National embarrassment and musical has been, Ted Nugent, will be sitting in the House of Representative’s gallery as President Obama delivers his State of the Union Speech. What can one say about Ted Nugent that has not already been said? His hate filled idiotic rantings are what now passes for political discourse in America. As an American citizen he has the right to attend the State of the Union Speech, however, his attendance will only be distracting and inflammatory.

            Mr. Nugent received a personal invitation from Steve Stockman, a Republican representative from Texas. Steve Stockman primary focus as a congressman seems to be preventing the passage of any legislation which he would consider ‘gun control’. In January of this year, he said that he would begin impeachment proceedings against President Obama if the president tried to use his executive authority to enact gun control measures. Yes, the congressman believes that a president using his executive authority is cause to begin impeachment proceedings. Stockman served one term as a congressman from 1995 to 1997. During his first term in office he is best remembered for saying that President Clinton ordered the raid on David Koresh’s Branch Davidian compound so that he could enact new gun control legislation. Brilliant. After a 16 year absence, Stockman won election in 2013 in his republican controlled and heavily gerrymandered district. I am not sure what Mr. Stockman did during his 16 year hiatus, perhaps he worked as a roadie for Nugent.

            Mr. Stockman has found his soul mate in Ted Nugent. In April of this year Nugent was investigated by the Secret Service after he said: “If Barack Obama becomes the next president in November, again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year.”  The Secret Service interviewed him and said that he did not pose a threat to the president. They did not say whether they thought that his overwhelming idiocy made him a threat to himself. Nugent has publicly called Hillary Clinton a bitch and suggested she perform a sex act with an assault rifle. He has a history of making racist statements and has attempted to defend his racism by saying: “I`m a fun guy, not a sexist or a racist. I use the word ni**** a lot because I hang around with a lot of ni****s.” Nugent is also quite famous for the story he tells of how, as a young man, he managed to avoid being drafted during the Vietnam War. Now, I certainly do not fault Mr. Nugent (or anyone else) for doing whatever he could to avoid the Vietnam War. Trying to avoid military service does not, in my opinion, make someone a ‘bad person’. Where I find him to be a hypocrite is that now that he is too old for military service he rabidly supports America’s foreign military endeavors. 

            America has a long history of vitriolic political discourse. Politics can be brutal and outrageous statements are hardly surprising. What is surprising is the level of respect given to someone like Nugent. A marginal congressman and a marginal musician will be sitting in attendance in the House of Representatives while the President of the United States delivers his constitutionally mandated State of the Union Speech. A United States Congressman respects an idiot like Nugent more than he respects the office to which he was elected. This spectacle is reflective of the lack of seriousness with which even our elected officials take our government. Personally, I do not like what that says about America.