The Palin Fan Base

Support for the McCain-Palin campaign, at least the Palin end of it, apparently is coming from a solidly conservative source that Republican image-makers may have mistakenly overlooked in their efforts to make Palin appeal to those outside the party faithful.

On Sept. 4, rock legend Ted Nugent posted an essay titled, “Sarah Palin is My Girl” on the conservative-leaning website, HumanEvents.com. Surprisingly, the essay lacks the famous potty mouth verbiage that only Nugent can pull off and still end up with most Americans either liking him or at least tolerating him. His usual barrage of expletives that has in the past curled the white hairs of the Republican party faithful is notably absent. Before, it was easy to leave Nugent and his ultra-conservative stand on gun rights at the party’s fringe - a spot he likes to be anyway. Maybe not so anymore.

Guns, Roses, and Rock ‘N Roll

Look out, Republicans! There’s a new “Uncle Ted” supporting your girl and he isn’t facing federal corruption charges.

It may just turn out that Republicans need this “Uncle Ted” just as much as Alaskans have needed their own “Uncle Ted” for the past couple of decades.

Instead of being sidetracked by indictment on federal corruption charges, as is the case for the senior senator from the 49th state, rock-and-roll’s ”Uncle Ted” has the leisure to label Palin a political savior and states in his essay, “Ted Nugent at your service, Vice President-to-be-Palin, I’m your biggest fan. Let’s rock.”

So, why do we care what this “Uncle Ted” says?

Because what he is saying is dead-set against the image Alaska’s political “Uncle Ted” is wearing these days.

Let me explain.

For those of you who don’t live in Alaska and don’t understand what the political “Uncle Ted” mentality is about here on The Last Frontier, here’s a condensed version.

U.S. Senator Ted Stevens is a long-time Republican politician who has delivered billions and billions of dollars for Alaska in the form of federal earmarks. Our major airport is named after him. Most Alaskans affectionately call him “Uncle Ted” even though he doesn’t know us on a first name basis. We drive on roads paid for with federal highway dollars he sought. Our children attend schools paid for in part with federal monies he sent to our state coffers. We like the fact he wears the Incredible Hulk tie to Senate floor debates because it gives us something to laugh about while we wait for the snow to melt each spring.

The only trouble with Alaska’s “Uncle Ted” is that he’s been indicted for allegedly not reporting everything he should have on those pesky financial disclosure forms. This month his trial starts. Obviously it’s up to the lawyers and the courts to decide his fate. But to some extent, the investigation is making Alaska’s political “Uncle Ted” look a bit more like the professional politicians that Rock’s “Uncle Ted” takes to task in his essay in praise of Palin - who herself made a gutsy frontier-style move before being nominated as VP in challenging Stevens to face the music over the alleged violations.

The Fedzilla Gorilla

Rock’s “Uncle Ted” says, “Fedzilla” is “bloated, broken, ineffective and wasteful.”  His statement doesn’t even qualify to be a paraphrase of what Palin is saying, but for undecided voters, it is close enough. Here’s the deal: there are more registered Democrats than Republicans in the United States.  I don’t know how many of Nugent’s fans are registered either way, but it’s a good guess that many are unaffilated, politically.

Nugent and his dedicated fan base bring a whole new element to the conservative realm. Yes, they are in line with old party favorites of gun and property rights. They are patriotic, and even if they don’t agree with the war in Iraq, they love the men and women wearing our uniform in the desert. That’s your standard Republican. But they are also anti-establishment. That’s a new deal for Republicans, but oddly enough, it’s almost the same message that Palin, cast as a reformer, is telling Americans. It might be the right message to attract those unaffilated voters.

Nugent may just have folks in Alaska and beyond calling him “Uncle Ted” for more reasons than just his amazing skills on the electric guitar.

Don’t equate Nugent’s rocker image with being a stranger to political activity, especially on Alaskan soil.

In 2002, he put his guitar to work at a fundraiser for Wayne Anthony Ross, an Anchorage attorney who lost the primary race to then U.S. Senator Frank Murkowski who became governor, bought a jet, and ticked off most Alaskans. He’s the guy Palin easily beat in 2006 to become the state’s youngest, and first-ever female governor.

So just how did Ted Nugent, who usually doesn’t have too many flattering things to say about lawyers, end up offering Cat Scratch Fever to help Ross?

Turns out the Motor City Madman (Nugent) and Ross are board members of the National Rifle Association. In May 2002, Nugent learned of Ross’ political plans and offered to play a fund-raising concert at the Motherlode Lodge in Hatcher Pass, a picturesque mountain playground overlooking what is known as the Mat-Su Valley where Palin’s hometown Wasilla is located.

I don’t know if Palin attended the August 2002 event. That’s about when she was wrapping up her career as Wasilla Mayor while taking unsuccessful aim at becoming the state’s Lt. Governor. I wouldn’t be surprised if she did indeed show up. Her Republican biography doesn’t list her as being a Nugent fan, but it wouldn’t be a big surprise to learn she does know the lyrics to some of his music. What I do know is that is she is a big fan of Hatcher Pass. It’s a spot her outdoorsy parents took took the family for weekend outings during Palin’s youth. And even back then, Palin had enough political savvy to know the Nugent name might attract news media and voters outside the party standard. Plus, she’s a lifetime member of the NRA.

Anyway, rock’s “Uncle Ted” is an avid hunter and outdoorsman and it is well known that he pays the state’s steep price for non-resident hunting and fishing licenses. He shows up in Alaska pretty regularly. Helping out Ross was a win-win for Nugent. He also likes to rock the Alaska State Fair held every August in Palmer - the other major town in Mat-Su Valley. He played it in 2002 after helping out Ross, and again in 2006. (My husband went both times. He so wants to jam with Ted.)

The Balls to Run Alaska

So … why should all of this trivia matter to the Republican party? Why should this little trip down memory lane matter to Palin?

It matters because Ted Nugent just posted his rather favorable opinion on her candidacy. And the people who call him “Uncle Ted” aren’t your typical Republican types. Their votes could be the ones Palin and McCain need to seal the deal, supplementing those they’ve already got in the box.

It appears that rock’s “Uncle Ted” has learned a bit more about Palin since his 2006 appearance at the state fair when she was running against Murkowski for governor.

Back then Nugent joked during his show - which of course featured his usual serving of pro-gun, pro-hunting sound bytes and expletives aimed at liberal politicians - that he wondered if gubernatorial candidate, Sarah Palin, had the “balls” to run Alaska.

From his latest essay, it appears he’s gotten his answer to that question and the one asking whether or not she’s fit to the run the nation.

Question is: Will his fans follow?

With his essay, Nugent may just deliver his faithful to Palin, a much different fold than the evangelical, pro-life base Palin appeals to now. Nugent’s fans may just be the lost political sheep in need of deliverance from the Wasington, D.C. politics-as-usual that Palin is promising. They may just respond to their shepherd’s call if Nugent tells them to vote for Palin.

In case you don’t have time to read all of Nugent’s essay, here are a couple of his zingers:

“Gov. Palin is a true outsider, a real maverick. She lacks Washington, D.C. political experience. That’s good. No, that’s excellent.”

“To borrow a relative quote from Michelle Obama, with the selection of Gov. Palin, it’s the first time in quite some time that I’m proud of the Republican Party.”

“She clearly has more experience than Senator Obama … he’s not qualified to run an all-night donut shop, much less America.”