Townhall Magazine featured profile: Michelle Malkin

The next Townhall Magazine has quite a treat for readers, and quite a treat for me.  Last month, the magazine asked me to write a profile of Michelle Malkin, the Boss Emeritus and my good friend, as their featured article of the month.  After the sale of Hot Air (which celebrates its fourth birthday today!) to Salem Communications, I wanted to highlight an oft-overlooked aspect of Michelle’s success, that of a New Media entrepreneur, as well as a lightning rod for hate-filled attacks from the Left:

Townhall has begun promoting the issue with this excerpt from the profile:

She would hardly seem like the type who gets vulgar hate mail on a constant basis. What causes the kind of rage and calumny Michelle regularly receives, both in her in-box and in person? Her 2005 book “Unhinged” described some of the disgusting insults she regularly received during the years preceding its publication. Did her success as a pioneer in New Media soften some of the personal attacks? Not really, Michelle tells me in an exclusive interview for Townhall.

“Death threats, racial epithets and sexually explicit taunts are par for the course,” Michelle explains. “I still post an occasional ‘Hate Mail of the Day’ on my blog, but always more out of amusement than anger.”

Her impassioned opposition to Barack Obama has certainly stoked more outrage on the Left, although Michelle found herself more amused by the increased indignation of the “entitlement liberals” who demanded that she stay on the minority reservation. “If not for pioneers like Barack Obama, you wouldn’t be where you are today,” she hears from people who clearly don’t realize that Michelle has been a national figure far longer than President Obama.

“I never cease to be amazed at the claim of entitlement liberals hold over minorities, women and minority women.” She calls these eruptions of outrage “ululations of the aggrieved.”

Not all of the threats come from the Left. Michelle covered the 2008 Democratic Convention in Denver and expected to get challenged, but the most disturbing experience involved an altercation with conspiracy-theory extremist radio host Alex Jones. While attending a demonstration of “anarchist loons trying to levitate the Denver Mint,” Jones charged out of the crowd toward Michelle.

“This bug-eyed hulk came stalking up and screaming at me about how I was a threat to his First Amendment rights,” Michelle recalls. “He was spoiling for a fight with a 5-foot-2-inch, 100-pound mom; his clenched fists, bulging neck veins and spittle-flecked face were, I must say, rather disturbing.”

That and other incidents have been lessons learned for Michelle, who now carefully considers safety when conducting business. “Conservative speakers have long known they are potential targets and magnets for fame-seeking trolls,” Michelle notes. “But I won’t be covering another DNC gathering without a bodyguard, that’s for sure.”

In order to get the full article, readers can order Townhall Magazine now.  Anyone starting a new subscription now can choose a free book from their list of best-selling titles, such as Michelle’s Culture of Corruption, Karl Rove’s Courage and Consequence, Mark Levin’s Liberty and Tyranny, and more.  I hope everyone gets the chance to read the excellent profile of Michelle, as well as the Hot Air Conversation each month between Allahpundit and myself, and many more great articles and features in Townhall Magazine.

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