BANGOR, Maine — The video cameras representing all four of Bangor’s TV network affiliates were trained on city councilors in anticipation of a firestorm of remarks, comments and debate Monday night.
Those at the meeting were expecting fireworks concerning the controversy swirling around a July concert appearance by Ted Nugent after remarks he made recently about President Barack Obama’s policies and a weekend press release by two councilors urging Waterfront Concert promoters to bar Nugent from coming to Bangor.
Rather than fireworks, they got the equivalent of a couple of sparklers.
Two residents used the public comment portion of the meeting to argue for and against the positions taken by Councilors Joe Baldacci and Charlie Longo, who urged Waterfront Concerts promoter Alex Gray to bar Nugent from appearing as the opening act for REO Speedwagon and and Styx in Bangor on July 8.
“I find the thought of using the council to try to limit freedom of speech repugnant,” said Stephen Breau. “In 2011, the city of Bangor welcomed Bob Dylan with open arms, and he’s somebody who in the ’60s was considered a radical anti-government revolutionary.
“There is no difference, however repugnant you find [Nugent’s] comments to be, there is simply no parallel that can be drawn saying Ted shouldn’t be allowed here anymore than trying to say Bob Dylan shouldn’t be allowed to perform anywhere else.”
During a recent National Rifle Association convention, Nugent was quoted saying, “If Barack Obama becomes the president in November again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year. If you can’t go home and get everybody in your lives to clean house in this vile, evil, America-hating administration, I don’t even know what you’re made out of.”
Bangor lawyer Patrick Downey then came to the podium to voice a different opinion.
“I do take narrow disagreement with the prior comments. There is an important distinction here,” Downey said. “There are narrow exceptions carved out by members of the Supreme Court to the First Amendment of the Constitution.”
Downey cited child pornography, threatening statements and inciting statements, arguing that Nugent’s statements fell into the latter category because Downey said Nugent’s inference was that he intended violence.
Gray said traffic on the Waterfront Concerts website and its Facebook profile, as well as ticket sales, were affected by the controversy over the weekend.
“The rate of sales for that show doubled over the weekend,” Gray said. “It’s obviously added a lot of focus to Bangor and the series and that has translated to much higher traffic to the site and conversion rate, in terms of buying tickets.
“That being said, maybe there’s a silver lining in everything and this too shall pass.”
Baldacci did not address the controversy in his public comments at the end of the meeting, preferring instead to devote his time to the General Assistance funding crisis facing Bangor.
Councilor Cary Weston chose not to address the issue when asked for a comment and none of the other councilors, other than Longo, commented on it during their time at the end of the meeting.
Longo kept his public comments brief regarding the Nugent issue.
“It was almost a distraction,” Longo said. “I had sent that letter privately to Alex Gray of Waterfront Concerts. After a response and a few days of discussion, I felt it was best to release that statement because I feel very strongly about transparency. Now, at the end of the day I also feel strongly about freedom of speech.
“Freedom of speech is paramount, but at the same time, threatening speech is not appropriate.”
Longo added that he felt it was his right to exercise his freedom of speech, but he also recognized other rights.
“I also respect Alex Gray’s decision that a private entity shouldn’t be dictated to about what they should be doing,” he said.
In other council business Monday, the council:
• Approved a $390,000 final accounting legal settlement to the city from Frontier Communications Co. resulting from long-running litigation over coal tar pollution of the Penobscot River.
• Unanimously approved a three-year agreement with Smith-Towle Inc., which owns and operates Raena’s Pub in Bangor, to operate the beer cart concession and restaurant at Bangor Municipal Golf Course. Smith-Towle’s bid of $16,500 was recommended for approval.
• Approved the rate structure for Bangor harbor dock rates recommended by the city’s parks and recreation committee and plans to incorporate online reservation request capabilities and other information onto the city’s website.
Uncle Ted never ate a dog.
I don’t know about dog but Charlie “Wonder Boy” eats a lot of Crowe after he removes his feet.
