Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said it is a “sign of intellectual weakness” to try to prevent conservative speakers from giving talks on college campuses.
Speaking of the security threats that reportedly caused the University of California, Berkeley to cancel (and then postpone) Ann Coulter’s speech at the school, Sanders told the Huffington Post, “I don’t like this. I don’t like it.”
“Obviously Ann Coulter’s outrageous ― to my mind, off the wall. But you know, people have a right to give their two cents-worth, give a speech, without fear of violence and intimidation,” Sanders continued.
Sanders called disrupting conservative speakers a “sign of intellectual weakness.”
“To me, it’s a sign of intellectual weakness,” Sanders stated. “If you can’t ask Ann Coulter in a polite way questions which expose the weakness of her arguments, if all you can do is boo, or shut her down, or prevent her from coming, what does that tell the world?”
Instead of shutting down talks by causing security concerns or disrupting speakers, Sanders instructed liberals to ask Coulter “the hard questions.”
“What are you afraid of ― her ideas? Ask her the hard questions,” Sanders explained. “Confront her intellectually. Booing people down, or intimidating people, or shutting down events, I don’t think that that works in any way.”
Although the university has pushed Coulter’s event back to May 2, during the study period for finals, Coulter claims she still plans to speak on the original date of April 27.
Sanders has not only defending the right of conservatives to speak, but has also repeatedly admonished people who call conservatives, specifically supporters of President Trump, racist.
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