Right-wing rocker Nugent calls his critics ..

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Ted Nugent, the '70s rock star who's now more famous for his right-wing rants than for his music, has two words for his critics: "Unclean vermin."

"I take it as a badge of honor that such unclean vermin are upset by me and my positive energy," Nugent said in a recent interview, via email, with Gannett Wisconsin Media. (Nugent played Saturday night in Oshkosh, Wis.)

"By all indicators, I don't think they actually qualify as people, but there has always been a lunatic fringe of hateful, rotten, dishonest people that hate happy, successful people," Nugent continued.

One group that falls within Nugent's definition of "unclean vermin" is the Coeur d'Alene tribe in northern Idaho, which canceled Nugent's scheduled Aug. 4 show at the tribe's casino in Worley, Idaho.

The Coeur d'Alene tribe canceled Nugent's show over his history of rhetoric that many consider racist and hateful — such as once referring to President Barack Obama as a "subhuman mongrel."

Meanwhile, the chairman of the parent company of the Toledo Blade newspaper wrote Sunday to apologize that the paper booked Nugent to perform at its Northern Ohio Rib-Off event on Aug. 8, according to the industry website JimRomenesko.com. The chairman, Allan Block, however did say that "calling President Obama a 'subhuman mongrel' does not make Ted Nugent a racist."

Nugent performs Thursday at The Depot in Salt Lake City. The concert promoter said Friday there are no plans to cancel.

Right-wing rocker Nugent calls his critics 'unclean vermin'