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Commentary: Ted Nugent’s Next Bad Idea

Ted Nugent reveals that he's going on a tour this year that he’s decided to call “Ted Nugent Black Power.”

Ted Nugent was once simply a rock 'n' roll star most famous for the track “Cat Scratch Fever.” In recent years, however, the aging rocker has shuffled away from being predominantly about music and has moved into the far-right political realm.

Besides being a staunch advocate for nearly unlimited gun rights in America, Nugent is also one of President Obama’s most vociferous public opponents. At an NRA convention in April of last year, Nugent said in an interview, “If Barack Obama becomes the president in November, again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year.” The quote, to many, sounded like a threat on the president’s life.

Nearly a year later, Nugent is neither dead nor in jail. But he’s continuing his assault on everyone who stands left of him politically. And his latest scheme is outrageous even for him.

In a new column for far-right website World Net Daily, Nugent reveals that he’s now attempting to coax Black Americans to conservatism. He believes that the Democratic Party has been deeply injurious to the Black community and that the only salvation is Republicanism. His plan of attack? A tour this year that he’s decided to call “Ted Nugent Black Power.” You can’t make this stuff up:

The truth is that the Democratic Party has been the engineer of the destruction of black Americans, and everyone knows it except the very people who need to know it the most – black Americans.

The turbo-destruction will continue for black Americans until they realize that dirty Democrat politicians are their true enemy, not their salvation. Fortunately, some are beginning to embrace this self-evident truth.

The truth will set those black Americans free who want to be free, who want to be the best they can be, who want to leave their grandchildren a better, stronger America.

Nugent argues that because so much of his music has been inspired by early Black music, that he’s a true fan of “black history,” which he says he celebrates every day by playing rock 'n' roll. Nugent may think that performing music co-opted from African-Americans is a testament to his appreciation for Blacks, but most Black people can see all of his ridiculous talk for the nonsense that it is.

In reality, if Nugent wanted to support Blacks, he’d do so by actually — um, supporting them. He’d support legislation that helped get handguns off the streets where they endanger Black children’s lives far too often. He’d support Obamacare, which gives health insurance to thousands of African-Americans who would have otherwise gone uninsured. He’d also stop putting out veiled threats to attack the first Black president in America, which doesn’t seem like something a true fan of the Black community would do.

Of course, Ted Nugent’s not going to do those things, because doing those things requires actually wanting to help out the Black community. And Nugent seems mostly interested in helping out himself.

The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of BET Networks.

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(Photo: Randy Snyder/Getty Images)

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