Why wouldn’t you want to have a singer who rocks about child rape and encourages the president to suck on a machine gun performing at your family-friendly Fourth of July ceremony?

According to the Longview News-Journal, the town of Longview, Texas has decided to pay Nugent $16,250, half of his his fee, not to perform at their upcoming Independence Day celebration. According to the town, part of the reason is due to the controversy Nugent has caused on the campaign trail with Texas Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott:

City spokesman Shawn Hara said the campaign-trail controversy was just one of several factors that led to the city pulling the plug. “(There were) a variety of reasons. Cost, structure, is it the right musical act for this type of event - a city-sponsored, family-oriented overall event," Hara said. "They decided no, we don't want to move forward, it is not the right act for this. At that point we decided to end discussions."

Longview’s mayor, Jim Dean, told the paper the city manager’s office contacted him with concerns over the possibility of having Nugent perform.

"That didn't really fit what we trying to put together, a family oriented program ... and I confirmed with his thoughts that that probably wasn't the right act," he said. "And I still feel that it was the right decision. It just didn't fit with what we were trying to put together."

As Burnt Orange Report noted, Abbott has yet to disavow his relationship with Nugent, who also continues to serve at treasured in the Sid Miller’s campaign for Agriculture Commissioner. The closest Abbott has come to criticizing Nugent’s often racist and sexist comments is to acknowledge that the singer should apologize for calling President Obama a “subhuman mongrel.”

Not everyone was pleased with the decision. Keith Rothra, outgoing chairman of the Gregg County Republican Party, told the paper, "We have paid $16,000 to Ted Nugent for political correctness."