"Enthusiastically received" posted by Richard Seymour

The best place to see the future of the conservative movement in America was in the ballroom of a Washington hotel last Friday, as Ann Coulter, the syndicated rightwing columnist, got up to speak.

To a chorus of "We love you, Ann", she launched into her trademark outrageous one-liners, denouncing moderate Republicans as "rats" and "Washington weenies". Libertarian Republicans fared little better. "If you are going to be a conservative in America, you can't be a pussy." Asked to describe her most difficult ethical dilemma, she gave a loud sigh. "There was one time I had a shot at [President Bill] Clinton."

Warning of the danger of Iran having nuclear weapons, she suggested: "Post-9/11 our philosophy should be: Raghead talks tough? Raghead faces consequences."

Her talk was the most enthusiastically received of the Conservative Political Action Conference. It was better attended than talks from Vice-President Dick Cheney, Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker who sees himself as the intellectual leader of the movement, or Lt Colonel Oliver North, a regular on the conservative speaking circuit.

Even so, there was some criticism. Challenged on her anti-Muslim remarks by Akir Khan, a young activist, she added: "OK, I make a few jokes. They killed 3,000 Americans."