Ellis Henican VS Bill O'Reilly: Ann Coulter is a satirist

VIDEO: Ellis Henican and Bill O'Reilly discuss Ann Coulter and media bias

Ellis Henican, Newsday contributor and sometimes fill-in for Pete Dominick appeared on the O'Reilly Factor to discuss Ann Coulter's appearance on 'The View'.

It was an interesting discussion, O'Reilly in defense of Ann spoke of the media's general bias against polemics on the right. Citing the media's soft treatment towards new Minnesota Senator Al Franken, a proud O'Reilly nemesis.

If that weasel Al Franken goes out on 'The View', or anywhere else. He does the exact same thing. Or he did. And in even a worse tone than Ann Coulter. He gets a pass, what's that all about?

O'Reilly like in his face to face with Coulter, seemed to condescend to Ann by labeling her a 'satirist'

O'REILLY: She puts forth that she's a satirist like Jonathan Swift
HENICAN: That's an excuse when you say something you can't defend...
O'REILLY: How do you know she's not a satirist... what are you dismissing?
HENICAN: She makes personal and direct charges against often weak people, beating up on single moms. Most people - not Ann - think that's a little cruel. The more she says that the more people are gonna not like what she's saying and the more they'll be drawn to the opposite side of the political spectrum

The 'Ann Coulter as Jonathan Swift meme' was popularised by an Op-Ed written by Meghan Daum for the Los Angeles Times

Coulter's a satirist -- really?
Even a few common citizens got the joke. A letter to the editor of the Arizona Republic criticized columnist Leonard Pitts for showing "his own ignorance by failing to recognize Coulter as a satirist, in the mode of Jonathan Swift." Here at home, a reader responded to L.A. Times columnist Tim Rutten's suggestion that Coulter was essentially in the pornography business with: "Coulter isn't selling pornography, she's selling satire — and doing it with great success."

O'Reilly assessment of Coulter is reminiscent of Janeane Garofalo's theory on Ann. Whilst O'Reilly sees in Ann a Jonathan Swift-like 'satirist', Janeane sees a Kaufmanesque 'performance artist'.

Janeane, Seder, Maher and Coulter
Her (Ann) public persona is so intolerant as to be absurd... she says things that are bordering on performance art. In fact I do have a theory that she is Andy Kaufman, the female Tony Clifton.