Sunday, April 27, 2014

Cliven Bundy : From National political star fighting an out of control Federal Government for Grazing rights to disappointing Poster boy for Foot - in - Mouth Disease. With Politicians feigning outrage and pointing fingers to cover their political assets.

Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy defends remarks, loses supporters

April 25

By MICHELLE RINDELS

Associated Press

LAS VEGAS — A Nevada rancher who became a conservative folk hero for standing up to the government in a fight over grazing rights lost some of his staunch defenders after wondering aloud whether blacks might have had it better under slavery.

Republican politicians from around the country who have rallied to Cliven Bundy's defense in recent weeks denounced the comments and distanced themselves from the rancher, including potential 2016 presidential contender U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and U.S. Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada.
Democrats were quick to pounce on the comments and label Bundy a racist.
Bundy has gone from a little-known rancher and melon farmer in rural Nevada to a national political star since he resisted the federal government's attempts to round up his cattle from federal land because he hadn't paid grazing fees for two decades. His supporters, especially those on the right, have praised him for standing up to what they believe is a heavy-handed federal government, and several armed militia members traveled to his ranch to back Bundy.
His comments were first published in The New York Times on Wednesday, but he did little to tamp down the controversy as he sought to address the public outrage on Thursday.
Bundy was quoted in a Times story referring to black people as "the Negro" and recalling a time decades ago when he drove past homes in North Las Vegas and saw black people who "didn't have nothing to do." He said he wondered if they were "better off as slaves" than "under government subsidy."

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2014/04/25/4981156/nevada-rancher-defends-remarks.html#storylink=cpy

On race, Cliven Bundy isn't the problem

By LZ Granderson, CNN Contributor

updated 2:14 PM EDT, Fri April 25, 2014

Rancher Cliven Bundy, right, leaves the podium with bodyguards after a news conference near his ranch in Bunkerville, Nevada, on Thursday, April 24. Bundy and the Bureau of Land Management have been locked in a dispute for a couple of decades over grazing rights on public lands.
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Editor's note: LZ Granderson is a CNN contributor, a senior writer for ESPN and lecturer at Northwestern University. Commentary by the former Hechinger Institute fellow has been recognized by the Online News Association, the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association. Follow him on Twitter @locs_n_laughs. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

(CNN) -- Bashing Cliven Bundy for his remarks regarding race is like Lebron James dunking on a 5-foot rim: Pointless. But we're going to do it anyway because it's fun. He said a lot of stupid things, and there are few things more entertaining than well-executed memes and a hashtag in front of stupidity.

The problem is Bundy is not the face of racism.

Not today's version.

But we'll place that yoke on his shoulders anyway because it's easy. Some conservatives will quickly pedal away from the Bundys and the Ted Nugents of the world, insisting that they are not like those rodeo clowns. They don't have a racist bone in their body because they would never make such outlandish statements. But then they turn around and marvel at how "well-spoken" or "articulate" a black person is and think nothing of it.

Politicians of all stripes will publicly denounce the offensive things that Bundy said but continue to construct policies that caters to his sensibilities. Today, racism isn't a crazy old white man with a dead calf on his shoulders proclaiming he's "unracist." No, it's elected officials like Paul Ryan saying inner-city men are "not even thinking about working or learning the value and the culture of work" and then feigning shock that people see a racist element to his statements.

Civilian Militia Remains at Bundy Ranch After Standoff Ends

April 19, 2014

By LIZ FIELDS

Liz Fields More from Liz »

Reporter

PHOTO: Justin Giles of Wasilla, Alaska stands guard on a bridge over the Virgin River during a rally in support of Cliven Bundy near Bunkerville, Nev. Friday, April 18, 2014.

Justin Giles of Wasilla, Alaska stands guard on a bridge over the Virgin River during a rally in support of Cliven Bundy near Bunkerville, Nev. Friday, April 18, 2014.

Las Vegas Review-Journal, John Locher/AP Photo

A group of armed militia and protesters, some sporting nametags reading "domestic terrorist," remain camped out on a cattle ranch in Nevada, where they have been purportedly defending the property since a tense showdown ended with the federal government last week.
A 20-year struggle between rancher Cliven Bundy and the Bureau of Land Management over decades of alleged illegal cattle grazing on public land ended last Sunday, with the government backing down from a controversial week-long cattle round-up.

Las Vegas Review-Journal, John Locher/AP Photo

Flanked by armed supporters, rancher Cliven Bundy speaks at a protest camp near Bunkerville, Nev. Friday, April 18, 2014.

The BLM defused the standoff, citing safety concerns for its employees and the protesters, some of whom were on horseback and others who were set up in sniper positions on the Interstate 15 overpass pointing military-style rifles at federal agents. Among the citizen army were dozens of women and children under the overpass who could have been caught in the line of any possible gunfire.
But many people who say they support Bundy said they felt the battle was far from over, as evidenced by some responses ABC News received on social media, after the BLM first announced on April 12 that it was withdrawing from the area and releasing the 380 cattle already collected as part of the round-up on an area of land half the size of Delaware state.

@libertyideals @lianzifields No, just a pull back to retrench and attack again. This is a diversionary tactic. They will be back.
— Bossy for Bundy (@BeckyJoSpray) April 12, 2014

The government maintains that Bundy owes more than $1.1 million in unpaid trespass fees and penalties after letting his herd of some 900 cattle graze on federal land near the town of Bunkerville, about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas, for the last 20 years.
Agency officials also told The Associated Press that the roundup contract was $900,000.
The BLM said it would now move to resolve the matter "administratively and judicially," although the government has unsuccessfully gone head to head with Bundy in Court since 1993, after it established the area as a protected habitat for the endangered desert tortoise and slashed Bundy's cattle allotment.

Read More Here

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