I like Mike Huckabee, but he’s gotten off to a bad start as a host of his own radio show. In an interview with Ted Nugent – Huckabee’s “hunting buddy and good friend” – Governor Huckabee was extremely supportive of Nugent.
I wonder why.
As Jonathan pointed out, Nugent told an NRA audience over the weekend that President Obama was “vile,” “evil,” and “America-hating.” And Nugent vowed that “if Barack Obama becomes the president in November again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year.”
But what Nugent said “isn’t threatening at all,” according to Huckabee. Of course not. The “Nuge” is a great guy. Boys will boys. It was all in good fun. Et cetera.
In fact, what Nugent said was stupid and offensive – and if Huckabee was a true friend of Nugent’s, he would have told him so, at least privately. But for Huckabee to ridicule the critics of Nugent, as if the musician’s comments were totally appropriate, was pathetic. I guarantee you that if the shoe were on the other foot – if, say, Bruce Springsteen had made the same comments about President Bush before a National Education Association gathering – Huckabee would have (rightly) considered them as indefensible.
This is what happens when politics is viewed as a battle between the forces of light and the forces of darkness, when political opponents become mortal enemies, and when political disputes take on cosmic importance. At that point it becomes fine to characterize one’s opponents not as wrong but as evil, not as misguided but as malevolent.
This happens on both the right and the left, far more often than it should. And Mike Huckabee could have done his audience, and political discourse in general, a favor if he had confronted rather than promoted his pal Ted.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, done prior to the start of his radio gig, Huckabee played up the fact that he was all about “conversation” rather than “confrontation.”
“I’m not a person who would call anyone by names that would cause my late mother to come out of her grave and slap me to the floor,” he said.
I wonder what Huckabee’s mother would think of her son playing footsie on the radio with a man who, in a public speech, referred to the president of the United States as “vile,” “evil,” and “America-hating” – and vowed that “if Barack Obama becomes the president in November again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year.”
Probably not much.
I'm going to go with something like: A lot of conservatives are entirely fed up with the Leftist misappropriation of our culture. Leftists have accepted that when other countries are meddled with, militancy is understandable … well what do they expect at home?
It must be hard for you to accept the fact that that "good ol' boy" Ted Nugent speaks the truth. His best line was "when a coyote pisses on your couch, it's not the coyote's fault, it's yours for not shooting him". Well then maybe Ted can set up the Secret Service with some hookers and the whole thing will blow over.
So what are you saying here, Peter? That, objectively, Obama is neither evil, nor vile, nor America-hating, and therefore Nugent was wrong? Or that, even if Obama objectively is evil, vile and America-hating, we simply should not say so–or even think so? Suppose I honestly believe that claim, and furthermore, can present an argument in support of it? Are you saying I shouldn't, because some truths are just so inconvenient that they need to be overlooked? n nI am confused–perhaps because I've never considered comity to be one of the higher virtues. n nStuart Koehl
Wehner is right … call Obama ideologically misguided if you want (that's how the Blue half of America felt about GW Bush). But it is not right to accuse him of being a vile person. YES — quite a few Dems did this to Bush and it was wrong then as well. Whoever is president undoubtedly does what he thinks is in the country's best interests, though. n nWehner's comment suggests he understand the dynamic and how silly/destructive it can be, which is understandable considering he is a former member of the GW Bush Administration. n nMARCU$
Great observations. Since I stopped watching FoxNews and most other TV news, my crackpot encounters have been cut to the bone. So much so that it's amusing to read items like this once in awhile, though a steady diet of it is highly toxic to the brain and psyche. And I'm afraid this type of over-the-top drama is the rule, not the exception, on both talk radio and cable news. n nNugent is a has-been blowhard, a very similar type of flaming Media Ho as Donald Trump. He endorses Romney then sets about immediately to embarrass him, and all of us as well. Too bad Nugent can't sing, might keep him occupied. n nHey, wasn't it Huckabee who said in '08: ‘I'm conservative, but I'm not angry about it’ – I thought that was a great line, still do.
Yeah and you have how many gold records?
