Ted Nugent: Politics put career in ‘StrangleHold’.

SLIS

12 years ago

Ted Nugent has made an ass out of himself for decades now, but he’s been on a mad tear lately. Whether using inflammatory rhetoric on Obama’s reelection chances, willingly admitting to illegal hunting practices, or having a conniption fit in a CBS News interview, he seems to never run out of stupid shit to say. Nugent comes awfully close to the isolated paranoid militia mindset, but he can’t go “off the grid” because he can’t resist being in the public eye. A public that has largely abandoned him, many years ago.

Republicans have long lambasted celebrity liberal activists. Laura Ingraham, a conservative pundit wrote a book a few years back called “Shut Up and Sing”, saying for folks like the Dixie Chicks to stick to their music, and leave the political ramblings to the “experts”, i.e. folks like herself, Limbaugh, Hannity, et al. But this of course is an hypocritical notion. Pundits are entertainers. Many have no real in-depth experience in politics, but they have excelled at yelling from their bully pulpit and gaining fame. This makes them no less or more qualified than any celebrity.

This is further refuted by the fact that anytime someone in Hollywood admits to right-wing beliefs (Kelsey Grammar, Dennis Miller, Jon Voight, Chuck Norris, etc) they get propped up on Fox news or used in high stakes Republican campaigns. In the end, it’s the fact that this is an area where they’re in the minority that causes them dismay.

Hollywood leans left for a variety of reasons, but primarily because at a creative person’s core, the notion of artistic freedom, anti-establishment and anti-censorship is paramount. Unfortunately this doesn’t explain political correctness, which is a liberal off-shoot. If you want free speech, it goes both ways. They also know Democrats endorse public funding for the arts and humanities, something condemned by many conservatives. But even if they’re low on Conservative celebrities to spread their message, I don’t think many Republicans would be too upset if Nugent got mauled by a bear on one of his hunting trips. He does his party no favors, and is a constant source of embarrassment. For all his talk of being holier than thou in his avoidance of vices such as drugs, this is a guy who had his ex-wife’s parents grant him legal guardian status so that he wouldn’t get thrown in jail for unlawful sex with a minor. There’s some family values for you.

What makes all this so regrettable, is that most folks these days have no clue that Nugent is a genuinely talented guitar player. But being that I was never a fan of his work (not my style), I have no stake in defending his stance on anything. He’s made himself into a joke, with an overly verbose and unfunny punchline.

This is the double-edge sword an artist walks when he/she is unapologetically political. You can often get usurped by your own agenda, which will make you a side-bar to your creative impetus. Unless this is his idea of career shift; Nugent hasn’t had a hit since 1990 (Damn Yankee’s nausea inducing “High Enough”). Is that why Dennis Miller did a similar about-face? His career hit the skids when he lost his sense of humor after his ring wing warmonger conversion. So if he has the gift of gab without the gift for laughs is there any other direction to take than right-wing pundit, which he currently limps along doing?

But what happens if an artist that you hold dear, has diametrically opposing political views than yourself? I enjoyed Megadeth in high school and college. But I was appalled by singer/guitarist Dave Mustaine’s endorsement of Rick Santorum (thankfully he held no political weight). I mean this is a guy who wrote all about political corruption and the dangers of the Reagan and Bush Administrations. It’s like he’s become a revisionist for his own material.

And I love Glenn Danzig’s music, but his political opinions rub me very much the wrong way. But with Danzig, I’ve never really taken him that seriously as an intellectual. He was all about escapism and nihilism, horror movies and comic books. I wouldn’t say he’s written anything that’s been profound. But he rocks, and that’s all I require of him.

And let’s not forget that Johnny Ramone was a die-hard Republican. Punk rock at its nature is anti-authoritarian/elitism, so that seems very out of sync. But that’s the arrogance of making assumptions. Punk rock is so anti-government that I suppose for many, the GOP mantra of small government makes sense for them. But when it is often in fact government overreach (i.e. the assault on women’s reproductive rights going on in many conservative states) it makes this argument rather hollow.

But I wonder how Republicans can listen to overtly political bands like Rage Against The Machine or Ministry without being majorly annoyed and distracted by the lyrics? Rage Against The Machine were a political band from the start, but they had legions of fans who simply loved their powerful riffs.

I used to enjoy the tv show “24”, but around the time it was getting dull and predictable I discovered one of the producers was a hard-core neo-conservative and Rush Limbaugh fanatic. I stopped watching. If it was still riveting to me, would I have done the same? I tend to like many films and shows of the violent, vigilante type. Perhaps I enjoy the right-wing temperament as long as it’s merely fiction.

Comic book fans had their taste of this when landmark writer/artist Frank Miller (“Dark Knight Returns”, “300”, “Sin City”) went off on Occupy Wall Street in a hate filled tirade last fall. And now he’s doing self admitted, right-wing propaganda with his graphic novel “Holy Terror”. This has largely gone over poorly with his fan-base. I’ve felt Miller was a spent force creatively for a while now (All Star Batman and Robin was the final nail in the coffin for me). But if he was doing material as good as his creative prime, would I be more likely to forgive? It seems that this all stems from what creative force is left in proportion to what belief system is in place.

In life, we all have various friends and family members who you love despite their different leanings and vice versa, and I feel this applies for many with their favorite artists. But for a band like the Dixie Chicks, they picked the unfortunate genre of country music, which has a disproportionate right-wing following. While I admired them for standing up for their beliefs, I was absolutely not surprised by the fallout they received, albeit the sheer amount of hate and death threats was a tad disconcerting.

And who can deny the talents of Robert Downey Jr, and Gary Oldman? 2 of our best living actors? I discovered recently that they are both quite conservative in certain aspects, but since they aren’t rabidly vocal about their stances it doesn’t have as much of an impact on myself. I didn’t hesitate to see “The Avengers” or “Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy” and I will be first in line for “The Dark Knight Rises”.

But many artists and citizens don’t like airing out their political laundry in mixed company. Unlike cable news who always have both sides represented (which just ends up in a screaming match, accomplishing nothing) they look for like-minded friends who they can vent with together. Less stressful for relationships and easier on your heart rate. And isn’t a real sense of maturity and understanding just allowing everyone their own right to exist, and that a major disagreement doesn’t have to involve a complete dissociation? It’s the lack of this, that’s at the very nature of our fractured political system, where there is no common ground to get anything accomplished without watering policy down or getting it axed altogether.

How about you? Have you ever ditched a band, singer, actor, etc when you found out they didn’t fit your belief system?

And for more of the wacky stuff Nugent has done over the years, check out Rosie Gray’s Buzzfeed article here.