[dropcap]I[/dropcap]f Cliven Bundy is feeling abandoned, he should come to Colorado.
If he’s looking for someone who is apparently not all that appalled by his slavery-was-good-for-the-Negro theory, he should come to Colorado.
If he wants to live in a state where he can ignore whatever federal laws he chooses and needs a governor to bail him out, he should get on the first bus to Colorado.
If he needs defending from the feds, and he can’t count on his militia buddies to show up, come — please, come — to Colorado.
[pullquote]The ‘slavery was good for the negro’ Nevada rancher has been abandoned by Rand Paul, Dean Heller and much of Fox News. But he’s got at least three friends left in Colorado — all of them running for governor in the Republican primary.[/pullquote]
He’s got a friend here. Actually, he’s got at least three friends – all of them running for governor in the Republican primary. These guys are either incredibly loyal, incredibly shameless or just incredibly out of touch.
Sure, Rand Paul and Dean Heller have abandoned Bundy. Yes, much of Fox News, which is to Cliven Bundy as CNN is to Flight 370, seems to have abandoned him, too. And even Sean Hannity would abandon him — conceding that Bundy’s ideas on race were “repugnant” and had threatened to “brand” his supporters (see: above) as, well, ignorant.
It was over for Bundy in just 13 words, when he said to a crowd of supporters and, as it turned out, a New York Times reporter: “I want to tell you one more thing I know about the Negro.” The revolution was stopped in its tracks, in embarrassment, in humiliation. The anti-government rhetoric would have to cool down ever so slightly — didn’t we learn anything from the jack-booted thugs/Timothy McVeigh era? — and the Doomsday clock might have moved back a few seconds.
The quote is so raw and so wrong-headed and so ignorant that, you’d be sure, it cannot be ignored. Listen: “They abort their young children, they put their young men in jail, because they never learned how to pick cotton. And I’ve often wondered, are they better off as slaves, picking cotton and having a family life and doing things, or are they better off under government subsidy? They didn’t get no more freedom. They got less freedom.”
If you had a friend who said that, wouldn’t you have to rethink your relationship?
Not if you’re Bob Beauprez. Or Mike Kopp. Or Scott Gessler.
The three came to a 9News debate Thursday. (Tom Tancredo doesn’t debate because he’s Tom Tancredo.) They were asked what they thought about Bundy and the showdown over grazing fees and federal land. Did they consider Bundy a “patriot,” as some have called him, or did they agree with Harry Reid that he was a “domestic terrorist”?
Each took the question. Each took a shot at Harry Reid. And each chose not to mention the race issue. Yeah, I was puzzled, too. Had they missed the news? Do they believe the ugly stereotype about Republicans and race? Did they really think that this was the time to get on the Bundy bandwagon? Didn’t any of them call Hannity for advice?
Here’s what they said instead.
Beauprez conceded Bundy is “not without fault,” although he didn’t mention what the faults might be. Beauprez was too worried about the fact that since he now has his own ranch that the feds could do the same thing in Colorado “because I think government has gone completely mad.” He not only thinks that government has gone mad and has overreacted, but also that “it looks like martial law has broken out.” He didn’t mention Bundy’s views on race. And he didn’t mention the militias. And he didn’t mention the guy who said they ought to put the women out front in case the feds shoot because imagine the good press they’d get.
Kopp conceded that Bundy should have paid his fees, but he notes that 70 federal agencies have armed police officers. He added: “I’m not sure why the federal government needs to have that kind of armed force against its own citizens.” So, apparently cops are armed against the citizenry, and Kopp wants fewer guns for everyone except all the people who aren’t cops. He does have a solution, in which he’d put himself “between the citizens of the state and the federal government” to advocate “for the freedoms of the people of my state.” He didn’t mention Bundy’s theory on freedom and slaves. He didn’t mention the militias. He didn’t mention the guy with the women in front.
You’d figure that Gessler, the former federal prosecutor, would stand up for the rule of law. But, uh, no. He was worried more about government restraint, even if he doesn’t seem that restrained about his own government office going after would-be (but rarely, in fact, are) fraudulent voters. He said what the “Bureau of Land Management and other federal agencies” are “looking to do is to hammer people instead of work with them …” He admitted Bundy “has his own problems,” but said that “no one should have treated him the way he was treated.” He didn’t mention slavery. He didn’t mention the militias. He didn’t mention that other guy.
In summary, these people who want to be your governor seemed entirely unconcerned about someone bringing in his militia buddies to fight off the feds, whom he says he doesn’t recognize as legitimate.
Or if they were concerned about it, they forgot to mention it. It could be that they were just preoccupied with making sure not to mention, under any circumstances, that their pal was a racist crank.
