Cliven Bundy Just Ruined His Cause

National Journal ^ | 04/24/2014 | Brian Resnick

[Rusty0604]

After Bundy's overtly racist remarks, let's see how far politicians run away from him.

The New York Times has overheard Cliven Bundy—the Nevada rancher who, instead of paying decades of overdue grazing fees, met the Bureau of Land management with guns and a small militia—saying this:

"I want to tell you one more thing I know about the Negro," he said. Mr. Bundy recalled driving past a public-housing project in North Las Vegas, "and in front of that government house the door was usually open and the older people and the kids — and there is always at least a half a dozen people sitting on the porch — they didn't have nothing to do. They didn't have nothing for their kids to do. They didn't have nothing for their young girls to do.

"And because they were basically on government subsidy, so now what do they do?" he asked. "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."

Expect every politician to back away from the issue.

"His remarks on race are offensive and I wholeheartedly disagree with him," Sen. Rand Paul said in a statement Thursday morning.

[DPMD]

No he didn’t. His personal views don’t in any way mitigate the abuse committed by the government. His rustled cattle are still dead, his son still scorched, and nobody’s been held to answer justice’s call.

Remember Reid’s promise that this wasn’t over? This is the beginning.

There’s no requirement that the focus of a good cause be a perfect human being. On the left, you have Escobar, Miranda, Gideon, Roe, tons of other dirtbags whose appeals led to SCOTUS decisions lauded by marxists. Don’t lose sight of the cause. Government abuse is government abuse and must end.

[NFHale]

Here’s one:

Taiwanese Parliament Brawl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g10PAsvZFoQ

and:
http://www.euronews.com/2013/06/25/fight-breaks-out-in-taiwan-s-parliament/

Not to be outdone... the Ukies get into a brawl:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emKIIv2_cNI

I don’t know WHO these bozos are, but it’s great! Women congresscritters getting physical!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwrz3tNyQvU

Yeah... another fun day in the world of politics.

BUT - think of this - if we could solve our wars THIS way - we send OUR Congresscritters to fight THEIR Congresscritters - all of our young men would get to come home alive!!!

Hmmmm......

[NFHale]

“...all politicians equally now...”

There’s varying degrees of “Suck”, is all I see... haha!

[defconw]

We’d have to get rid of the male democrats, they will just cry and send strongly worded letters.

[Ohioan]

Here is what I posted on the Glen Beck thread:

Beck seems to have a need to keep proving that he is not a "racist," whatever that is even supposed to mean, anymore. His past adulation for Martin Luther King, is totally inconsistent with the rest of his normal Conservative message. (See Plastique In The Foundation--Honor & Martin Luther King).

Frankly, the slave question is not even really a racial issue; not in the historic sense as a White/Black issue.. Almost every land, where agriculture with large landed estates, among any of the principle races, had a period when the land was worked by unpaid--so far as a medium of exchange--labor. Whether called serfs, slaves, bondsmen, or whatever, the quality of the life, depended upon all sorts of factors, and is not really suitable for the sweeping generalities, indulged in by people trying to smear other people, over historic phenomena.

Thus, one can talk about a cruel taskmaster, whether in Exodus, Rome, medieval France or Germany, or in the slave era in America. One can also celebrate the same institution in the Song of Roland--if one recognizes that many of those in Charlemagne's army were just such bondsmen, brought to service by their feudal lords--or as in Henry V, by Shakespeare, in the speech honoring those who served on St. Crispin's day.

It is a trap--intended as a trap--for Conservatives to get side-tracked into these Beck type apologies for what is certainly a non-issue in a debate over the BLM maliciously killing a rancher's live-stock. That does not involve speculation as to historic elements in the lives of people in other centuries. The cruelty there is documented by photographs taken this very month.

I am sorry that Beck, who does have something to say on real issues, keeps going off on tangents. We should applaud him, when he gets to the real point; but do not follow him into the pursuit of irrelevancy.

William Flax

My reposting, here, is not to focus on Beck; but rather on anyone who goes into panic mode, when the Left-wing media seeks to make us jump.

[NFHale]

“...get rid of the male democrats, they will just cry...”

