Glenn Greenwald makes an excellent point: on the whole Ann Coulter "faggot" episode. While some conservatives are denouncing what she said, they are only doing it because it hurts the movement's image.

Conservatives love Ann. She is their rock star. She loves to say outrageous things, which gets her more press coverage and sells more books. That hard-core base of the movement can't get enough of her.

But to win an election, you have to attract more than the base. So Republicans want to hide Auntie Ann in the closet until after the 2008 elections. But Crazy Ann just can't stay in that closet. As I heard one commentator say last night, she needs publicity like a tapeworm needs a large intestine.

If Coulter wasn't such a rock star, it would be easy to hide her extreme views. But the TV cameras love her, so the rest of us are treated to her lunacy, forcing Republicans to kinda, sorta denounce her without angering the conservatives who love her.

If Democrats were smart, they would hang Ann Coulter around the neck of every Republican candidate in 2008.