Ted Nugent himself is a cowardly pseudo-macho poser incapable of doing any real physical damage on his own. This disgusting pervert would rather sit around in his own feces than join the army and his sexual proclivities run to young girls rather than real women for whom he has no appeal. Nugent compares himself to a 'Black Jew At A Nazi-Klan Rally' and it seems clear he does not think the NRA is a Nazi-Klan.
We are all aware of the dangers posed when a person yells "FIRE" in a crowded theater. So when members of Wayne LaPierre's NRA gather together for a convention to hear Ted Nugent, we have a full crowd of heavily armed individuals conditioned by that organization to view liberals as mortal enemies seeking to take away their guns, their freedom and their country. Here in Knoxville Tennessee we've already seen one clear tragic example of the damage that can be done by such talk.
Nugent began his career with The Amboy Dukes and an album called Journey to the Center of the Mind. This was obviously a very abbreviated trip for Ted for which there was no return ticket. His philosophical musings went only so deep as the question Why is a Carrot More Orange than an Orange. The costumes and go-go girls in the video give us a glimpse of Ted's early affectations and his efforts as a guitarist whose musical style was "restricted to the Key of A and as melodic as a dial tone". The rather obvious limited musical talent is what eventually led Ted to his current shtick of gaining publicity for inflammatory rants on stage. As he has become increasingly irrelevant as a musician he has tried to become relevant as an outrageous wingnut firebrand.
So what's the harm in having this insufferable idiot spouting his violent rhetoric? He is such an obvious nut job it's difficult to believe anyone would take him seriously. But then most of us cannot fathom any rational person taking Glen Beck, The Limbaughtomy, Nitwitty or Annthrax Coulter seriously. Regretably one man we know took Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh and Bernard Goldberg far too seriously.
Back in July of 2008 here in Knoxville, Tennessee a Sunday morning Unitarian Church service was interrupted by Jim David Adkisson, an indigent food stamp recipient, with a shotgun. Adkisson shot and killed two people including the hero who stopped him and wounded 7 more during a youth musical performance. Adkisson had his shotgun and a pouch filled with ample ammunition along with a keen desire to kill the people who voted liberals into office.
Of course there are no liberals in office who were voted there by any of the people in the Second Congressional District of Tennessee. This is a staunchly Republican area that has never had a Democrat in Congress. But that did not register with Mr. Adkisson. He was inspired by talk radio personalities like Limbaugh and Fox television pundits like Coulter and Glenn Beck. He was particularly fond of Goldberg's 100 People Who Were Screwing Up America Adkisson took seriously the idea that liberals are traitors responsible for ruining America.
During his police interview Adkisson stated that he had targeted the church because of its liberal teachings and his belief that all liberals should be killed because they were ruining the country, and that he felt that the Democrats had tied his country's hands in the war on terror and they had ruined every institution in America with the aid of major liberal media outlets. Adkisson made statements that because he could not get to the leaders of the liberal movement that he would then target those that had voted them into office. This according to the affidavit of an interrogating officer.So back to this NRA gathering with Mr Nugent on the stage with his AK 47 props
This graphic is by my friend Tracy Knauss Nugent took the stage in front of NRA gun owners using the rhetoric of war and battlefields to speak of death or jail. His words fell on the ears of 100s of liberal-hating armed zealots conditioned by the NRA President to believe that liberals and President Obama wanted to take their guns as LaPierre had ranted in this speech before CPAC.
Nevermind that the President has not proposed any legislation or even mentioned gun control in over three years in office. The NRA has convinced the membership of a conspiracy that will somehow ram a law through Congress despite their well-paid members with the effect of removing guns from the entire population. So why shouldn't we be seriously worried about the effect of Nugent's and LaPierre's rhetoric on minds deluded enough to believe what the NRA suggests they should. The NRA is powerful enough to own most of Congress. Should we believe they lack the power to inspire violence in their well armed membership?
These people believe Obama has raised their taxes even though he lowered them. They believe he is a Muslim. They believe he was born in Kenya or Malaysia. They believe he and we are Socialists and that 80 members of Congress are Communists. They believe we are unAmerican Godless soulless traitors. Why wouldn't they believe Ted Nugent is serious when he incites them to chop off the heads of liberals? Why wouldn't they consider it their patriotic duty to rid the country of us?
Now we've learned that Mitt Romney went out of his way to court the support of Mr. Nugent by spending the time to have a long conversation assuring him that he will save the country from the gun hating liberals with his help. Nugent is the same madman who shared a stage with Sarah Palin and John McCain during the Game Change election of 2008. He is a Republican rock star of weight - or so believes Romney through his son
And what of Romney's response to those who suggested that he repudiate Nugent's call for violence? Nugent called President Obama a criminal and denounced his “vile, evil America-hating administration” which is “wiping its ass with the Constitution.” So Romney suggested that “Divisive language is offensive no matter what side of the political aisle it comes from, Mitt Romney believes everyone needs to be civil.” That's as far as the leader of the Republican party is willing to go in moderating Ted Nugent. He was far harder on Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich of his 'mild by comparison' opposition. We all remember what happened to the Dixie Chicks for simply saying that they were "ashamed that President Bush is from Texas". And the website Politico suggest that Nugent is the Hillary Rosen of the Romney campaign. These people think Rosen speaking the truth "Ann Romney never worked a day in her life" is the same thing as Nugent saying "We need to ride into that battlefield and chop their heads off in November. Any questions?" "Any Questions" indeed. This obvious false equivalency raises all kinds of questions about Politico's mental stability, reason, and logic even though all those thoughts about Nugent have been completely settled.
There is evidently no answer to the clear and Nugent danger to liberals in America. The Republicans have no interest in toning down the rhetoric of right wing hate. They prefer to wage a war of false equivalencies trying to equate Bill Maher or Keith Olbermann with Limbaugh, Coulter, Beck, Hannity, Nugent, Murdock, Ailes, The Koch Brothers, Goldberg, Kristol, Savage, Michelle Malkin and a plethora of similar liars and distorters that ruin any chance of rational dialogue. Of course that's all Republican's can do when the truth and reason would have at least 80% of Americans voting for their own best health, wage, tax, job, education, freedom and economic interests with the Democrats. They simply cannot sell their elitist pro wealth anti-woman agenda with the truth. Thus they prefer to put all of us at risk for our lives from the seriously unhinged who could easily take the words of Ted Nugent and other flame throwing Republican pundits as a call to violent action against imaginary traitors.
If this does not cause some alarm it should. Just ask the members of Knoxville's Unitarian Church or the people targeted by a Sarah Palin website in Arizona. These being two of the most reactionary states in the country by virtue of recent laws passed in their state legislatures. They should be the least susceptible to attacks on their marginalized and ineffective liberals. We are increasingly being targeted by rightwing hate-mongers using violent rhetoric and we know from experience the potentially dire consequences involved. Be safe out there and watch your back. Romney and his friends aren't going to waste a word to calm the situation and put a stop to the Ted Nugents of their party. They depend on them help fool their woefully misguided base into voting for the party that will do them real harm.