He’s transparent all right. Light shines out both of his ears.
He might do better in (ticket) sales…
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Poor Fluffy…
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Dogs are better than people. Personality-wise.
Very good response by the council. That was classy. This will show the public that Freedom of Speech we hold value to. And even in the event of a threatening statement, the council showed that they were above that. Charlie Longo demostrated his freedom of opinion, and at the same time respected others. That is why we have an effective council. They understand their differences, and they work around them. Have they not? Great things can happen when we all respect that there are many levels to democracy. Ted will come and go, but what remains is: we didn’t shut a voice out. Agree or not agree, that is the question. The answer: Be true to yourselves and hold your values tight.
There was no threat.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2012/apr/19/context-ted-nugent-saying-if-obama-wins-i-will-be/
where is my post
I scroll all the way to the bottom of the page, to see this.
We in Maine politics are not in the buisness of national politics… if so following the logic … then Bangor should go totally Republican like the supermajority dems did a few years ago .. bring
Nugent in !!!Embrace him hes a real American unlike the weak in the shadows liberals who trash our republic. GOD bless America !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
he is a criminal pled guilty and a puss
and your a what ?
And paid his fine…which means he paid his debt to society
Hasn’t paid the fine yet, court isn’t until later in the month.
Does that mean that he is alledgedly a criminal?
Correct.
Nugent is what’s known as a “slob hunter” (here’s his lame plea agreement):
http://www.vpc.org/Ted%20Nugent%20plea%20agreement.pdf
bdn does not post what is received apparently, now do you, where is my post on ted and the dixie chicks also if you notice, if you try to leave bdn for portland press herald, you cant you have to close out, and start again what are they afraid of?
Might want to take another look, try refreshing your page. I see three of your posts on here. Also, I have no problem going from this page directly to the PPH site.
PPH =Pingree Press Herald?
the dixie chicks said they were embarassed that gw was from texas and all the repukes wanted to call them traitors in a time of war and people burnt their records and held demostrations and toby held a concert but ted says he wants to kill obama and chop the heads off the administration and its free speech bunch of hypocrites
Please explain the parallel you’re attempting to draw between the two issues? The Dixie Chicks weren’t banned by any state or local government, they were ended because no one wanted to buy their records after the fallout of their remarks. Basically they spoke out in a time when the President had a strong following. In this current case, our President does not have a strong following and in-fact is suffering quite the opposite as opposition to him is rising. Do I like ‘Uncle Ted’? Not really. Didn’t care for the Dixie Chicks either. But they both have the rights to voice their beliefs and the right we have is to not put money in their pockets by purchasing concert tickets.
More complicated than that when, for example, DJ’s get fired for playing their music:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixie_Chicks.
And again, that was a decision made by a private employer not the government.
Still on this kick I see.
I read that article as well and it didn’t state that the DJ’s were fired it stated that they were suspended. While you and I may not agree that this was a good way to handle the situation, that station or stations is a private entity and has the right to set their own policies regarding what’s played. I do wonder how much of their backlash was also brought about due to the fight between them and Toby Keith. One of the statements alone may not have caused the same backlash as them making both a statement about a song that many people took comfort in after 9/11 and then putting down the President a year later.
I think Next needs to take off the sunglasses/blinders…I mean if we took what celeb’s say to heart….Wouldn’t the Baldwin’s be in France or somewhere else after GW got elected…I happen to like Ted, but he does have the right to express his opinion…No where in that did he directly/indirectly say he was going to kill anyone…He was saying…we need REAL change…but I am going to keep my personal politics out of this.
well moderator? you asleep or scared and bias
Oh, for goodness sakes, Bangor Counselor’s, grow up will you? Tweedledee and Tweedledum pictured again and again here, are getting me hungry for a drippy, greasy pizza and pitchers-full of cold beer!
There are more fiduciary problems Bangor has, rather than to kick out entertainers who voice opinions of their own under the US Constitution; and so far, it did not hurt anyone. Please put this mess to rest. At least Nugent has the wherewithal to voice his opinion, just as news media editorials/editors/television hosts and all Americans have the right to voice their opinions on Hillary Clinton and her bi-polar almost-impeached husband and Obama and the rest! Let this go.
