Sweeney Disgusted with Ann Coulter Tweet

New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney voiced his outrage Tuesday about a tweet by conservative political commentator Ann Coulter during the Oct. 22 presidential debate.

At one point during the debate, Coulter tweeted,"I highly approve of Romney's decision to be kind and gentle to the retard."

Her words drew the ire of many, including Sweeney, a Democratic state senator who sponsored legislation to remove the word "retard" from New Jersey laws and regulations in 2010. Sweeney, a West Deptford resident, also has a daughter who attends school in the Gloucester County Special Services School District.

In his statement, Sweeney said:

It really does not get any more despicable than this. I honestly don’t know if there is another person on this planet as shameless as Ann Coulter. She has no morals, no boundaries and no sense of common decency.

Her thoughtless remarks are meant to provoke and draw attention to whatever latest nonsensical ultra conservative rant she is peddling. I really have no words to describe her other than just a horrible person. I guess going after 9-11 widows was not enough for her. She now has to attack people with disabilities too.

This is not only insulting to millions of people across the country, but to me, it is personal. I have worked hard to scrub that word from our vocabulary forever, and with good reason: words matter. If Ann Coulter wants to get out from behind Twitter and have a face to face discussion with me on why she wishes to insult my daughter and the millions of people with developmental disabilities in this country, I will have it anytime, anywhere, any place.

Adding to the insult, Coulter detractors say, is that this isn't the first time the instigative commentator has used "retard" publicly. She did so in August and September, The Hollywood Reporter says. 

As in times past, advocacy groups denounced Coulter's use of the word. "Sad to see @AnnCoulter continue her use of hateful language by using the #Rword in her discourse,"tweeted the R-word Campaign, a movement to strike "retard" from speech.