Mike, I used to enjoy reading your articles when you were with the post, but ever since finding this Co. Independent, I haven’t had a chance to do so lately. Until now. And now I have to wonder who you are, and what you’ve done with Mike? I’m very disappointed because you’ve aligned yourself with the enemy, and that’s exactly what this is about: Divide and conquer. Mr. Piven did not say what they said he said in the context that they said he said it. Besides, being a journalist, I would hope you would want to hear what he said coming straight out of his mouth! So is calling you a journalist even apropos? Doesn’t look like it. He’s got a blog, a FB page, and a You Tube channel. He’s an American hero, not an anti-government villain, and he definitely doesn’t need his countrymen helping out the criminals who killed his cows, tasered his family, and pointed guns at him when they have no policing authority to do so. You sir need to wake up. BTW, he has more than one black countryman at his ranch not only defending his words, but defending his liberty WITH THEIR LIFE.
Joe, exactly how “in context” could what Mr. Bundy said be considered not racist?
For the foreseeable future, I suggest that in most major statewide races, the Colorado GOP should, to save time, simply field a screenshot of “We’re having technical difficulties,” kind of like when you were growing up and the over-the-air channels went on the fritz.
Cliven Bundy is anything but a patriot. He’s a common thief who’s stealing from every hard working taxpaying American citizen. His militia friends and supporters obviously want to be able to wave their guns around in everybody’s faces to show how “patriotic” they are. Many, many ranchers happily pay their $1.35/head/mo grazing fees, pretty darn cheap for certain.
He’s lost 3 times in court and still doesn’t get the message. Slap a lien on his entire cattle herd and force him to pay up or get out of the business. So tired of these people who put themselves above everyone else who works hard and pays their bills as promised.
Cliven did us all a big service. He said out loud what a lot of people of his ilk have been thinking for a long time. Thanks to Cliven, we have a pretty raw example, out there now for all to see.
A HERO? To WHO? This guy is a welfare queen in a cowboy hat for sure. He won’t pay his fees (even though he DID until a democrat was in office) in spite of them being $15.45 CHEAPER PER COW PER ACRE from the feds than ANY commercial land out there. He has been found guilty in his own state and county courts more than once, which proves that he doesn’t respect even the county that he CLAIMS is the only authority he recognizes. THis guy is a MULTIMILLIONAIRE who won’t pay his share of ANYTHING. THIS is a hero?
Some people have VERY strange ideas of what makes a hero.
Oh, and for the NV state rep who asks “Since when does the federal government come in armed to collect a debt?”, the answer is since the FIRST adminsitration, that’s since when. Ev er hear of a little thing called the Whiskey Rebellion? George Washington himself led the ARMY that went to quell the rebellion. THAT’S since when. Ignorant people shouldn’t be allowed to run for office.
I’ve got to assume Joe Garcia is talking about Mr Cliven Bundy when he mentions a “Mr. Piven” in his disjointed commentary defending a racist fool.
Mr Garcia certainly has a vivid imagination and the so called “black countryman” willing to give their lives to defend Mr Piven’s liberty will almost certainly do so should they choose to break the law and shoot it out with the feds.
When you point a gun at the cops you’re asking for serious trouble. I think it’s Mr Joe Garcia who needs to wake up. His remarks are absurd.
As conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer so elegantly put it:
“I love this country and I love the constitution and it’s the constitution that established a government that all of us have to recognize. And for him to reject it was the beginning of all of this. And now what he said today is just the end of this. And I think it is truly appalling that as Chuck says, there are times when somehow simply because somebody takes an opposition, he becomes a conservative hero. You’ve you got to wait, you’ve got to watch, you have got to think about. And look, do I have the right to go graze sheep in Central Park? I think not.”
Reread that last sentence and really think about it. Clive Bundy is anything but a patriot and a hero.
Welcome to the conversation, Mr. Garcia and I hope you’ll continue to contribute. By the way, journalism and Mr. Littwin parted ways a long time ago.
Would Mr. Littwin even be writing about Cliven Bundy if not for the racial element? Of course not. Can you imagine Mr. Littwin writing a column for the Colorado Independent about grazing fees on federal land in Nevada? Please.
And his attempt to paint the three Republican Colorado gubernatorial candidates as “pals” of Mr. Bundy is disingenuous at best, dishonest at worst and risible to begin with.
“And each chose not to mention the race issue. Yeah, I was puzzled, too. Had they missed the news?”
Isn’t it ironic how Mr. Littwin seems to avoid even the mention of certain issues/events but yet hyperventilates when politicians do the same exact thing? Yeah, I’m puzzled, too.
For example:
– On March 11th Florida’s 13th Congressional District held an election to fill the seat vacated by the death of Republican Bill Young who died on October 18, 2013. The election pitted Republican David Jolly against Democrat Alex Sink.
Here’s how Tampa Bay Times political analyst Adam C. Smith summarized the results of that election which was won by Mr. Jolly:
“In Alex Sink, Democrats had a better-funded, well-known nominee who ran a strong campaign against a little-known, second- or third-tier Republican who ran an often wobbly race in a district Barack Obama won twice. Outside Republican groups — much more so than the under-funded Jolly campaign — hung the Affordable Care Act and President Obama on Sink.
It worked.”
