Kid Rock v Ted Nugent: Who has the policies to be senator for Michigan?

Last week it emerged that Michigan Republicans were considering asking Kid Rock to run as a senatorial candidate come the 2018 elections to the upper house of Congress. That news – on which Kid Rock himself has been silent – prompted the most unlikely political battle in history, when Ted Nugent entered the fray, declaring that he, too, was interested in running, by saying: “If these GOP sonsabitches don’t get it right this time I will come charging in as the ultimate WE THE PISSED OFF PEOPLE Mr FixIt Consitutional firebreathing shitkicker candidate from hell!” Both musicians supported Donald Trump in the presidential election, so one might expect a certain rightwing element to their politics, but how far does their thinking go? We’ve assessed their past statements to find out what they think about the hot issues.

Immigration

Ted Nugent: Immigrants should have to wait five years before being granted American citizenship, during which time “they should be treated like indentured servants, meaning they have to earn their citizenship.” Entire families of any child of an illegal immigrant who is a gang member should be deported, and “permanently barred from applying for citizenship in America”. At one point, he even proposed shooting “immigrant invaders”.

Kid Rock: Thus far, he appears to have expressed no opinion on immigration. If you have found any evidence that he has, please post in the thread below.

The border wall

Ted Nugent: “We need a real full-length, undefeatable border fence built. All illegal men in America should be required to work on building the fence, to be completed in one year. We would pay them minimum wage, provide food and shelter, and provide them English and American history classes at night. Everyone wins.”

Kid Rock: Thus far, he appears to have expressed no opinion on the proposed wall. If you have found any evidence that he has, please post in the thread below.

Terrorism

Ted Nugent: “Make no mistake; the world is in a race to the finish with crazed, rabid, radical Muslims. The choice is simple: Its [sic] religious freedom – or subjugation, persecution or death … Our generation doesn’t have goose-stepping fanatical fascists or Bataan death march goons to exterminate. The threat the entire free world faces right here right now are fanatical Muslims who will not rest till all the non-Muslims are wiped out. These freaks deserve the same fate as the Third Reich and the kamikazes.” Nugent takes the view that any Muslim who is not constantly condemning Islamist terrorism is themselves guilty: “Your silence equals guilt.”

Kid Rock: Thus far, he appears to have expressed no opinion on terrorism. If you have found any evidence that he has, please post in the thread below.

Gun control

Ted Nugent: Very much opposed to gun control, as he has stated frequently and forcefully: “The greatest civilisation is one where all citizens are equally armed and can only be persuaded, never forced. Unarmed and helpless is evil’s best friend.”

Kid Rock: Like Nugent, an opponent, though not quite as obsessed by the issue. He told the Observer: “I’m always buying more guns. I have everything from a civil war cannon to an MP5 machine gun and old police guns. If someone invades your house, yeah, you can shoot them. I don’t think crazy people should have guns.” He told Piers Morgan in 2013 he was not in favour of control, though he has accepted there are some people with mental health problems who should not be allowed assault weapons – just guns for home protection – and who should be flagged up by family members.

Black lives matter

Ted Nugent: “The black lives matter crowd is a farce, a fraud, a pathetic group of con artists and denial cultists whose singular goal is try to convince Americans that institutional racism still exists when it long ago went the way of the dodo bird. If black Americans truly cared about other black Americans like I do, they would admit to the real and present danger facing black Americans: black thugs. And then they would march, protest, and demand change and accountability in black neighbourhoods. They should proclaim loud and proud that guns don’t shoot up black neighbourhoods, black thugs shoot up black neighbourhoods. The glaring truth is that it isn’t white Americans, white privilege (as if there is such a thing) or the long ago scourge of institutional racism that is the real danger facing black Americans. The self-inflicted cultural suicide in black America is the abject denial that tens of thousands of blacks are killed by other blacks.”

Kid Rock: Although he has not commented directly on Black Lives Matter, Kid Rock has angered civil rights campaigners. Onstage in September, he told his audience: “Fuck Colin Kaepernick”, in reference to the San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback’s decision not to stand for the national anthem at games, in protest at oppression of African Americans and other minorities. On the other hand, Kid Rock has received an award from the NAACP, after which he made the decision to stop using the Confederate flag on stage.

Antisemitism

Ted Nugent: Last February, he posted on Facebook images of 12 advocates of gun control, each of whom had the Israeli flag printed over their faces, naming “Jew York City Mayor Mikey Bloomberg” as among those who are “punks” opposed to self-defence. He then posted a photo of Nazis rounding up Jews, comparing it to Americans being asked to give up guns, and describing them as “soulless sheep to slaughter”. After being widely criticised, including by opponents of gun control, he apologised: “Can I say oy vey? I sincerely apologise for my irresponsible reposting of such a nasty and offensive meme. In my rush between songwriting jams and musical recording frenzy, all I saw was the images of people dedicated to disarm us, I made no connection whatsoever to any religious affiliation.”

Kid Rock: On at least one occasion, Kid Rock has expressed his admiration for Jewish people: “They just fucking got 50-caliber fucking guns in Israel. They don’t give a fuck. They’ll unload on anybody. ‘Fuck with us? We’ll fuck you up.’ That’s my motto in life. ‘Be nice to everybody, but if somebody fucks with you, FUUUUCK them up.’ We’re fucking saving your country basically.” When it was pointed out to him that Israeli and Jewish were not the same, he replied: “Same thing. You say tomato, I say fuck off!”

The environment

Ted Nugent: Drill, frack and build pipelines, Nugent argues, because they help wildlife. “Our energy requirements and love of wild things are not only not mutually exclusive, they are mutually beneficial. From the lichen enhancing heat from Alaska pipelines benefiting caribou, to the game rich biodiversity of reclaimed coal mines in the east, the great fishing around oil platforms in the oceans, wildlife populations actually increase and expand as a result of energy development.”

Kid Rock: Thus far, he appears to have expressed no opinion on the environment. If you have found any evidence that he has, please post in the thread below.

Climate change

Ted Nugent: It’s not happening. “The whole global warming lie is a giant, international environmental scam and hoax designed to control people by instigating fear and panic.”

Kid Rock: Thus far, he appears to have expressed no opinion on climate change. If you have found any evidence that he has, please post in the thread below.

Conclusion

There’s little doubt that Nugent is the candidate with the more thorough set of ideologies. Kid Rock, a self-proclaimed libertarian, seems interested only in gun control. However, the scope of Nugent’s political interests is slightly terrifying – his positions make Donald Trump look reasonable. Guardian Music, therefore, must reluctantly endorse Kid Rock as the nominee for Republican candidate to represent the great state of Michigan in the US Senate.