Republicans heart Coulter.

(Pictured: non-conservative Ann Coulter, talking to a packed crowd of cheering conservatives, for whom she doesn't speak)

"I was going to talk about John Edwards but these days, you have to go into rehab if you say the word 'faggot,'" - Ann Coulter, cheered to the rafters at CPAC today.

Sullivan has the scoop from CPAC.

When you see her in such a context, you realize that she truly represents the heart and soul of contemporary conservative activism, especially among the young. The standing ovation for Romney was nothing like the eruption of enthusiasm that greeted her...She is the new Republicanism. The sooner people recognize this, the better.

Andrew apparently hasn't heard that Ann Coulter Doesn't Speak For Most Conservatives^TM.

UPDATE

At Think Progress (via Atrios), they've got the video. I wonder if the liberal media will ask Mitt Romney if he thinks John Edwards is a "faggot," since he likes Coulter so much.

UPDATED AGAIN

Sullivan has posted again about this and written,

I'm not being an hysteric about Coulter. Republicans, if they are serious about reaching the people they lost in 2006, need to start distancing themselves from her. She's their Michael Moore.

How many ways is this a completely bogus comparison?

Let's count: Michael Moore hasn't called George HW Bush a "good rapist" or suggested we should be talking about assassinating him, Michael Moore hasn't called John McCain a "faggot," Michael Moore hasn't called gold star mothers "harpies," Michael Moore hasn't called half the population of the United States traitors, or suggested that Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are American heroes.

Oh -- and most importantly, Michael Moore is not a powerful figure in the Democratic party! He does not give major speeches at major Democratic functions like CPAC.

Why can't people like Sullivan get this through their heads?

Moore was a Green in 2000, who campaigned against Gore. When was the last time Coulter campaigned against a Republican?

Never.

Coulter isn't a conservative, any more than Hannity is. She's an institutional Republican partisan. Moore is hardly a Democratic partisan, and he's got no real connections with the Democratic party. He's just found the Democrats more tolerable of late.

UPDATED AGAIN

Interesting reaction at "Hot Air." They're worried more about the spin, not the actual words.

I’m no fan of John Edwards, but that’s just a stupid joke. It’s over the line. The laughter it generated across the room was more than a little annoying.

Last year it was “raghead.” This year it’s calling John Edwards a “faggot.” Two years in a row, Coulter has finished up an otherwise sharp CPAC routine with an obnoxious slur that liberals will fling at conservatives for years to come.

Otherwise sharp? Except for the bigoted epithet, it was perfect.

The question is: why was she invited either year? Only a fool is surprised, as the saying goes. Her public gaffe rap sheet is a mile long, and you invite her to speak at the same podium as the Vice President?

Sorry, no sympathy. You guys deserve to have it flung at you, and more. You and only you made Coulter who she is. You own her. You created her.

She is the face of your political party. Congratulations.