Edwards."

Coulter has declined to apologize, telling The New York Times, "C'mon, it was a joke. I would never insult gays by suggesting that they are like John Edwards. That would be mean."
By Hillel Italie