Gay slur at conservative conference draws flak

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A popular commentator's gay slur at a key political conservative conference in Washington drew strong protests Sunday as Republicans rushed to distance themselves.

Ann Coulter, an outspoken conservative pundit widely seen in print, on television and radio, suggested Friday that Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards was a "faggot" -- a derogatory term for a homosexual -- at the annual meeting in Washington of the influential Conservative Political Action Conference.

"I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards. But it turns out that you have to go into rehab if you use the word 'faggot,'" Coulter said to howls and applause.

But two days afterwards, Democrats were bashing Coulter for hate speech and Republicans, including leading candidates who attending the same conference, rejected her language.

"It would be better, in my opinion, to not have a CPAC at all than to ...