Many of the most extreme elements of the right saw Wednesday’s attack on a Republican congressional baseball practice as a signal to turn up the volume on the ugly and borderline rhetoric directed at Democrats and liberals. Some, like Rick Wiles, have called for a “Revenge of the Sith”-style purge of Democrats and their supporters. Others, like Jesse Lee Peterson, believe that Republicans should be kicking Democrats up, down, and sideways, not praying with them.
Past history suggests that Ted Nugent would have been leading the charge alongside Wiles and Peterson in spewing verbal diarrhea against Democrats. This is, after all, a guy who once called for liberal “subhuman freaks” to be wiped out, and suggested that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton should suck on his machine gun. He also called for Obama and Hillary to be hanged for treason over Benghazi. Well, it seems that the Nuge has turned over a new leaf–at least, on the surface. He now says that he is no longer willing to engage in the kind of overheated talk that has been his trademark for most of the last quarter-century.
Just over 24 hours after the shooting in Alexandria, Nugent called into WABC in New York to have a chat with noon hosts Curtis Silwa and Eboni Williams. Listen here.
When Williams asked Nugent how much we could blame overheated rhetoric on the shooting. She and Nugent have frequently tussled in the past over Nugent’s saltier commentary. Nugent’s response came as a surprise to those of us who have listened to the Motor City Madman over the years–our discourse has reached “critical mass,” and he has now “reevaluated” how he speaks out on the issues of the day.
Nugent said that at bottom, he has always been a”street fighter” from Detroit, and frequently speaks in the same “language in the street” that he grew up hearing. However, he said, his wife of 18 years, Shemane, has convinced him that he can no longer use “such harsh terms” anymore. He then made a decidedly un-Nuge-like plea for greater civility.
“I encourage even my friends/enemies on the left in the Democrat and liberal world that we got to be civil to each other–that the whole world is watching America, where you have the God-given right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And we have got to be more respectful to the other side.”
Nugent added that he intended to “take a deep breath” and “back down,” and publicly vowed “not to engage in that hateful rhetoric anymore.”
Williams told her audience that Nugent had seemingly come around to an important realization–that it was possible to stand up for your beliefs “and still show some level of human decency” when speaking out. Nugent then chalked up his past “wild ass comments” to “the sheer over-the-top animal spirit and attitude that I live on stage.” However, he now realized that he had to refocus his energy. He now says that while he can still be “fiery” and “passionate,” he intended to steer clear of “anything that can be interpreted as condoning or recruiting violence.”
Silwa recalled that Nugent frequently used language that he heard on the streets while working with the Guardian Angels, and asked him if he realized “how that could send across the worst of possible messages.” Nugent said that he now realized his statements could be seen as stirring up violence, but again credited his wife for allowing him to see the light. There may be another factor at play as well. He’s reportedly considering a challenge to his state’s senior Senator, Debbie Stabenow, in 2018. No doubt he knows that the Democrats could create an entire campaign’s worth of ads from his past comments.
As it turns out, Nugent expressed similar sentiments in a Facebook Live video just hours after the Alexandria shooting. He promised to back off from his “street slang” and “angry rhetoric” against those who opposed his “constitutional politics.” Instead, he promised to vote to “keep your insanity” out of our policy.
You’ll have to pardon me if I’m just a little skeptical, Ted. I have a bit of street fighter in me as well. I’m half North Jerseyan, and that half has made me very outspoken. People know where I stand. But I figured out long ago how to express my views in a halfway civil manner–and I’m young enough to be your son.
After all, it shouldn’t have taken you this long to realize that maybe, just maybe, you’d gone a bit too far. And you have a lot of work to do to make up for some of your uglier moments. Not just talk, but action.
One would have thought that once word of this interview got out, you would have heard Nugent called a squish or a cuck on Twitter. But so far, nothing. Has it struck a chord? We’d like to hope so. But he’s got a very hard sell to make if we’re to believe he’s turned over a new leaf–and it’s time for him to start making it.
(featured image courtesy Nugent’s Facebook)
