Ted Nugent Incites Controversy At Texas Political Event

AUSTIN, Texas (January 19, 2007) — Ted Nugent is getting mixed reviews for his performance at the second inauguration of Texas Governor Rick Perry.

Nugent appeared on stage at the black-tie gala Tuesday in a cutoff T-shirt with a Confederate flag on it. He used machine guns as props and shouted offensive remarks about non-English speakers, according to people at the event.

Perry’s spokesman, Robert Black, says Nugent is a good friend of the governor’s. He says Perry did not put any stipulation on what Nugent would play. GOP strategist Royal Masset says Nugent was “a horrible choice.”

Gary Bledsoe, president of the Texas chapter of the NAACP, says the Confederate flag symbolizes “the enslavement of African-Americans and more recently the symbol of hate groups and terrorists.”

Nugent could not be reached for comment because he was hunting, according to his spokeswoman.