Through the Looking Glass…

Cliven Bundy is going to file a criminal complaint against the BLM tomorrow.

I believe he’s being represented by the Red Queen.

Quote of the Day

“I don’t think I’ve been abandoned. I think maybe they misunderstood me a little bit.  But I think Fox and I, I think, Hannity and I are just right on. I have no doubt that he would support me if he understood really what’s in my heart. And I think he does understand me.”

Cliven Bundy

Now persona non grata (non Greta?) at Fox News, Bundy has moved to CNN, which apparently has stopped getting ratings on the Malaysian airliner.

Top Republican Plays (?) Dumb

In an interview with CNN, RNC Communications Director Sean Spicer says he doesn’t understand why on earth Cliven Bundy has been tied to the GOP.  He finds this linkage just “ridiculous.”  Really, where could it possibly be coming from?

Is it possible Spicer doesn’t watch his house propaganda organ Fox News?  Or doesn’t keep an eye — and ear — on Rand Paul and Ted Cruz and Rick Perry and Dean Heller, to name just a few.  That he doesn’t follow conservative publications and web sites and talk radio?

See Sean Run

On his radio show today, Sean Hannity, Cliven Bundy’s BFF as of last night, said that Bundy’s “Negro” remarks are “beyond repugnant to me. They are beyond despicable to me. They are beyond ignorant to me.”

Making It Worse

Right-wing talk show host and tireless self-promoter Dana Loesch excuses Cliven Bundy’s appalling racism by arguing that he “isn’t media trained to express himself perfectly.”

But he did express himself perfectly!  We already knew he was a scamming criminal, now we know he’s also a rabid racist.

Quote of the Month

“I want to tell you one more thing I know about the Negro. …  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.”

Cliven Bundy

Anybody surprised by this?  What say you now, Dean Heller and Sean Hannity, and all you morons defending your fellow moron?  I especially love that “family life” part.  Oh, yes, family life on the ole plantation.  Getting raped by the master, having your husband and children sold to other masters so you never saw them again.  Good times…

Quote of the Day

“No cow justifies the atmosphere of intimidation which currently exists nor the limitation of constitutional rights that are sacred to all Nevadans.”

Gov. Brian Sandoval (R-Nevada) about Cliven Bundy and the BLM.

Um, Brian, this isn’t about cows, it’s about the rule of law.

More on the Bundy Bizarreness

From “Deadbeat on the Range,” Timothy Egan, NYT:

“Imagine a vendor on the National Mall, selling burgers and dogs, who hasn’t paid his rent in 20 years.  He refuses to recognize his landlord, the National Park Service, as a legitimate entity.  Every court has ruled against him, and fines have piled up.

“Would an armed posse come to his defense, aiming their guns at the park police?  Would the lawbreaker get prime airtime on Fox News, breathless updates in the Drudge Report, a sympathetic ear from Tea Party Republicans?  No, of course not.

“Ranching is hard work.  Drought and market swings make it a tough go in many years.  That’s all the more reason to praise the 18,000 or so ranchers who pay their grazing fees on time and don’t go whining to Fox or summoning a herd of armed thugs when they renege on their contract.  You can understand why the Nevada Cattlemen’s Association wants no part of Bundy.”

To me the story here isn’t Bundy — this country is brimming with crazies — it’s the right-wing embrace of him as a martyr, not a mashugana.  It feels as if Fox has jumped the shark in a way that their customary Benghazi/IRS/Obamacare BS never achieved.

Comrade Bundy

“’We want freedom,’ [Cliven] 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.”

Edwin Lyngar, “Fox News’ demented poster boy:  Why angry rancher Cliven Bundy is no patriot,” Salon

If Bundy Were Black

From “What If Bundy Ranch Were Owned By Black People?” Jamelle Bouie, Slate:

“First, this entire incident speaks to the continued power of right-wing mythology. For many of the protesters, this isn’t about a rogue rancher as much as it’s a stand against ‘tyranny’ personified in Barack Obama and his administration.

“Second, it won’t happen, but right-wing media ought to be condemned for their role in fanning the flames of this standoff. After years of decrying Obama’s ‘lawlessness’ and hyperventilating over faux scandals, it’s galling to watch conservatives applaud actual lawbreaking and violent threats to federal officials.

“Finally, I can’t help but wonder how conservatives would react if these were black farmers—or black anyone—defending ‘their’ land against federal officials. Would Fox News applaud black militiamen aiming their guns at white bureaucrats?

“Somehow, given the degree to which right-wing media traffic in racial paranoia, I think we’d be looking at a different situation if the Bundy Ranch belonged to a bunch of black people. And as someone who closely follows the regular incidents of lethal police violence against blacks and Latinos, I also wonder whether law enforcement would be as tepid against a group of armed African-Americans. Judging from past events, I’m not so sure.”