Ted Nugent wears Confederate flag to TX governor's inaugural

[peejay 327]

Perry's talk of unity hits a sour note, some say

By LISA SANDBERG

Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau

AUSTIN — At his inauguration, after being sworn into office by the first black chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court — a man he appointed — Gov. Rick Perry spoke wistfully of a tolerant Texas, where "no one is invalidated because of their heritage, but valued because of their humanity."

If you ask critics, the spirit of unity didn't last through the governor's $75-a-ticket inaugural ball, held later Tuesday night at the Austin Convention Center.

Rocking the house as the night's final act was singer Ted Nugent, a friend of Perry's known as the "Motor City Madman." Nugent appeared onstage wearing a cut-off T-shirt emblazoned with the sure-to-draw-headlines Confederate flag and shouting some unflattering remarks about non-English speakers, according to people who were in attendance. His props were machine guns.

Spokesman defends event

Perry's spokesman, Robert Black, downplayed the incident.

"Ted Nugent is a good friend of the governor's. He asked him if he would play at the inaugural. He didn't put any stipulation of what he would play," Black said. He added that "Most people had a really good time and enjoyed the show."

However, some within Perry's party said the appearance was unbefitting a governor who may have national ambitions. "I think it was a horrible choice," GOP strategist Royal Masset said. "I hope nobody approved it."

The black-tie ball was just hours after an inauguration notable for its conciliatory tone. Perry was sworn into office by Wallace Jefferson, who descended from slaves to become the chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court.

In his speech, Perry extolled the virtues of bipartisanship, compassion for the poor and racial and class unity. The rhetoric was so moderate for a Republican governor from Texas that some news stories speculated Perry must have vice-presidential ambitions.

News of Nugent's appearance drew barbs from Democrats and civil-rights leaders.

"Whenever someone sports the Confederate battle flag, many Texans will be offended, and rightly so, because of what it symbolizes — the enslavement of African-Americans and more recently the symbol of hate groups and terrorists," Gary Bledsoe, president of the Texas chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, wrote in an e-mail. "The politics of the Confederacy and the Old South are out of step with mainstream America."

State Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, said the choice of entertainers reflected poorly on the Republican Party, and Perry in particular.

"This is clearly not the behavior of someone who's ready for the national stage. It's a sign of the times for the Republican Party. It's a divisive party. Perry knows his views and to feature him front and center, that alone says a lot."

Shocking people is nothing new for Nugent, and he's done it before in Texas. In 2000, he was banned from performing in The Woodlands after he let loose an expletive-filled tirade about illegal immigrants.

A hunting and gun-rights advocate, Nugent could not comment on his appearance at the inaugural; he was hunting, a spokeswoman said.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metrop...an/4478848.html

[almaty 19]

nugent is a 1st class chopf##k and a has been....and an attention #######...outside of that..he is alright

[Robor007 0]

nugent is a 1st class chopf##k and a has been....and an attention #######...outside of that..he is alright

I have to agree. I used to like his music but like Metallica his actions have soured me on him.

[bucknekkid 0]

I gave up on Nugent when the Amboy Dukes split up and Ted went commercial...

[pedroh 21]

yea #######.. the confederate flag is so NOT IN anymore.. only rednecks wear it because 'it looks cool' and those wacko racists and 'confederates' excuse themselves as wearing a 'symbol of the south that represents our heritage', which was, plantations and slavery ZOMG!

[Robor007 0]

yea #######.. the confederate flag is so NOT IN anymore.. only rednecks wear it because 'it looks cool' and those wacko racists and 'confederates' excuse themselves as wearing a 'symbol of the south that represents our heritage', which was, plantations and slavery ZOMG!

This reminds me of something... A few weeks ago I'm driving down the road and I come up behind a F-150 pickup truck. There's a big confederate flag type window tint across the back window. On the bumper is something like 'The South shall rise again'. On the back window of the truck is another bumper sticker that says, 'I have a dream...', and there's a picture of the White House with the confederate flag flying above it. I went around him because he was (of course) driving slow. On the front bumper was of course a confederate flag plate. Now I know it's wrong to judge someone based on how they look but given the bumper stickers this guy looked like he was right out of 'Mississippi Burning'. Heritage not hate my a$$...

[almaty 19]

yea #######.. the confederate flag is so NOT IN anymore.. only rednecks wear it because 'it looks cool' and those wacko racists and 'confederates' excuse themselves as wearing a 'symbol of the south that represents our heritage', which was, plantations and slavery ZOMG!

This reminds me of something... A few weeks ago I'm driving down the road and I come up behind a F-150 pickup truck. There's a big confederate flag type window tint across the back window. On the bumper is something like 'The South shall rise again'. On the back window of the truck is another bumper sticker that says, 'I have a dream...', and there's a picture of the White House with the confederate flag flying above it. I went around him because he was (of course) driving slow. On the front bumper was of course a confederate flag plate. Now I know it's wrong to judge someone based on how they look but given the bumper stickers this guy looked like he was right out of 'Mississippi Burning'. Heritage not hate my a$$...

well stated...and being from the south,.. i agree

[pedroh 21]

and the worst thing is that is not all southerners doing, only some rednecks and some emo-kids that have nothing else to do, but thx to them all southerners suffer the consequences.. i really don't see the point of th flag anymore, it's very outdated and sends the wrong message to everybody

[Jasman0717 9]

Maybe he has cat scratch fever and is outta his mind

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

"The Nuge" was never famous for his intellect.

[Robor007 0]

"The Nuge" was never famous for his intellect.

Nice find! A picture does indeed say a 1000 words!

[pedroh 21]

"The Nuge" was never famous for his intellect.

Nice find! A picture does indeed say a 1000 words!

a confederate flag tshirt and an indian hat? #######? LAWL

is he even from the south?

[Alanlvsjudy 0]

No hes from Michigan, and aside from his public craziness hes actually very intelligent...not that I support his views, but hes nobody's fool

[pedroh 21]

lawl so he's a wannabe confederate?

well, yeah, supposedly he has some 'smart' opinions.. but oh well, this attitude doesn't show any uber-intelligence at all..

[bucknekkid 0]

Careful what you say..He is an intelligent man and he can put an arrow in your a$$ from Michigan...