Ted Nugent isn’t big on apologies (unless he screwed up hunting), so when he issued one Friday for his recent offensive language calling President Barack Obama a “subhuman mongrel,” it was notable. But Nugent wasn’t apologizing to Obama, or to people offended by the racist language; he was apologizing to the Republican politicians whose reputations his comments damaged, such as Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, for whom he’s been campaigning. And he was apologizing for just being too real.
“I do apologize – not necessarily to the president – but on behalf of much better men than myself,” Nugent told conservative radio host Ben Ferguson. Heb said he was sorry “for using the street-fighter terminology of ‘subhuman mongrel’ instead of just using more understandable language, such as ‘violator of his own — the Constitution.’” And he plans to do better. “I will try to elevate my vernacular to the level of those great men that I’m learning from in the world of politics.”
While Nugent’s Texas Republican pals didn’t seem to mind the comments so much (“that’s just Ted,” Governor Rick Perry told the Dallas Morning News), another Republican from Kentucky, Senator Rand Paul, called on him to apologize. Somehow, we’re guessing this isn’t exactly what Paul meant.
