Commentary

Conservatives against Coulter; Fighting Fire with Fire

Conservatives against Coulter
Coulter is part of a sensationalistic brand of politics.

Ann Coulter recently announced on Hannity & Colmes that if Senator John McCain wins the GOP nomination, she will not only vote but also campaign for Democratic Candidate Hillary Clinton. After declaring “Hillary is our girl,” she continued her tirade against the likely GOP candidate. Conservative personalities in America have never shied away from denouncing McCain’s moderate policies. Coulter made sure to play on that in her proclamation. “Hillary is absolutely more conservative. Moreover she lies less than John McCain, she’s smarter than John McCain. When they’re caught shamelessly lying, at least the Clintons know they’ve been caught lying. McCain is so stupid he doesn’t even know he’s been caught.”

Coulter highlighted the rationale behind her decision in one of her latest columns featured on her web site. “With Hillary, we’ll get the same ruinous liberal policies with none of the responsibility ...At least under President Hillary, Republicans in Congress would know that they’re supposed to fight back.” To backup her claims, Coulter’s website currently features a brief summary on why McCain is essentially a Democrat. His promotion of amnesty for illegal aliens and his co-sponsored McCain-Feingold Act are two of the many actions featured on the rap sheet, which conservatives routinely cite whenever his allegiance to the GOP is brought up.

Despite this rationale, the blogosphere and even some television pundits attribute Coulter’s surprising promotion to a bigger scheme. There are many that feel Coulter’s performance on “Hannity & Colmes” coupled with her continued allegiance to the same woman she once referred to as “pond scum” is a charade. It has been suggested that because Hillary has more of a record to attack, a general election pitting Clinton against McCain would allow for the GOP to sling a lot more mud around. Compared to a less polarizing Obama, Clinton would present a lot more opportunities to expose flaws and give McCain the needed to boost to secure a GOP victory. While a scheme like this borders on conspiracy theory, the reasoning behind it makes perfect sense. Whether or not Coulter truly believes Clinton would make a better president than McCain, it is certain that millions of people follow her advice. On a college campus, one could not be farther removed from this demographic. It nevertheless still exists and perhaps Coulter should keep this in mind if she really is staging a conspiracy against the Democratic Party.

Yet still, this highlights a bigger trend in an already played out election. As Americans continually find themselves disappointed with the current system, they fail to evaluate the priorities in their candidate. When a celebrity endorsement or a tear can garner more votes than a successful debate or speech, there is something to be said. Yet when pundits like Coulter take advantage of Americans’ susceptibility to entertainment, Americans move farther and farther outside the realm of accurate candidate comprehension. Some may be making a noble effort, but with the existence of attention-crazed writers and personalities such as Coulter, people’s efforts are rendered futile in their search for the right candidate.

Fighting Fire with Fire
Concealed carrry is necessary for campus security.

In the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, colleges across the country have taken a hard look at campus security. As Tufts makes minor adjustments to its own precautionary measures, the question still looms large: will these measures be enough to stop an armed individual before it is too late? The unfortunate events of February 8, in which two women at Louisiana Technical University were shot to death, suggest no.

The time has come to consider an additional security measure: allowing legally eligible students, staff, and professors to carry concealed weapons on campus. The simple truth is that even the most competent police force is incapable of a response fast enough to prevent massive loss of life at the hands of a determined killer.

In recognition of this fact, college students have created an organization called Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC). The mission of this organization, now over 10,000 strong, is “to educate the public about the facts of concealed carry” and “to push state legislatures and school administrations to grant concealed handgun license holders the same right—the right to carry concealed handguns—on college campuses that these license holders currently enjoy at most other places.” These other places include shopping malls, office buildings, movie theaters, and banks.

In anticipation of visceral objections to its stated goals, SCCC has included on its website a page listing the most common arguments against concealed carry on campus, as well as articulate and succinct rebuttals. The data presented demonstrate the absurdity of typical claims such as, “Guns on campus would lead to an escalation in violent crime.” SCCC’s response: “Since the fall semester of 2006, state law in Utah has allowed licensed individuals to carry concealed handguns on the campuses of all public colleges...This has yet to result in a single act of violence at any of these schools.  Numerous studies, including ones by University of Maryland senior research scientist John Lott, University of Georgia professor David Mustard, engineering statistician William Sturdevant, and various state agencies, show that concealed handgun license holders are five times less likely than non-license holders to be arrested for violent crimes.”

In Massachusetts, gun control is stringent enough to have received praise from the anti-Second Amendment lobbying group The Brady Campaign. Concealed carry regulations forbid citizens from carrying a concealed firearm on any campus in the state, and make it difficult for Massachusetts citizens to obtain licenses at all. As time goes on, and as the frequency of shootings increases all over the country, the probability of a deadly shooting occurring in Massachusetts, home to hundreds of college campuses, approaches one. The law must be changed.

Students who feel that increased security at the gym is insufficient to stop the rampage of an armed attacker anywhere on the Tufts campus should write to Massachusetts state officials encouraging them to change concealed carry regulations. They should also join the Facebook group for SCCC, with links to the organization’s website and a rapidly growing body of concerned students. The campus concealed carry initiative is much more than a principled defense of the Second Amendment; it is a practical solution that gives students more than a feeble hope that they will be defended by someone else in a time of emergency.