Texas gov. hopeful hits campaign trail with Obama-bashing rock star

Ted Nugent and Greg Abbott 

(photo:  forwardprogressives.com)

The sun is threatening to set on the Lone Star State.  Texas politics has reached a new low with the state attorney general Greg Abbott welcoming rock singer Ted Nugent to hit the campaign trail with him.  Abbott is considered to be the front runner in the race for the GOP gubernatorial nominee after Gov. Rick Perry (R) announced that he will not be seeking a fourth term.

 

Ted Nugent has long been outspoken and, often controversial, in his views.  But he outdid himself in a January 2014 interview with Guns.com reporter Daniel Terrill.  He called the sitting  President of the United States of America a litany of disrespectful names to include a “subhuman mongrel”.  You can view the disgraceful video here.

CNN reporter Wolf Blitzer, along with many others, reacted swiftly to Nugent’s being a part of Abbott’s campaign rallies.  Blitzer questioned whether Abbott’s campaign knew how offensive Nugent’s remarks were to the office of the President, as well as to others who have suffered grave oppression.  Among other things, Blitzer said, “That’s what the Nazis called Jews to justify the genocide of the Jewish community,” he continued. “They called them ‘untermenschen,’ subhuman mongrels, if you read some of the literature that the Nazis put out there, there is a long history of that specific phrase he used involving the President of the United States.”

When called to task for including Nugent, a campaign aide for Abbott brushed it off saying, "The controversy is what he said in the past. We are not endorsing Ted Nugent, he is supporting us," the aide said.  That may be true that a candidate cannot control who supports him, but he can certainly control whom he invites to share the spotlight with him and who is seen as sharing like-minded views.

 

Wendy Davis, who will likely be the Democratic gubernatorial candidate facing Abbott called it an “insult to all Texans”.  You can read the full reactions of other politicians here.  Greg Abbott has claimed he didn’t know what Nugent represented.  Now he does know and it will be very telling to the voters if, now being aware, he keeps Nugent on as one of the faces of his campaign.