Conservative columnist Ann Coulter gave up her prepared remarks after the first 15 minutes of what was supposed to be a 45-minute speech Wednesday night, after heckling from students at the University of Connecticut made it impossible for her to continue. According to the Associated Press, Coulter instead did a 30-minute Q&A in which she endeared students by telling them, “I love to engage in repartee with people who are stupider than I am.”

The AP reported that:

“Harding University in Arkansas dropped her from its lecture series in September, citing her abrasive image. Last April, the president of the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota denounced a speech on the campus by Coulter, calling it hateful. In October 2004, University of Arizona police arrested two men who ran on stage and threw custard pies at Coulter; one of the pies glanced off her shoulder.”

While universities are expected to encourage diversity of thought, when a speaker so angers and inflames (and overtly insults) an audience, one wonders why she was invited in the first place. I imagine for the liberal students who went to listen to her, it was a combination of know thine enemy and a secret hope, like people watching an auto race, that they will get to see the rhetorical equivalent of a fiery wreck.

Coulter it seems makes her living on the speaking circuit. She is listed with numerous speakers’ bureaus including All American, Premiere Speakers Bureau, Leading Authorities, Greater Talent Network, and Nationwide. According to All American, Coulter receives between $30,000 and $50,000 for a speech. Apparently hate pays.