Conservative pundit Ann Coulter proclaimed herself the "right-wing Judy Garland" when she agreed to speak at this past weekend's Homocon 2010, sponsored by gay conservative group GOProud. Coulter's bosses at World Net Daily--which publishes her column--failed to see the humor. They dropped her from the list of speakers at an upcoming event after word of her HomoCon appearance surfaced back in August. "I believe this is a time when God is calling his people to stand up for what's right," explained World Net Daily editor Joe Farah after dropping Coulter. "I'm afraid [Coulter is] really blurring the lines for many of her fans."

Based on the harsh response to Coulter's speech Saturday (particularly her proclamation "Marriage is not a civil right. You're not black."), the displeasure wasn't just limited to Coulter die-hards.

• Flat Laugh Lines  Coulter's tasteless jokes during the speech made her seem less like the right-wing Judy Garland and more like the "Andrew Dice Clay of homophobia," declares New York magazine's Nitasha Tiku. Coulter, Tiku argues, tried to have it both ways "insinuating that there's room for gays in the GOP, but spewing out enough hate that no one would confuse [her] for a reasonable human being."

• Cringe-Worthy  Talking Points Memo's Megan Carpentier says the "marriage is not a civil right" comment was one of several "racially insensitive remarks that pervaded her speech." The comments, according to Carpentier, were inflammatory enough to leave attendees "startled by her racially-tinged humor."

• Having Her Cake  Even though she was hardly sympathetic towards gay rights, Coulter's participation in the event could still wind up hurting her with fans on the right, argues Esquire's Marty Beckerman. Beckerman contends that for Coulter's true believers the appearance will raise questions as to whether "this culture warrior serious about every word that comes out of her mouth, or none of them."

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Ray Gustini