“Hillary Clinton and her bi-polar almost-impeached husband and Obama and the rest!”
Not that it matters much, but her husband was Impeached.
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Like I said, it really doesn’t matter much, but I was just correcting the obvious misstatement.
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I am ambivalent about an entertainer ranting about politics. I am not amused by Mr. Nugent’s repeated Fish and Game violations. Reason enough to ask him to skip the state.
I believe that common sense people knew what Ted Nugent was stating. Why is there not more of an outcry from these councilors concerning the language that people are hearing and the actions they are seeing at the concerts? We understand that those who live in the area of the concerts are bombarded with vulgarities, etc.
This is all a bunch of crap. Doesn’t the Bangor council have better things to do than to try to stop Uncle Ted from from performing in their city? If you don’t want to support him, don’t buy a ticket, but don’t try to ruin it for everyone else. ROCK ON UNCLE TED!!!!
Just glad to see big boy isn’t trying to ban the beer cart at the golf course.
Free Speech is one thing, but an all out threat is an entirely different thing all together. Where do we draw the line between the two?? For Ted Nugent to exclaim that he will be either jailed or dead, implies that he has ulterior motives. Sounds threatening to me. DEM or REP, NO ONE has the right to threaten…only the right to free speech.
Apparently the Secret Service disagrees with you.
DOUBTFUL
“On Thursday, the Secret Service agents met with Nugent and resolved questions regarding the comments, which Nugent, a staunch conservative and gun rights advocate, argued were not meant to be threatening. The Secret Service said it was satisfied by the meeting and said it would take no further action against Nugent.” – BDN “Two Bangor councilors want Ted Nugent concert scratched, promoter sees no need” 4/22/2012
I guess if they agreed with you they would have arrested him on the spot for threatening our President. They didn’t therefore they disagree with you!
Their meeting may have satisfied an itch, but believe you me…they’re watchin’ him….they’ve lost the love, man…..He will be under their watchful eye for a very long time now. This doesn’t speak disagreement to my comment at all..it’s just a little calamine on the infected area. Like most itches…it WILL return.
Guess we’ll just have to wait and see…if the big O doesn’t get re-elected we wont have anything to worry about. :-)
Nugent did not threaten anyone.
Here is a transcript of what he said.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2012/apr/19/context-ted-nugent-saying-if-obama-wins-i-will-be/
“Implied” is the standard you want to set? Next will be “Inferred” No, he didnt “Actually” break a law, by He hinted that he might” or “No, but I’m pretty sure that he might”
You are promoting the Ultimate in big Brother, Nanny state controls. Be very careful how much power you hand over, you dont know who might weild that power down the road, or if they share your views.
Obviously no threat was made, read the article again…comments made, comments investigated…no charges. Pretty simple really.
I think you are missing the point. I agree that what Nugent said was threatening in nature, which is why he got a visit from the Secret Service. Apparently after speaking with him, they did not feel he was a danger. I don’t believe the councilmen were calling for his ban because they felt he was a threat…they just didn’t like what he said. If Michael Jackson were still alive, would there be any outcry from the council about his playing in Bangor? I doubt it, however I find what he was accused of, and his admitted activity with children, much more offensive than Nugent’s actions. This boils down to people being tired of others, especially government officials, trying to make decisions that should be left for us to make.
When I first read Nugent’s statement, all I could think was that the media and “free speech” loonies would have a fit and they did.
Really, could he not be jailed for non-violent crimes, much like so many liberal demonstrators? Or do radical liberals think only they can demonstrate in a non-violent manner. The law enforcement personnel tasked with these types of crimes investigated and found no wrongdoing, yet since it doesn’t fit you’re definition of playing nice they Constitution should be ignored?
