Harry Tuttle
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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04110/302898.stm
Rocker Nugent tells NRA about his American dream
Ted Nugent holds his guitar and an assault rifle during his appearance before the National Rifle Association convention yesterday. Nugent played the Star Spangled Banner before his speech.
Click photo for larger image.
Monday, April 19, 2004
By Monica L. Haynes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"God gave us life. It's not just our God-given right, it's our moral obligation to protect that life."
That's the gospel according to Detroit rocker, zealous -- avid is an understatement -- hunter and NRA supporter Ted Nugent.
The Motor City Madman brought his brash, unapologetic attitude to the National Rifle Association convention in Pittsburgh yesterday in a special session called "Guns, God and Rock 'n' Roll."
Nugent, who penned a book by the same name in 2000 and was just elected to his fourth term as an NRA board member, got a standing ovation as he kicked things off with a searing, electric-guitar version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" a la Jimi Hendrix. That was obviously the rock 'n' roll part.
Against a simple black backdrop with American flags standing on either side of the stage, Nugent, in his trademark camouflage cowboy hat, raised his guitar in the air with one hand and took hold of an AR-15 rifle in the other.
"Sit down and celebrate the American dream," Nugent told his audience of about 1,000 gun enthusiasts who filled the seats and lined the walls of a third-floor ballroom in the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown.
In a speech that was part-NRA rally, part liberal bashfest, he posited himself at the center of that dream, living what he called a lifestyle that was "pure and natural."
Nugent, a rocker who boasts of being drug-free his entire life, took a figurative shot at the counter culture musicians of his generation.
"Jerry [Garcia] got high and Jerry's dead. I went hunting and I'm still Ted," he quipped.
Squeezing off verbal assaults like bullets, he put anti-gun activists and Democratic liberals like Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy and Al Sharpton -- whom he referred to as Al "not-so" Sharpton -- in his cross hairs.
"If Al Sharpton's a reverend, I'm the dalai lama with a glock," he said.
Nugent urged his fellow NRAers to counter anti-gun leanings of family, friends and the news media by writing letters to the editor, calling talk shows and contacting their representatives in Congress.
"Y'all got to tell them. It's absolutely essential that you confront them," he said.
"Assert yourselves," Nugent exhorted. "Take political correctness and flush it down the brain-dead toilet from which it came."
Like Vice President Cheney the night before, Nugent also set his sights on Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, who he said wants to punish the most productive members of society -- NRA members.
"If John Kerry gets his way, good will lose and evil will win," Nugent said.
While most of those lined 60-feet deep in the exhibit hall to get Nugent's autograph afterward agreed with his rhetoric, one person checking out the booths did not.
Former Steelers running back Franco Harris, who had appeared at a Kerry rally at the University of Pittsburgh Friday, said he supported the Second Amendment but did not agree with the NRA leadership's assessment of Kerry.
"John Kerry really supports the Second Amendment," Harris said. "You can't have people putting fear and wrong information [out there]."
Harris would not say whether he hunts or owns guns. He said he wanted to attend the convention to see what it's about.
The NRA, he said, consists of some wonderful people. But Harris questioned the rhetoric of its leaders.
"I feel bad that they try to indoctrinate the membership into their way of thinking. Hopefully, most Americans dissect the information that they get," Harris said.
Rocker Nugent tells NRA about his American dream
Ted Nugent holds his guitar and an assault rifle during his appearance before the National Rifle Association convention yesterday. Nugent played the Star Spangled Banner before his speech.
Click photo for larger image.
Monday, April 19, 2004
By Monica L. Haynes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"God gave us life. It's not just our God-given right, it's our moral obligation to protect that life."
That's the gospel according to Detroit rocker, zealous -- avid is an understatement -- hunter and NRA supporter Ted Nugent.
The Motor City Madman brought his brash, unapologetic attitude to the National Rifle Association convention in Pittsburgh yesterday in a special session called "Guns, God and Rock 'n' Roll."
Nugent, who penned a book by the same name in 2000 and was just elected to his fourth term as an NRA board member, got a standing ovation as he kicked things off with a searing, electric-guitar version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" a la Jimi Hendrix. That was obviously the rock 'n' roll part.
Against a simple black backdrop with American flags standing on either side of the stage, Nugent, in his trademark camouflage cowboy hat, raised his guitar in the air with one hand and took hold of an AR-15 rifle in the other.
"Sit down and celebrate the American dream," Nugent told his audience of about 1,000 gun enthusiasts who filled the seats and lined the walls of a third-floor ballroom in the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown.
In a speech that was part-NRA rally, part liberal bashfest, he posited himself at the center of that dream, living what he called a lifestyle that was "pure and natural."
Nugent, a rocker who boasts of being drug-free his entire life, took a figurative shot at the counter culture musicians of his generation.
"Jerry [Garcia] got high and Jerry's dead. I went hunting and I'm still Ted," he quipped.
Squeezing off verbal assaults like bullets, he put anti-gun activists and Democratic liberals like Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy and Al Sharpton -- whom he referred to as Al "not-so" Sharpton -- in his cross hairs.
"If Al Sharpton's a reverend, I'm the dalai lama with a glock," he said.
Nugent urged his fellow NRAers to counter anti-gun leanings of family, friends and the news media by writing letters to the editor, calling talk shows and contacting their representatives in Congress.
"Y'all got to tell them. It's absolutely essential that you confront them," he said.
"Assert yourselves," Nugent exhorted. "Take political correctness and flush it down the brain-dead toilet from which it came."
Like Vice President Cheney the night before, Nugent also set his sights on Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, who he said wants to punish the most productive members of society -- NRA members.
"If John Kerry gets his way, good will lose and evil will win," Nugent said.
While most of those lined 60-feet deep in the exhibit hall to get Nugent's autograph afterward agreed with his rhetoric, one person checking out the booths did not.
Former Steelers running back Franco Harris, who had appeared at a Kerry rally at the University of Pittsburgh Friday, said he supported the Second Amendment but did not agree with the NRA leadership's assessment of Kerry.
"John Kerry really supports the Second Amendment," Harris said. "You can't have people putting fear and wrong information [out there]."
Harris would not say whether he hunts or owns guns. He said he wanted to attend the convention to see what it's about.
The NRA, he said, consists of some wonderful people. But Harris questioned the rhetoric of its leaders.
"I feel bad that they try to indoctrinate the membership into their way of thinking. Hopefully, most Americans dissect the information that they get," Harris said.
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