Charlie Daniels: Politicians the worst coronavirus 'scammers, gougers, hoarders'

Music legend Charlie Daniels

Country-rock superstar Charlie Daniels, whose full schedule of concerts at the age of 83 has been suspended because of the coronavirus, blasted "scammers, gougers and hoarders" seeking a quick profit amid the crisis.

In his weekly Soap Box column, he makes it clear that the worst among the scammers who target "the most vulnerable and helpless among us" are the politicians.

Some Americans, he said, are getting their hands on scarce and vital products and jacking up the price up to ten times its worth. Others are simply buying much more than they need "with no thought or concern about who they are depriving."

"Then there are the politicians who try to gain political advantages by playing the blame game, who lack the honesty to admit their own faults," he said.

"Nobody personifies the worst in America more than Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff who are, even now in the middle of a situation that threatens America’s health and economy and it affects every man, woman and child in the nation, are making plans to hold a hearing on President Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

"The words I would need to express the contempt I have for them are not in my vocabulary," he said.

It's "the same Nancy who encouraged San Franciscans to 'Visit Chinatown, we think it's very safe in Chinatown,' as the coronavirus was beginning to take hold and people rightfully feared going to Chinatown or other areas for fear of contracting it."

Schiff, he said, is the "same lying, leaking, sniveling reprobate … who told the American people that there was proof of collusion against Trump [and] started an investigation into a phone call the president had with the president of Ukraine."

"I liken Pelosi, Schiff and all the rest of the Democrats who support this madness to deserters who walk away from the life and death battle the country is fighting and pursue their own sordid purposes," Daniels wrote. "At a time when America desperately needs 'all hands on deck,' the Democrats have chosen to take another shot at tearing the nation apart, and the sad thing is. They know it’s just another fruitless witch hunt."

Among the country's best are the "doctors, nurses, EMT personnel, and the maintenance staffs at the medical facilities [who] daily walk into the belly of the beast, constantly in danger and living under forced diligence of self-preservation where a faulty face mask, forgotten eyewear or any slip up in stringent sanitary protocol could result in contracting a deadly disease."

He also commended the police and fire departments, the truckers and farmers.

Daniels has been honored for his gospel music, Southern rock anthems and country hits.

He started out in the blue grass genre with the Misty Mountain Boys and moved to Nashville in 1967.

Elvis Presley recorded a tune Daniels co-wrote titled "It Hurts Me," which was released on the flip side of "Kissin’ Cousins." He played on such landmark albums as Bob Dylan's "Nashville Skyline."

He started the Charlie Daniels Band in 1972, and among the many hits he's known for are "Long Haired Country Boy," "The South’s Gonna Do It Again," "In America" and his signature, "The Devil Went Down to Georgia."