Intellectually and ethically deficient article, as most have been. You've taken individual words and applied it specifically to "President Obama", when they were attached to "the administration" as a whole. I just finished watching the interview (harder to find than it should be) and as I had believed most articles relay information, not just out of context, but placed into a new narrative. n nThis interview was at an NRA event. Nugent was speaking about the right to arms and defending oneself. The only other quote you give him is the one in which the preceding speech places the "dead or in jail" comment in context of the 2nd Amendment. With this Administrations words, actions, and beliefs now in the public record, the statement become reasonable. Video or audio should have been added, however that would conflict with the words written about it. n n1 of 2 n
2 of 2 n nWhether you like anything or nothing someone says, truth matters most. This and most articles are hack jobs built for a purpose. There are much worse said out there going unnoticed (if you want audio, take a listen to "progressive" talk shows). Ironically, the only item Nugent said that could be misconstrued was the coyote metaphor, and that was left out. I didn't like the metaphor in that regard.
"In fact, what Nugent said was stupid and offensive " n nIt certainly wasn't stupid . . he had plenty of ammo in his barrage . . if he motivates his audience to understand, agree with, and act on his position, then it's sort of the opposite. Your statement, however, shows something less than understanding the kind of politically correct respect you demand. n nOne can choose to be offended over anything, but such reaction doesn't make the claimed act/statement offensive. n nIF you had listened to the arguments, you might have considered the merit rather than tone of what he said. In that regard, what he offered was a counter-offensive to the VERY offensive acts of this particular administration. Acts that were and are unnecessary abuse of power regardless of the political spin, IMO. n nWhile his tone isn't my preferred style, I think even someone like me who isn't and doesn't want to be his friend listens first to the root issue and then considers whether those issues might drive a reasonable person to be as upset as Mr. Nugent is with actions costing people their lives to serve the current administrative political interests over the welfare of the people. n nYou see, if you're going to argue for respect as a part of the process, you start with it at the root, and then continue to see it through honestly. We don't need added obligations for your idea of political correctness, we need honest understanding and discussion of positions. And ultimately, the battle progresses exactly to where Mr. Nugent advises . . to the ballots.
Obama probably does hate America, at least the America that nearly everyone reading this site loves. In my book, hating America is both vile and evil. Does that make me stupid and offensive? n nIt may or may not be politic to say it, but Ted Nugent is probably right. Peter Wehner provides no argument to the contrary.
"Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice" n nIf Peter Wehner doesn't understand what Obama wants to do to true freedom in this country, he is being willfully obtuse. I don't want my grand children growing up in Obama's vision of America.
One more thing, it's obvious Wehner is taking the John McCain approach to Presidential politics. That worked SO well for Mr. McCain. n nThe Nuge meant he would not give up his guns when Obama's gun confiscating federal agents came for them. Why do i think Holder is ready for another Ruby Ridge or Waco attack? Justice can kill some accused racists or religious extemists and the media will clap and applaud and talk about Obama's intolerance of intolerance.
Mike Huckabee is not perfect and he will make mistakes, not that failing to correct anybody else can really be called a mistake. If Ted Nugent despises President Obama and says so publicly in unpleasant terms on Huckabee's show, it is not Mike Huckabee's job or responsibility to correct Mr. Nugent whether he is Ted's friend or not. Everybody has a right to their opinion and to express it as they want, even if I find it improper or distasteful.
FWIW, I too did not take the jail-or-dead comment as a threat. I took it to mean that b/c The Nug is a well-known critic of BHO, should BHO be reelected his tyrannical tendencies will be fully unleashed with opponents like Nugent being jailed or imprisoned as the result. Hyperbolic? Likely. But I think this is a more natural interpretation of the comment than as a threat to Obama. n nAnd whether Obama is himself vile or America-hating, certainly some of his policies thus far have been.
Interesting statement … if Obama is reelected, there is a very good chance that many of his critics will be "dead or in jail" if they choose to "speak the truth about this corrupt and destructive and divisive administration." n nHow many Commentary readers agree with this absurd statement? For that matter, can anyone here cite even a single anti-gun law signed by President Barack Obama? How many guns has he "confiscated" during his first term? The truth is Obama has left the NRA alone yet the gun rights lobby remains as hostile and paranoid as ever. n nMARCU$