Ted Nugent slams State of the Union. Why did he rip GOP, too?
Did you see shocker rocker/gun advocate Ted Nugent attending President Obama鈥檚 State of the Union address? At first reporters had a hard time finding him, but eventually the cameras discovered the Motor City Madman high in the House gallery, sitting quietly in the crowd, with his hat off, wearing non-camouflage clothing. He looked out of place, like a cowboy at a piano recital. He also looked bored.
鈥淢y favorite part was when I couldn鈥檛 hear clearly,鈥� said Mr. Nugent to reporters after the address. 鈥淭hen, I didn鈥檛 get angry.鈥�
But Ted Nugent鈥檚 Excellent Washington Adventure was not an exercise in restraint. If nothing else, the Nuge fulfilled expectations from both left and right that he鈥檇 rhetorically bludgeon Mr. Obama鈥檚 gun proposals.
鈥淢y reaction? I鈥檓 not allowed to do that because I鈥檓 supposed to keep my pants on,鈥� 鈥淢y reaction for the masses? It pains me to honestly give you my reaction. I just don鈥檛 believe a word the man says. I鈥檝e heard this predictable, flowery, feel-good speech of denial before.鈥�
Nugent then proceeded to give a fairly typical right-of-the-spectrum view of the gun violence problem. Dangerous criminals need to be kept locked up, he said, and mentally-ill people who exhibit threatening behavior should be 鈥渒ept off the streets," too.
Nugent is a board member of the National Rifle Association, and he sounded as if he were echoing NRA talking points, although with much more volume and emphasis than even NRA head Wayne LaPierre. In that sense, he disappointed hard-core followers and liberals alike, both of whom may have been expecting a bit more crazy. There was no Nugent suggestion for a MediGun program dispensing AR-15s to retirees, for instance, or a proposal to add a camouflage fringe to the American flag.
As Slate鈥檚 perceptive Dave Weigel 鈥淚f Nugent joined the Republican caucus, he wouldn鈥檛 even be its most conservative member."
But here鈥檚 what we found particularly interesting: Nugent was pretty hard on the Republican Party. In some ways his rhetoric about the GOP was more brutal than his comments on the SOTU.
In an interview with the conservative Breitbart.com website, Nugent said the Republican establishment does not fight back against Obama 鈥渂ecause somehow they have lost their [deleted]."
We鈥檙e a family blog 鈥� if you want to see what body part he was talking about, look at the source. It was, um, original.
Nugent told Breitbart that the GOP is more concerned with looking pretty than winning. They should not back off, not stop to allow the other side to talk, not acquiesce. They should escalate, he said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 almost like Mr. Rogers with Lawrence Welk music,鈥� said Nugent, referring (we think) to the GOP. 鈥淭hat can鈥檛 win anything. The other side is ruthless. They鈥檙e just ruthless.... Maybe that鈥檚 why I鈥檓 allergic to ties. I see too many Republicans worried about grooming instead of winning.鈥�
Ouch.
Nugent, who traveled to D.C. at the invitation of Rep. Steve Stockman (R) of Texas, said he鈥檇 had a good time in what he referred as the 鈥渂elly of the beast鈥� and had been thanked by many police officers and other passers-by for his no-holds-barred, pro-hunting attitude.
鈥淚鈥檓 a beautiful human being,鈥� . 鈥淎nybody that doesn鈥檛 know that is [crazy].鈥�
