Why We Shouldn’t Ignore Ted Nugent Or His Fellow Crackpots

Whenever extremists blurt out extreme things online or elsewhere, there’s always a concurrent sub-debate about whether we should pay attention to these people. The most recent case, of course, is Ted Nugent’s meltdown in which he reacted to criticism by CNN with an epic Twitter tirade that included word-salad tweets like this one:

CNN Joseph Goebbells Saul Alinsky propaganda ministry mongrels

— Ted Nugent (@TedNugent) February 19, 2014

Of course, the remarks that touched off this latest pandemic of Nugent gibberish began when he called President Obama a “subhuman mongrel” and, within the same rant, a “chimpanzee” (the chimpanzee part is often overlooked). Last week, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer hosted a guest who, while admittedly violating Godwin’s Law, noted that Nazis referred to Jews as subhumans. Following the CNN segment, even conservative leaders like Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) condemned Nugent.

Reacting to all of this, Nugent went full berzerker on Twitter and only offered a half-assed, excessively whistly apology — “not necessarily to the president” — for his clearly racist statements about Obama.

My friend and colleague at The Daily Banter, Chez Pazienza wrote last week in a post titled “Who Gives a F*ck What Ted Nugent Thinks?” that “quite frankly you’re never going to get those people to shut the f*ck up anyway.”

Getting extremists on both radical wings of the political debate to shut the f*ck up shouldn’t really be the goal. Chez is absolutely right: Nugent will go to his grave (not swiftly enough) babbling in word-salad riddles about killing woodland critters just to watch them die, while trolling any liberals within earshot, accusing them of hating the Second Amendment and [insert self-satirical Nugent cliche here].

Instead of lapsing into outrage comas attempting to silence people like Nugent, the more effective goal should be to, quite simply, discredit and marginalize these crackpots, loudmouths and bigots. If someone — anyone — with a reasonably tall soapbox chooses to say something controversial, they should be prepared to be treated accordingly because, as we’ve discussed before, if you market in controversial statements, don’t be surprised and indignant when you stir up, you know, controversy. Likewise, if you choose to associate yourself with a crank like Nugent, be prepared to catch the blood spatter when he gets clocked in the head by CNN or Media Matters or whoever for saying something utterly dumb and offensive.

But let’s tackle exactly why we should, contra-Chez, care about what Nugent and other extremists say… [CONTINUE READING HERE]

By: Bob Cesca

Bob Cesca is the managing editor at The Daily Banter (www.thedailybanter.com) and a Huffington Post contributor since 2005. He's worked in journalism since 1988 as a print writer/editor, a radio news anchor, a digital media columnist/editor, a book author and blogger. He's the co-host of the Bubble Genius Bob & Chez Show podcast and a Thursday regular on the syndicated Stephanie Miller Show. He's appeared on numerous other radio shows including the John Phillips Show and Geraldo Rivera Show in Los Angeles. Bob has been a commentator/analyst on the BBC (TV and radio), MSNBC, Current TV, CNN and Sky News. Following him on Twitter: @bobcesca_go