Fox News 'Hero' Cliven Bundy Is a Pampered Millionaire, Not a Rugged Rancher

[xchrom]

Last edited Fri Apr 18, 2014, 04:00 PM - Edit history (1)

http://www.alternet.org/fox-news-hero-cliven-bundy-pampered-millionaire-not-rugged-rancher



The latest right-wing media poster-victim, Cliven Bundy, is just the latest in a long line of desert dwellers who thinks he or she should not have to follow the law and has a god-given right to unlimited use of public resources, in this case, rangeland. I know the mentality well, because I grew up in rural Nevada and clung desperately to such beliefs until only a few years ago.

Bundy has not paid grazing fees in close to 20 years, while the federal government has, with painful, stupid moves, tried to somehow deal with him. Bundy also faced restrictions because he continued to graze cattle on a slice of public land reserved for the endangered desert tortoise. He was invited to talk to Sean Hannity (of course) about the “standoff.”

“We want freedom,” Bundy said. I don’t know what freedom Bundy’s talking about. He does not own the land nor does he even pay the modest fees required to use it. Thousands of ranchers across the West pay fees for their businesses, but Bundy thinks he should get to use public resources to make a personal profit. Cliven Bundy, far from being a patriot, is also clearly a straight-up communist.

Bundy is using the language of freedom, patriotism and outright paranoia to further his business interests. He succeeded wildly in drawing other “patriots” to his slice of contested desert. I don’t know these exact people, but the words and phrases they used were the nursery rhymes of my childhood. I’ve been listening to ignorant people bitch about the federal “gub’met,” since I could crawl, and I’m weary of it. I can’t bear to hear poor people rally to the defense of moneyed interests like mining and ranching, like well-trained, bleating sheep. As tired and silly as I find his language, clearly it worked. He so inflamed the lunatic militia movement, that many rallied to him, often from out of state, with guns and naked threats. They created a real possibility that someone might get killed, so the feds backed down.

***PINBOY3NINER THIS WAS YOUR FAULT!11 SOME HOW SOME WAY!

[LakeVermilion]

1. Open the area that Bundy uses to any ranch who wants to graze for free.

Maybe you can't get him to leave, but he doesn't own the land, so anyone should be able to graze animals in that area. Maybe even sheep.

The government can make it uncomfortable for him without confronting him.

Then the millionaire Bundy will make an uglier appearance.

[Trekologer]

2. Maybe NASA has some rocket engines they need to test

[MohRokTah]

3. He's a terrorist.

He lead a terrorist organization in a threatened attack against the United States, IMO.

That also brings up the issue of insurrection and potentially treason.

[B Calm]

4. He is also a freeloading socialist and the darling of the republican party.

[hootinholler]

5. He's no socialist

The rest is accurate, but calling it a socialist is insulting to real socialists.

[B Calm]

18. Okay then his cows are socialists..

My god, I'm trying to make a damn point with the freepers who troll du!

[pinboy3niner]

20. It's even worse than you feared...

[NuclearDem]

22. Cowmmunism!

Sorry I'll behoof myself.

[pinboy3niner]

25. You herd it, too?

I thought I was udderly the only one.

[NuclearDem]

26. And here i was hoping to steer clear of cow puns.

[pinboy3niner]

29. I don't want to rustle xchrom's thread any more than it already has been

If I'm not careful, a jury may give me a hide.

[NuclearDem]

30. Yeah, juries are getting a little tougher on that.

Or so I've heard through the bovine.

[nobodyspecial]

33. No, it's clearly

Commooooooonism.

[eallen]

6. I'm confused -- he dresses as an Easter bunny?

That link. I don't think it goes where you think it goes.

[UTUSN]

17. Just to be a party pooper, here's the bunny-expurgated link from Alternet:

http://www.alternet.org/fox-news-hero-cliven-bundy-pampered-millionaire-not-rugged-rancher

[Fred Sanders]

7. The mass media framing this as a debate, not hate, is almost evil.

[Takket]

8. This is why I don't understand the BLM actions

If bundy is a millionaire, what was with all this nonsense about seizing his cattle? Why have to pay the man hours for all those agents and fuel for the trucks? Why not just get a court order to seize his accounts? Take the 1 million he owes plus 1 million more to cover his grazing fees for the next 20 years and walk away without ever giving this nutbag or his militia friends a target to point a gun at!

[Shoulders of Giants]

9. What if a group of young black men in Compton decided to start gathering guns and...

pointed them at police, because they don't want to pay taxes or fees? Would they get Fox News support? What's the difference between that scenario and Mr. Bundy?

[Johonny]

10. prefect eample of Reagan's welfare queen in a cattleranch

I believe in compassionate conservatism: just so long as he has each cow drug tested
regularly then I'm okay with him receiving this overly generous federal benefit.

[TBF]

12. Drug tested and I also think we should

perform transvaginal ultrasounds on Cliven since he is involved in breeding. It's only fair.

[pinboy3niner]

21. We probably should drug test xchrom, too, considering that link he posted

[TBF]

27. At least you actually clicked on the link -

I'll bet nobody else in the thread got that far ...

[underpants]

31. I did

And I read the whole article on alternet.

Your proud of me. I can tell.

[TBF]

35. I'm amazed someone actually read it!

[Johonny]

23. We could shoot the cows from a helicopter

That is good enough for the wolves and Sarah Palin so it must be a correct compassionate conservative response.

[TBF]

28. I knew this story was missing something -

maybe Sarah could serve as one of the human shields?

?2578ec

[TBF]

11. Well, well, well ... nt

[spanone]

13. if he was a liberal democrat he would be at guantanamo and issa would be holding hearings

[LeftinOH]

14. And he scares little children with his holiday costumes:

....which is exactly what is shown in the article.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

24. Harvey!!!!!

[pinboy3niner]

34. He must've grown tired of his look and decided he was due for a mange...um, I mean change

[pinboy3niner]

15. Your link proves it--if he wasn't rich, how could he afford all those costumes?

Your best link ever, xchrom!

[Bombero1956]

16. Divide and conquer

Have the BLM allow another rancher to graze his cattle on the land Bundy is using.

[Wounded Bear]

19. In other words...

he's just another Duck Dynasty style prop.

[Thinkingabout]

32. You can pick him up, shake him up, clean him up, beam him up,

Put Christmas lights on him and he will still be a Welfare Cowboy.

[pinboy3niner]

36. Nice edit, LOL!

But don't blame me if you were a little hare-brained this morning.