By Alan Bean

Texas Democrats are using Ted Nugent’s outrageous remarks about Barack Obama to embarrass Republican gubernatorial hopeful Greg Abbott and, of course, raise money for the Blue team.  That’s business as usual politics.  But I have two questions.  Why does Nugent talk this way, and why, given his rhetoric, is Nugent such a hit with the politicians?

If you aren’t familiar with Nugent’s history, this Wikipedia article should bring you up to speed.

To my knowledge, I have never heard a single Ted Nugent song, but for the past 40 years I’ve been aware of the man.  In the early 1970s his image was everywhere.  Nugent’s album covers (see the example above) combined images of electric guitars, wild animals, sleazy sex and shotguns. I found these images less than titillating and had zero interest in hearing the man’s music; but with 30 million albums sold, a lot of people must have been eating this stuff up.

Ted Nugent talks like a pro wrestling heel–the guy who loves to be hated.  Extreme lyrics, album covers and violent concert antics gained him an enthusiastic following in the 70s.  With the decent of his musical fortunes, Nugent maintained a measure of notoriety by making outrageous comments, such as calling Barack Obama a “subhuman mongrel”.

Nugent, like many Americans before him, mastered the art of foul invective because, when he speaks like a reasonable human being, nobody pays attention.  If you crave the limelight, and you have no genuine insights to offer, one must resort to slander and violent rhetoric.  Conservative and liberal lesser lights put a different spin on the ball, but the principle is the same. (more…)