Ted Nugent: Worst political endorser ever?
Ted Nugent on Tuesday doubled down on his recent political provocation, telling the Dana Loesch radio show that the Obama administration is full of “corrupt monsters” and “communist czars” and that House minority leader Nancy Pelosi is a “varmint” and “subhuman scoundrel.”
Mr. Nugent did not take back the assertion he made at last weekend’s National Rifle Association convention that if President Obama is reelected, “I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year.” The Secret Service has already confirmed that it will be visiting the aging shock rocker to determine if that phrase is an actual threat.
“See, I’m a black Jew at a Nazi-Klan rally ... because I have the audacity to speak the truth to identify the violations of our government,” Nugent told the Loesch show.
Wow. Ted Nugent identifies with Sammy Davis Jr. – who knew? Beyond that, we’ve got this question: Who’s happiest about Nugent’s visit to political crazy town – Democrats or journalists?
Democrats are certainly trying to take advantage of the moment, since Nugent publicly endorsed Mitt Romney last month, something the presumptive GOP nominee and his sons crowed about at the time. The Democratic National Committee has rushed out a rapid-response video that tries to hang Nugent around Mr. Romney’s neck, metaphorically speaking.
But Nugentgate has given some commentators the opportunity to set their umbrage machines to “stun." They’re calling on Romney to condemn Nugent by name, perhaps while shattering copies of the 1978 LP “Ted Nugent Double Live – Gonzo!” (The Romney campaign has issued a generic statement condemning divisive political speech.)
“Until the candidate condemns the rocker, we should all assume he’s fine with that kind of talk from a surrogate,” wrote The Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart on Tuesday in an opinion column.
OK, we’ll agree that Nugent’s words are so far over the top that at this point, he’s approaching the outer rings of Saturn. (“We are Braveheart. We need to ride onto that battlefield and chop their heads off in November!” he said last week.) It’s illegal to threaten the president, as the Secret Service soon will be reminding him.
But Romney surrogate? As we wrote Tuesday, we’re not sure Ted Nugent is a Ted Nugent surrogate any longer. Many of his rants aren’t so much speech as derogatory words linked together at random. (See “black Jew at a Nazi-Klan rally,” above.) He earned the nickname Motor City Madman in the 1970s. He’s had 40 years to perfect that act.
One thing is certain: The Romney campaign is marking him down as the worst celebrity endorsement they’ve yet received. On Tuesday, Nugent not only said that he stands by his previous words, but he also said that Romney agrees with him.
“Mitt Romney knows what I’m saying is true. He puts it in the words for him; I put in the words for me,” Nugent told the Loesch show.
Well, Ted, think of it this way: You’re making big problems for Romney at the moment. What if he wins? Will he be grateful for you? Nope, he won’t. We figure there’s a good chance you’ll be in trouble with the White House no matter who sits in the Oval Office next January.
