In her speech on Saturday, Coulter says that “not only can gays be conservative, you pretty much have to be,” because they are the “highest income demographic,” because “gays are too stylish to work for the federal government,” because radical Muslims want to execute them, and because “once [scientists] find the gay gene, guess who’s getting aborted?”

While people acted stunned that the “tea party of the gay rights movement,” would invite Coulter, it’s actually a match that makes perfect sense.  GOProud wants to scandalize and tweak the gay establishment. And Coulter’s gay cred dates back to the days–according to David Brock’s memoir Blinded by the Right– that she and Laura Ingraham went to gay bars and cruised conservative events for gay guys with the man who would later create progressive mediawatchdog Media Matters for America.

How much of her act does she actually believe?  Well, that’s where the cognitive dissonance comes in.  Beckerman, who has the best coverage of the speech, said “[t]his is the same Coulter, of course, who is comfortable with the word “faggot,” wrote that Rick Santorum’s comparison of gay sex to bestiality is an “indisputably true point,” told an interviewer that sexually active gay men should “feel guilty about it,” and mocked the “irritating lesbian” teenager in Tennessee who wanted to bring her girlfriend to senior prom.”

All the pearl-clutching over the speech misses the larger point.  Coulter is a conservative.  GOProud is made up of conservatives. Conservatives–gay and lesbian or straight–are suspicious of extension of civil rights laws, hate crime laws, and much of the liberal gay rights establishment’s agenda. They would prefer voters, not the courts, would approve same-sex marriage.  In that sense, the underpinning of GOProud and Coulter’s thinking is not that far-removed from more serious voices like Andrew Sullivan and Jonathan Rauch.

And who doesn’t like a good vaudeville act.  I mean, the Human Rights Campaign trots out Kathy Griffin and Servicemembers Legal Defense Network uses Lady GaGa to make their point on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Gay divas have headlined gay events for years, using their celebrity to promote a cause. In the end, Coulter got herself a lot of attention and GOProud got a lot of attention.  Anyone expecting something highbrow and politically-correct clearly doesn’t get her schtick and understand that her greatest goal is to get this kind of media attention.

• Tony the Fist

  Her friend Bill Maher called Ann a diva. She’s the perfect icon for gay Republicans.

• Big Eddie

  ?? Elizabeth ? … Big Eddie’s coming to join you , honey .

• right-is-wrong

  Well said Micahel.

• The_Reasonable_Lib

  This reminds me of an episodes of The Boondocks featuring Coulter.

• Azarkhan

  “her greatest goal is to get this kind of media attention.”

  Thanks for being a tool in Ms. Coulter’s diabolical scheme, Mediaite.

• right-is-wrong

  
  Even if that’s not how she delivered her speech, it helps understand why her act plays so well on the gay road.

  Ann Coulter is a woman?

• murphy0071

  Homosexuality in some cases is genetic and there are unscrupulous genetic counselors who will look at those genes and prospective parents can have the fetus aborted. You might want to get your facts straight before opening you mouth. There are a number of biological causes of human sexual orientation differences that have been carefully studied in the medical community. Not exactly interesting reading, but there are hundreds of medical articles, if you want to take the time to look. If not, I will send you a paper “Sexual Orientation: Science and Society” that has all the footnotes and references send an email to murphy.phd@sbcglobal.net.

• The Real Royal King

  murphy0071 said:
  Homosexuality in some cases is genetic and there are unscrupulous genetic counselors who will look at those genes and prospective parents can have the fetus aborted. You might want to get your facts straight before opening you mouth. There are a number of biological causes of human sexual orientation differences that have been carefully studied in the medical community. Not exactly interesting reading, but there are hundreds of medical articles, if you want to take the time to look. If not, I will send you a paper “Sexual Orientation: Science and Society” that has all the footnotes and references send an email to murphy.phd@sbcglobal.net.

  When I finish buying shoes on the preceding site, I’ll get back to you.

• ordinary

  If comedians can turn comedian pundits occasionally like Stewart, why can’t pundits be pundit comedians?

• tatboy

  right-is-wrong said:
  Ann Coulter is a woman?

  More of one than you’ll ever get…

• dcmediasux

  hey she sounds just like the anti gay rev donnie mcglurkin that obama brought in to SC to whomp up the black anti gay vote against hillary!

  ironic huh?

• njoy-d-ride

  Well murphy0071, not 100 percent sure who you are telling to “get your facts straight before opening you mouth” But guess what? Ann Coulter was not talking about what makes a person gay…

  Hey, right-is-wrong, I’m not sure what gender you are, or what gender attracts you, but Ann Coulter is indeed a woman, Got to love that little bitty black dress!!!

• jk76

  it’s like feminism, there is only one way to be in gayism

  liberalism has no room for dissention, and there is no end for constant improvements, progressivism = oppressionary

• TfT

  I wonder what Rachel will have to say about this tonight. Since mediaite=msnbc will we see these same points made tonight on her show? Perhaps. I will wait for the report here tomorrow.

• Rogue-Comic

  This reminds me of Colbert speaking to Congress; Colbert in general really.

• http://www.facebook.com/people/Timothy-Wright/774124882 Timothy Wright

  In other words. Ann Coulter is a a fake, an act, an annoyance as is GOProud. Neither are worth any serious time or thought other than to point out how ridiculous they are.

• http://www.facebook.com/people/Timothy-Wright/774124882 Timothy Wright

  njoy-d-ride said:
  but Ann Coulter is indeed a woman, Got to love that little bitty black dress!!!

  perhaps she is now but I’m not buying the fact that she was born that way.

• Rogue-Comic

  Timothy Wright said:
  In other words. Ann Coulter is a a fake, an act, an annoyance as is GOProud. Neither are worth any serious time or thought other than to point out how ridiculous they are.

  By that logic, the same could be said about Colbert and migrant workers. I disagree.

  Timothy Wright said:
  perhaps she is now but I’m not buying the fact that she was born that way.

  Please elaborate.

• senoj_nav

  Ann Coulter – That long luscious neck and that little black dress…

  and a mind as quick as a cat and sharper than a tack, Wow!

  Timothy Wright You can keep Rachel Madcow!