Wango Tango

Right-wing rocker Ted Nugent aims his machine guns at Clinton, Obama. Where are you, Fred Thompson? What say you, Fox News?

Published August 24, 2007 6:35PM (EDT)

Back in June, Motor City Madman Ted Nugent said he admires a lot of the 2008 Republican presidential candidates, and especially would-be candidate Fred Thompson.

"I really like Mike Huckabee and Tommy Thompson," Nugent told Dennis Miller. "I admire Mitt Romney. I admire John McCain. But to whittle it down right now I really have the Nugent spotlight, and I've been scrutinizing Mr. Fred Thompson. I think he glows a little bit more than those other great gentlemen."

Does Thompson think that Nugent glows? And if he does, will he still think so after watching a concert video in which Nugent urges "piece of shit" Barack Obama to "suck on" a machine gun and then suggests that "worthless bitch" Hillary Clinton should ride on one?

What would Thompson --- or, say, Fox News, which hosts Nugent often -- be saying today if Bruce Springsteen or some other left-leaning musician had made similarly vicious and threatening comments about a Republican presidential candidate?

And how about you, Sean Hannity? Hannity had Nugent on his Fox show in July to discuss a blog post in which a writer said he had "dibs" on Rush Limbaugh if it ever became legal to shoot him, and that others would be "welcome to" Nugent if they wanted him. Hannity said he took such threats seriously, and he asked Nugent if people who make them ought to be arrested. Nugent's answer: Yes.

"You know, I'm an American. I love all Americans. And I would help any American pursue their dreams and their pursuit of happiness," Nugent told Hannity. "But you find that the left, there's a lunatic fringe on the left that literally are trying to force us to comply to their outline of life. And I find it just reprehensible that they would recommend violence, not to mention murder and shooting people and assassinating people. This is bizarre."


By Tim Grieve

Tim Grieve is a senior writer and the author of Salon's War Room blog.

MORE FROM Tim Grieve


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2008 Elections Barack Obama Hillary Rodham Clinton War Room