– On January 28th and again on April 2nd Mr. Littwin requested information from readers who claimed that under Obamacare they were forced to obtain health care policies that were far more expensive or were far less comprehensive then the ones they had in effect before they were canceled by Obamacare. Both times Mr. Littwin said he was requesting the information because he’d like to write about their problems.
He has yet to do so.
Now, to be fair to Mr. Littwin—and who doesn’t want to be fair to Mr. Littwin—maybe he didn’t get the requested information. Or maybe he did get the requested information and didn’t want to embarrass the reader. Just kidding! The only person Mr. Littwin doesn’t want to embarrass is Mr. Littwin. Fortunately, for some of us, he can’t seem to stop himself.
But the more likely scenario is that he did get the information and failed to write about it because it didn’t fit his preconceived and rather bizarre hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil approach to Obamacare.
“The White House says it has surpassed its goal for people enrolled in Obamacare. It’s amazing what you can achieve when you make something mandatory and fine people if they don’t do it and then keep extending the deadline for months. It’s like a Cinderella story. It’s just a beautiful thing. You make everyone do it. If you still haven’t enrolled, you might have to pay a penalty called the ‘Individual Shared Responsibility Payment,’ which is 1 percent of your salary. Then Americans said, ‘hey, good thing I don’t have a job.”
Jimmy Fallon
http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org
Memorial Day – May 26, 2014
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.
Mark Twain
Mr Lopez slobbers over the 13th district special election in Florida won by the Republicans and touted by the GOP and most of the media as a referendum on the Affordable Care Act. It’s not and here’s why.
Florida’s 13th district has been represented in the US House of representatives by a Republican since 1983. The 13th is solid Republican in terms of registered voters.
The final vote count in the March special election was. David Jolly (repub) 89099 or 48.4%. Alex Sink (dem) 85642 or 46.6%. Not exactly a mandate in terms of numbers in a district dominated by repubs.
The repubs used the Obamacare issue to Jolly’s advantage. It is a temporary win for repubs who are going to lose the war in the long term.
As I pointed out earlier the gap is closing with more Americans now supporting the ACA than opposing. In December 2013 50% opposed the ACA and 34% approved. As of March 2014 46% now oppose while 38% approve.
I will point out again the fact the vast majority of voters support keeping the ACA in place. A small minority support repeal with a Republican alternative. 69% favor keeping the law in place as opposed to 29% who support repeal.
Another fact the gloating GOP should be concerned with. In February 145,000 Floridians enrolled in the ACA leading all states in people enrolling for February.
Also this is another fact for Adam Smith’s enlightenment. President Obama did not carry the 13th district twice as he claims. In 2008 McCain won 52% to Obama’s 47%. In 2012 Obama won 50% to Romney’s 49%. Bush won the district overwhelmingly in 2000 and 2004.
Yes, by all means welcome Mr Garcia. You and Mr Lopez compliment one another. I recognize neither of you want to embarrass yourselves but already have on numerous occasions.
Cliven Bundy is a racist fool and will get his chance in a federal lock up if he persists with his asinine show boating defying federal law. It is a given that Mr Lopez and Garcia appear to support a fool, one Clevin Bundy. How embarrassing is that.
How exactly should the government react (or, in the parlance of Republicans, “severely overreach”) when the man who owes them $1 million ignores four separate court judgments against him? When he says he doesn’t recognize the United States government? I always thought the GOP was the party of law and order. Why exactly is this man anything but a deadbeat?
ScreenSniffer,
I used to attribute your comments to ignorance and a bad diet but after reading the vitriol you aimed at Mr. Garcia I’m beginning to think it’s something else. That comment plus the totally baseless and outrageously insulting suggestion that “it is a given” I would support Mr. Bundy point to a reason that is much darker and more disturbing.
You’re a bitter, bigoted crone.
I understand now why you hide behind that clownish (or should I say Klanish) pseudonym.
What size hood do you wear?
“Using returns from (Florida’s 13th Congressional District) show a much smaller margin of victory for Obama in both presidential elections. Obama carried the district by about 4 points in 2008 and about 1.5 points 2012.”
Politifact
CD FL-13
Incumbent
Party R
Obama 2012 50.1
Romney 2012 48.6
Obama 2008 51.3
McCain 2008 47.5
DailyKos
“The White House says it has surpassed its goal for people enrolled in Obamacare. It’s amazing what you can achieve when you make something mandatory and fine people if they don’t do it and then keep extending the deadline for months. It’s like a Cinderella story. It’s just a beautiful thing. You make everyone do it. If you still haven’t enrolled, you might have to pay a penalty called the ‘Individual Shared Responsibility Payment,’ which is 1 percent of your salary. Then Americans said, ‘hey, good thing I don’t have a job.”
Jimmy Fallon
http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org
Memorial Day – May 26, 2014
“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.”
Mark Twain
My apologies to anyone who bothers to read these “outrageously insulting” commentaries.
Mr Lopez is correct and I am wrong. President Obama did in fact carry the Florida 13th congressional district twice in 2008 and again in 2012.
Mr Lopez is also correct. May 26 is indeed Memorial Day.