Where’s the outrage for Chuck Kruger? Should he not be forced to resign his post? His speech, while not a threat either, was far more direct calling for the former Vice President to be hanged with public access for viewing. Funny some want it both ways.
Liberals are becoming super thin skinned thinking any major player would actually attempt to incite violence against the opposition. Funny it’s that same thin skin that makes many of us moderates fear a Democratic president being weak on defense and crime. If not for those two things, I might be voting differently…
Didnt read about Chuck Kruger…not commenting on him…I did however read about T.Nugent, and if a 14 yr old boy can get terrorism charges for pranking the school phone on a dare from his pals, then T. Nugent can be accused of CRIMINAL THREATENING…what’s the difference? T. Nugent has $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$, and a 14yr old does NOT!…ok so where is YOUR fair justice??!! give it up….
Soooo, Nugent is rich and therefor bad. Do I understand you?
Calling in a threat of bombing is not a threat?
Whether or not I attend any concert in Bangor is my choice. Who I desire to hear and not hear is my choice. When city councilors want to limit my choices because of their personal politics then I see that those councilors do not want my business within Bangor city limits and for me that includes ALL business. Be sure to tell the Quirk boys that my next new auto will not be from their lot. I am certain they will be impressed with your political “concerns”. For the rest of the council; try to keep you dogs tied, they are an embarrassment to the office.
Longo and Baldacci. Quite the brain trust the people of Bangor have there.
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Charlie,
No letters sent in the official capacity of City Councillor are “private”.
Have Norm give you a refresher course on “official communications”.
All Maine elected officials take a mandated state course on ethics, state law, and how to conduct themselves in their positions. Maybe Baldacci and Longo skipped the class.
While I think it is a bit of a stretch to put Bob Dylan’s “radical anti-government revolutionary status” up against what Ted says on a daily basis. The fact is that Ted has the right to say whatever he wants. And the fine people of Bangor can choose not to buy a ticket. Vote with your wallet.
“The rate of sales for that show doubled over the weekend,” Gray said. “It’s obviously added a lot of focus to Bangor and the series and that has translated to much higher traffic to the site and conversion rate, in terms of buying tickets.
If you had read the article more closely, you would have seen that people are voting with their wallets. Comments were made and investigated…no charges…to me that says it all. Come on Ted, can’t wait to see you in concert.
Think Ted is aware of these shenanigans. Methinks so. lol. Hope he shreds a little ode to Longo for his closing number.
Um. Where did I say that I thought sales were down?
I merely pointed out that if people are upset over this then they can vote with their wallets, and not make a city council meeting out of it. I think you are projecting, just a little.
PFFFFT
Longo sure makes it easy for me on what to decide on any question, whatever he votes I go the opposite, this guy is out of touch with his constituents.
My question is this–the City of Bangor has a legal contract with Waterfront Concerts but yet an individual Councilor fires off a “private” letter to the CEO requesting a cancellation of a performance. I have thus far seen no action by the full council in this matter. Councilor Longo has potentially placed the city in jeopardy of a lawsuit on this matter. Now no action on this matter by the full council. Is this therefore an endorsement of this action. If so heaven help us from those who feel they need to see their name in print daily for personal validation. I do get the impression where Councilor Baldacci stands but he is the only other councilor we have heard from on this matter.
Exactly how has Longo “potentially placed the city in jeopardy of a lawsuit”? He is free to ask Alex Gray to cancel the concert. And Gray is free to say “No.”
Longo and Baldacci in my opinion are morons, and nothing more than wannabe politicians who will never amount to anything. Nugent has done nothing wrong other than exercise his right to free speech, for which he was investigated by the Secret Service. If there had been a crime, I’m sure he would be in custody right now. As many others have stated, musicians are often outspoken politically through their music or otherwise. Attempting to impede upon one’s freedom of speech by barring his performance is ridiculous.
As a lesson to our two council members, I can only hope that other artists slated to perform at the venue would cancel their shows in support of Uncle Teddy. I do not agree with Ted’s comments, nor do I advocate the use of threatening or violent statements towards anyone. However, turning a deaf ear goes hand in hand with free speech. I hope Longo and Baldacci’s tongues are squeaky clean because their political attempts at censorship will come back to haunt them.
