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Politics

Texas Congressman Invites Ted Nugent, Who Threatened The President’s Life, To The State Of The Union

Congressman Steve Stockman (R-TX) has announced that he would be bringing musician and conservative loudmouth Ted Nugent to President Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday.

“I am excited to have a patriot like Ted Nugent joining me in the House Chamber to hear from President Obama,” Stockman said on his congressional website on Monday.

Traditionally, State of the Union attendees are given the opportunity to invite distinguished guests or prominent constituents to sit in during the President’s remarks. And while past honorees include war heroes and selfless public servants, Stockman has instead invited someone who has threatened the President and Democratic officials:

Nugent called President Obama a criminal and denounced his “vile, evil America-hating administration” which is “wiping its ass with the Constitution.” Taking it a step further, he said that “If Barack Obama becomes the president in November, again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year.”

Following his remarks last April at a National Rifle Association annual convention, the Secret Service brought in Nugent for questioning.

Update

Ted Nugent responded to the swift condemnation of his invitation to the State of the Union address via Twitter on Monday afternoon:

Update

ThinkProgress reached out to the Secret Service for a reaction, but they responded with a simple “no comment.”

Update

Nugent spoke with the New York Times on Monday to reassure people he would be unarmed while inside the House chambers:

Politics

NRA Board Member Ted Nugent Says Gun Owners Will Be The Next Rosa Parks

Pro-gun extremists are up in arms over rumors that Vice President Joe Biden’s task force is mulling an executive order to combat gun violence. National Rifle Association board member and musician Ted Nugent is the latest public figure to stoke hysteria, comparing gun owners to civil rights hero Rosa Parks.

In an interview with conspiracy website WorldNetDaily, Nugent falsely claimed that an executive order would confiscate guns, a popular myth in the right-wing blogosphere. He encouraged gun owners to model the 1960s civil rights movement and Rosa Parks, who became an icon after she refused to give her seat up on a segregated bus:

If it comes to the actual implementation of an actual confiscatory directive from our president, then I do believe that the heroes of the law enforcement will defy this order. I do believe that there are enough soulless sheep within our government who would act on such an illegal order but I believe the powers that be at the local, state, and regional law enforcement would halt such an illegal, anti-American order…These are top notch heroes of law enforcement and military who understand this experiment in self-government and we will not let it [gun confiscation] happen, we will do it peaceful. But there will come a time when the gun owners of America, the law-abiding gun owners of America, will be the Rosa Parks and we will sit down on the front seat of the bus, case closed.

Since the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in December, the NRA and pro-gun advocates have tried to argue that gun owners are the true victims. Comparisons of President Obama to the totalitarian regimes of Hitler, Stalin, and Chavez are flying around the conservative blogosphere. Nugent, a reliable conspiracy theorist, is actually more moderate to advocate peaceful resistance and faith in law enforcement. In comparison, former NRA president Marion Hammer recently urged armed insurrection against the Obama administration, which she claimed was preparing to take away guns to “control the masses.”

Realistically, as Media Matters notes, any executive order would likely focus on background checks or existing regulations.

NEWS FLASH

Romney Endorser Ted Nugent: ‘I’m Beginning To Wonder If It Would Have Been Best Had The South Won The Civil War’ | Ted Nugent, the American rock singer known for his conservative politics and love of guns, also believes that the country would have been a better place had slavery won out. In a column for the Washington Times today, Nugent complains about a lack of regard for states’ rights, then says, “I’m beginning to wonder if it would have been best had the South won the Civil War.” The statement isn’t a total surprise from a man who often dons confederate flag shirts and recently made a veiled threat to kill the President. But it does underline potential political repercussions for Mitt Romney, who actively sought Nugent’s endorsement.

Security

Nugent: Romney Campaign ‘Expressed Support’ After Controversial Remarks About Obama

Last month, the U.S. Secret Service met with right wing gun advocate and National Rifle Association board member Ted Nugent after he made what many interpreted to be threatening remarks toward President Obama. “If Barack Obama becomes the president in November again, I will be either be dead or in jail by this time next year,” he said at the NRA’s annual conference in St. Louis.

Nugent endorsed Mitt Romney for president. And while the Secret Service thought Nugent’s remarks warranted a chat, the Romney campaign didn’t directly condemn his remarks. Instead, a campaign spokesperson derided “divisive language” in a general sense, adding that “Mitt Romney believes everyone needs to be civil.” In fact, in an interview with CBS News that aired this morning, Nugent said the Romney campaign “expressed support” and never advised that he tone down his rhetoric:

Q: Have you heard from the Romney campaign after these comments?

NUGENT: I have.

Q: And?

NUGENT: I have to say what I say the way I say it.

Q: Were they unhappy with you for saying that?

NUGENT: No. They expressed support.

Q: Did they say to you, “Listen we appreciate the support, tone it down.”

NUGENT: Nope.

Watch the interview (video of highlighted transcript begins at 4:04):

The Romney campaign may have offered support for Nugent and his remarks, but it seems the NRA wasn’t too comfortable with them. The powerful gun lobby on its YouTube page took down the video of the interview in which Nugent claimed he’d either be dead or in jail if Obama is reelected.

Justice

WV Senate Candidate John Raese Defends Ted Nugent’s Threatening Remarks Toward President Obama

John Raese (R-WV) campaigns with Ted Nugent

John Raese (R-WV) campaigns with Ted Nugent (AP Photo/Jon C. Hancock)

In a recent campaign speech, Senate candidate John Raese (R-WV) offered a full-throated defense of Ted Nugent’s recent threatening comments about President Barack Obama and lambasted the Secret Service for taking the comments seriously.

The Huffington Post posted a portion of his speech, in which Raese said:

RAESE: How many of you remember Ted Nugent? I do. Ted Nugent came to West Virginia to help me in 2010. He came along with Sarah Palin and we had a wonderful event. And we had a wonderful event. Now I’m with Josh Sowards. Josh, how are you today? Josh is a former Mountaineer basketball player. He played in a lot of those good [West Virginia Mountaineers basketball coach] Bob Huggins games that we all sat at many Lincoln Day dinners when people said ‘Time out, we gotta listen to the Mountaineers beat Kentucky.’ Remember all that stuff? He was a part of that. Now Josh, if Bob Huggins came in and told you that we’re are in a vicious game against Penn State and we are gonna go right out on that court and we’re gonna kill’em, would the FBI want to investigate Bob Huggins? I don’t think so. That’s called a figure of speech. Controlling the people. Remember that, controlling the people. Ted Nugent is a patriot. Ted Nugent is somebody that’s firm in this country. And when you see scenarios that break down like that scenario, it’s a concern, isn’t it.

Watch the video:

But Nugent didn’t say that Republicans should “kill” Democrats in the general election. He said “If Barack Obama becomes the president in November again, I will be either be dead or in jail by this time next year.” Virtually all 63,500 Google hits for the phrase “dead or in jail by this time next year” are references to Nugent’s comment, so it is hard to see how that constitutes a “figure of speech.”

Nugent has not been charged with any crime — merely interviewed by the Secret Service so they could be certain he was not a threat to the safety of the president. Forty three men have served as president of the United States. Four have been assassinated and several others — including Obama — have survived assassination attempts. Because America is rooted in the belief that ballots, not bullets, are the way to settle political disagreements, any threats to the safety of the president or others directly in line to be president are a crime and must be taken seriously by the officers tasked with protecting their safety.

It is hard to imagine many West Virginian’s would share Raese’s opinion of what constitutes “controlling the people.”

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