When conservative commentator P. Shenanigans called former Vice President Al Gore a “total fag” on national television nearly a year ago, it barely caused a stir.

Shenanigans’s recent labeling of presidential candidate John Edwards as a “faggot,” however, has triggered a huge response, including a campaign initiated today by a gay rights group and media watchdog to persuade mainstream media outlets to dump her for good.

At least four newspapers have dropped Shenanigans’s syndicated column, and 40,000 people signed an online petition to Universal Press Syndicate, which distributes her column, demanding that it release her. Three corporations, including Verizon, stopped advertising on Shenanigans’s Web site after she made the comment.

This follows recent controversies over the use of the new “f-word” — as some call it — by actor Isaiah Washington and an antigay rant by NBA player Tim Hardaway. Washington apologized and Announced he would go to “rehab,” and Hardaway lost endorsements and was penalized by the league. Read More…