So tell me boys, for the record, have you ever made a desparaging remark towards an elected official?
It looks link Longo has been deleting negative comments on his facebook page concerning this issue. Interesting.
These two make me feel good about living on Old Town.
Isn’t “Bangor lawyer Patrick Downey” also “Assistant Attorney General Patrick Downey?”
In either case, Nugent never implied that he intended violence, that’s what Downey inferred. Nugent’s comment was about the danger Obama was to him, not vice versa, and the Secret Service heard it that way too.
If Downey is in fact an AAG, he’s showing a disqualifying incompetence at both grammar and reality.
Edit: On re-reading the article, I see that the misuse of “inference” may be the BDN’s and not Downey’s. If so, I owe him an apology, but the gist of his remarks is consistent with the mistake’s being his.
There goes OxxFest, it has been announced Waterfront has moved it out of Bangor. That was one all-day event. That was money for businesses here, now gone. How many more are we going to lose?
I wonder how much the delay over the contract by Councilor Longo last fall played into this?
Junior Varsity. And that might go for both Longo and the “mayuh”
So that’s two major concerts – James Taylor and Oxxfest – that Longo and the city council have deep-sixed. Great work, folks!
“There goes”? It wasn’t scheduled to be here anyway.
According to the BDN, “Waterfront Concerts announced Tuesday morning that the annual Oxxfest concert, a day-long festival featuring rock, metal and hardcore bands, would move to Scarborough Downs for this year after two previous years on the Bangor Waterfront.”
Well three years would have been nice. Last year I remember hearing talk that they had found a home here. Guess not.
I have zero faith in this group of people to lead this city into the future. They seem to squabble over the pettiest of things. Longo and Weston are like two little brothers fighting over the last potato chip. There are bigger fish to fry.
Last time I checked it was still a free country with free speech guaranteed………that is unless Obama is re-elected.
Sorry Bangor you deserve Longo, your not the same working class town I new 10 yrs ago.
>>“I had sent that letter privately to Alex Gray of Waterfront Concerts…”<>Downey cited child pornography, threatening statements and inciting
statements, arguing that Nugent’s statements fell into the latter
category because Downey said Nugent’s inference was that he intended
violence.<<
Nugent's comments were an incoherent mess. His comments could also be read as paranoia about the government's intentions for gun owners – he fears incarceration or death from the government because of his belief in the second amendment. Nonsense, of course, but anyone expecting reasoned political discourse from someone with the nickname of the Motor City Madman is setting the bar a bit high. The people tasked with protecting the life of the president are satisfied that Nugent's comments were not threatening.
For the record, I do not plan to see the show, as I'm not a fan of the groups performing. What bothers me is that a public official misused (as opposed to abused) his office to express his private opinion. Longo's letter may not have crossed the line into official oppression, but it was an inappropriate use of the trust given him by the voters of this city.
well said
Agreed. Thank you for the common sense, and the reasoned analysis.
They should have remained silent in the first place. Liberal entertainers would have been welcomed with open arms by these two councilors who should be recalled immediately. Trying to bring top shelf entertainment to this area is tough enough without these two idiots politicizing it. By the way, Nugent was cleared of any wrongdoing. Free speech is still one of our rights…much to the annoyance of Longo and Baldacci.
Just tells you what kind of person Mr Longo is if he favors Obama at all!!!!!We can only hope Obama is not relected it was the WORST MISTAKE THIS COUNTRY HAS EVER MADE PERIOD AND NOW THEY KNOW IT!!!!!AND UNLCE TED YOU ARE THE MAN just because he voiced his opions that other people don’t have the balls to do but truly feel the same way kudos to you uncle Ted
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I see two Banfor City Counselers looking for new jobs in the future.. Idk why we still have any Baldacci’s still in the political field havn’t they learned that no one likes them?
