With a single word, Coulter sullied the hard work of hundreds of CPAC participants and exhibitors and tarred the collective reputation of thousands of CPAC attendees. At a reception for college students held by the Young America’s Foundation, I lambasted the substitution of stupid slurs for persuasion– be it “faggot” from a conservative or “gook” from a liberal–and urged the young people there to conduct themselves at all times with dignity in their ideological battles on and off campus.

I made something else explicitly clear: Not all of us treat the communication of conservative ideals and ideas as 24/7 performance art. You can and should use humor to convey your message. You can enlighten and entertain–without becoming a tired old schtick. You can joke without becoming

Points all well-taken. It’s worth noting that when someone on the Left says something stupid and offensive, the typical reaction is to circle the wagons. Or get them a job blogging for Edwards. When someone on the Right does, the heavy artillery comes from our own camp.

It was stupid of Screamin’ Dean to insist that all the Republican candidates “apologize” for Coulter’s remark, for no other reason than they didn’t make the remark. But the political reality is that they had to say something about it. That was Coulter’s fault. It was even more stupid of her to have made it. Why? She’s smarter than Dean. She also gets held to a higher standard than Dean, because she’s not (supposed to be) a raving lunatic.

Don’t get me wrong: I love a good polemic, especially from a polemicist who looks that hot in a miniskirt. I’ve been a fan of Coulter’s for years.

She should apologize. But not to the Breck Girl, and not to Mr. Yeaaaargh. To us.