Ted NugentSTEVE MARCUS
Take an aging 1970s rock star known for making controversial statements, a National Rifle Association gathering, and a general election contest in which the rhetoric (and spin) has reached November levels, and you get an aging rock star who now has a date with U.S. Secret Service on Thursday.
Ted Nugent, or the Nuge as he is often called, made the following comment at the NRA meeting over the weekend: "I'll tell you this right now: if Barack Obama becomes the president in November, again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year."
That's not the only thing he said. Here is a short collection below. Also, you can watch the video here.
"We are patriots, we are bravehearts. We need to ride into that battlefield, and chop their heads off in November. Any questions?"
"If you don't know that our government is wiping its ass with the constitution, you're living under a rock."
Mr. Nugent, or the Motor City Madman, endorsed Mitt Romney in early March after the Michigan primary. It was an endorsement embraced by the Romney campaign and family.
Now the Romney campaign is distancing itself from Mr. Nugent's comments. "Divisive language is offensive no matter what side of the political aisle it comes from," the campaign said, later adding that it had never sought Mr. Nugent's endorsement.
The White House sought to downplay the comments with press secretary Jay Carney telling reporters on Tuesday: "I think the president has said and I and others have said that, you know, we can't be policing the statements of supporters across the board."
Last week, a comment by Democratic party strategist on CNN – that Ann Romney had "never worked a day in her life" – triggered the Mommy Wars as the Obama campaign came to the defence of stay-at-home mothers while the Romney campaign saw it as an opportunity to soften the image of Mitt Romney by showcasing his wife Ann's struggles to raise five boys.
This week it was the Democratic party's chance to pounce.
"Romney surrogate Ted Nugent's comments about Pres. Obama are vile & beyond the pale – and the Romney campaign should denounce them immediately," tweeted Democratic National Committee chairman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
On Tuesday, her comments were put to Mr. Nugent who responded by describing Democratic leaders as "varmints."
"Wasserman Schultz is such a brain-dead, soulless idiot," Mr. Nugent said during a radio program. "I could not be more proud that this soulless, heartless idiot feebly attempts to find fault with Ted Nugent, because I am on the right track and she just encourages me to stand stronger."
And that is the way Ted Nugent rolls, as political observers have pointed out.
"It's really ridiculous for the Secret Service to 'investigate' Nugent for his comments. TIP: He is Ted Nugent. He talks like this," tweeted Slate magazine political reporter Dave Weigel.
Mr. Nugent has made controversial comments about Mr. Obama in the past. During a 2007 concert, he delivered a tirade against Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
During an interview this morning, Mr. Nugent confirmed his Thursday meeting with the U.S. Secret Service, which has been plagued by its own controversy around allegations involving Secret Service members at a summit in Colombia last week. The Secret Service confirmed that it was investigating Mr. Nugent's comments, but offered no date of any meeting with the musician and conservative activist.
"We're going to have a little barbecue get together," Mr. Nugent told the Glenn Beck radio program. "And I'm not trying to diminish the seriousness of this, because if the Secret Service are doing it they are serious. They are dedicated and I will be as polite and supportive as I possibly can be, which will be thoroughly."
Mr. Nugent added, "I've never threatened anybody's life in my life. I've never threatened. I don't waste breath threatening."
The Christian Science Monitor's DC Decoder raises the point that Mr. Nugent's latest comments would not likely make a list of "Top Ten Crazy Ted Nugent Moments."
The DC Decoder points to an incident in which Mr. Nugent required 40 stitches to close a gash in his leg during a chainsaw mishap while filming for the miniseries "Surviving Nugent: The Ted Commandments" in 2004.