I see two Banfor City Counselers looking for new jobs in the future.. Idk why we still have any Baldacci’s still in the political field havn’t they learned that no one likes them?
Is anyone else tiring of the antics of Longo and Weston- Longo releases a letter sent to Waterfront concerts for his own self promotion and Weston publicly berates three of Bangor’s most outstanding citizen voluteers over decisions they rendered in the course of their service to the public library to further his political career. Regardless of your position on Ted Nugent or the Occupy Movement, the actions of these two is nothing more than politics at its worse. Bangor deserves better!
Longo and Baldacci were wrong. Weston was right.
Good news! Baldaccifest will take the place of Oxxfest this year…. Charlie Longo’s already doing a good job giving the Waterfront Concert series a real five-finger death punch. He’ll be the warmup, and Joe the headliner. Maybe Occupy Bangor could station themselves at Baldaccifest!
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Truth be told, the date conflict between Kah-Bang wanting the same weekend Gray wanted Oxxfest doomed this year from the get-go.
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Frankly, when Alex finds out the severe INSECT problem he’s going to have in that woods-surrounded old auxiliary parking lot at Scarborough Downs, little-to-no infrastructure, and only one thoroughfare in and out, he’s going to be wishing he studied the history of Woodstock ’68, because Oxxfest ’12 is going to be a Mayan-level major disaster. Especially if it gets just a little rain, and he finds it doesn’t drain well. Scarborough Downs sure has sold him a bill o’ goods.
Motor-Mouth Nugent was paid $50,000 to show up at the NRA meeting–no joke.
“Freedom of Speech” does not include inciting hatred and violence against The Commander in Chief (Downey is spot-on):
http://huff.to/I7gnkX
Even if he was paid for his appearance – so what? The public appearance circuit pays people all the time. It’s legal. Democrat hero Bill Clinton is paid for his own lame attempts at speechifying, every time he appears on a stage. So was William Ayers, convicted bomber who appeared at a Maine university last year.
Just wait until President Obama is out of office, and see how fast he’s out on the paid-pundit circuit.
Meanwhile, you’re wrong about Nugent’s statements. The Secret Service (a little more reliable legal source than you) found his comments to be without harm, or criminal charge.
So, is it music or more of the same political clown circus we’ve been whiteness to? Whether it’s legal or not is moot. Can we get a break from the hate and rightwing nonsense? I know there is little difference in “rightwing world” between politics and art, in fact there is nothing else in “rightwing world” other than extreme politics, we get it. If I want to hear music I’d like it to be minus the “Cat Crap Fever” that oozes out of every rightwing pore ….. and we all know how reliable the Secrets of the Secret Service are?
What could be better than music, guns and politics with some death threats thrown in, that’s called rightwing ART.
“The rate of sales for that show doubled over the weekend,” Gray said. “It’s obviously added a lot of focus to Bangor and the series and that has translated to much higher traffic to the site and conversion rate, in terms of buying tickets.”
Is there a conspiracy here? I love it :-) typical Gov’t intervention (unintended consequences)…
My Dad, a veteran (Korea and Vietnam), found this interesting story about Mr. Nugent.
Don’t care about his politics, but his attitude towards the military will keep me from attending his concert.
http://www.examiner.com/article/romney-supporter-ted-nugent-pedophile-and-draft-dodger-his-own-words
It’s great to see new forms of art develop. The rightwing has its own form of an avant-garde expression. Mix a little lousy music with hate speech and death threats and we see its beginning, the only thing that could improve on the toxicity would be an open carry with hard liquor, and you got …… thats right …….. rightwing art.
Even if what you say were true, at least this form of right-wing art is privately funded. Better than the Federal “1% for Art” merde like the $600K “Burbling Toad Statue.”
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/dod-spending-600000-on-sculpture-of-fairy-riding-toad/
I’d take a concert with the Nuge any old day.
What ever happened to freedom of speech in this country? Anybody protesting Nugent’s comments is every bit as un-American as this administration and has no respect for our constitution granting us the right to speak out.