Wisconsin pastor defends Ted Nugent, suggests Secret Service “put Ted up to it”
Part-time musician and full-time chortling jackass Ted Nugent has been feeling the heat ever since suggesting that if President Obama is re-elected in 2012, “I will either be dead or in jail.” Gigs have been canceled, “Wango Tango” has been pulled from radio playlists (not really, thank God), and it looks like Styx and REO Speedwagon will have to go it alone at their Godman Army Airfield show. But there’s one place where Nugent’s potent mix of shock-rock theatrics and compound bow demonstrations will always be welcome: the Racine County Fair in Racine, Wisconsin, where the Nuge is scheduled to play July 26. And who better to advocate for Sweaty Uncle Teddy’s Racine gig than a Lutheran pastor who believes Nugent’s remarks are just a case of Ted being Ted, and that the whole flap is a ploy by the Secret Service to deflect attention from its Colombian prostitute scandal? Wait, what?
In a scripture-quoting blog from April 18, Pastor Stephen Jennings of Trinity Lutheran Church And School confesses to being a longtime Nugent fan, expresses his excitement for the upcoming county fair gig, and dismisses the “kill ’em and grill ’em” proponent’s remarks as nothing more than the divine ramblings of a man prone to saying stupid shit:
Wake up people! This is Ted Nugent we are talking about. He makes his living making outrageous remarks. He’s written books filled with crazy remarks. Ted pushes the envelope in his music and his political views. That’s what he does. It should be no surprise. Would they be surprised at Charlie Sheen making over the top remarks? No. Ted isn’t as stupid as Charlie Sheen. In fact, he is quite intelligent. He knows his facts. But the fact of the matter is that he says them the way a Rock N Roll figure would be expected to say them. Quite often, with a lot of profanity. So stop being surprised. It’s Ted Nugent we are talking about.
Jennings goes on to rock the vintage “freedom of speech” T-shirt, and explains why Nugent will not be delivering a “Cat Scratch Fever”-themed sermon anytime soon:
One of the prime freedoms we have in this blessed country is the freedom speech. Our nation was founded on the principle of free speech. Men and women have died protecting that freedom. [...] Notice I haven’t mentioned if I agree or disagree with Mr. Nugent. Let’s just put it this way, I would never allow him to get in the pulpit at church, mainly because of the way he says things and because he’s not an ordained Lutheran minister.
But Jennings has more on his mind than Charlie Sheen, freedom of speech, and the Motor City Madman’s non-standing as an ordained Lutheran minister. Just before signing off, he drops this bombshell:
The cool thing is that tomorrow someone else will say something to get the media attention and we will move off the Ted Nugent discussion and on to something else. Personally, I believe the Secret Service is behind this. They put Ted up to it to get attention off the scandle [sic] surrounding them. Have a blessed day and God bless America!
Sadly, Jennings doesn’t back his theory up with any facts, nor does he link to any photos of Secret Service agents listening to Penetrator while kicking it with Colombian prostitutes. But hey, freedom of speech or whatever. God bless America, and tickets for Nugent’s Racine show start at only $5.