What better way, than to let Female Republicans beat the hell out of them!!!

[defconw]

LOL, well I thought if we were sending the congresscritters up against other countries politicians, we would want to win?

[NFHale]

Your points are excellently thought-out and written.

But - you are putting logic and rational thinking up against the trained, indoctrinated, inculcated emotionalism that has been conditioned into people over a few decades to instantly react with horror and disgust to the word “racist”.

Words have power only because people GIVE them power. And it is difficult to un-train folks who have been Pavlovian-style conditioned into “feeling” that way.

As I said earlier, up-thread - I’m all for our side just telling the left to “GFY” when they bring up the race card. It’s been used far too much and far too long now, and we STILL have folks on our side who cringe at the thought of it.

[jsanders2001]

> iii) As for the actual statement - assuming it is true - the man had every right to say it. Additionally, he makes good points (and I say this as a black man). However, in everything there is wisdom required. I have every right to say anything I want, but I also need the wisdom to see whether saying so would disadvantage me in an area I consider more important. For instance, at a job interview I may decide to say that I consider the office decor a throwback to the 70s, and that the interviewer definitely needs a breathmint (or ten) ...and it may be true. Is it necessary? Nope. Is it wise? Well, considering what my greater purpose is for me to be there, no it is not.

Well you have to take into account his background and experience. He’s probably uneducated and lived in a slower paced rural environment all of his life. It’s all he knows and he’s just reporting what he’s seen with his own eyes the best he know how and in the language he knows. Its too bad he’s naieve to the ways of the vulturistic PC knee-jerk reaction mindset liberal who likes to create dissension and division because it’s “exciting” and they thrive on it. He needs to be made aware of their methods.

Also I’m glad we have people of different races here who understand that we are united by God with a higher purpose; to live and do good and teach others about the Truth. Conservatives are often painted as hypocritical Caucasian Christians with white hair, KKK robes, that hate all other races, and enough extra money laying around to use for kindling in our fire places. Nothing could be further from the truth. From what I’ve seen most are independent, hard working folks of all races (many that are small business owners that worked very hard to get their businesses going), taxpaying folks that don’t expect handouts, take responsibility for their own actions (and don’t blame others), who attend church and contribute their time and money to good causes when they actually have it due to big government meddling with the economy that has almost made us drop a class.

[NFHale]

Female Republicans WOULD win.

They seem to be the ONLY ones with cajones right now.

[Eagles6]

Amazing how quickly some Freepers are to throw Mr Bundy under the bus. A NYT reporter heard him say...?

I've heard more racist stuff from holder and obama.

The statement is true, if he said it at all, and has nothing to do with the issue at hand.

Just leftist misdirection and character assassination ala Robertson, Eich, and all the others.

[ZULU]

I may not be the brightest guy in the world, but I am smart enough not to make a Constitutional Issue of grave importance sidelined into a discussion about race I know I can’t win, but can only damage my position.

Think about it.

[Tennessee Nana]

the Mormon mindset...

[dalereed]

anyone that is Politicly Correct is sub human!!

Call it like it is straight out and i don’t give a damn who likes it or doesn’t!

[FourtySeven]

Look I've said it already I'll say it again I agree with his message but not the way he said it. Sheesh, the portion in bold even makes him sound more racist in context.

"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."

The fact you can't see this is part of the problem this stupidity is going to generate for conservatism.

BETTER OFF, as SLAVES? Are you kidding me?

That's not racist to suggest? Really?

You know sometimes people on our side just plain screw up. We say all the time "sure racism exists in this country but we don't let it in conservatism. We call that kind of crap out".

Do we? Well here's one time we can prove we do. That is, if we don't have too much pride to admit when it does occur. Otherwise we're no different than the leftists.

[ZULU]

Do you want to win your argument with the feds, or make a point?

Its as simple as that.

[FourtySeven]

Thanks for posting. Yeah, context is pretty important. The quote in this article is at about minute 17. He starts off pretty good at approx 10:00 in to the video he’s real good.

But then he takes a hard turn into stupidity around minute 12 with, “...take a look around, who is here are the coloreds here the Mexican...” and then it gets worse from there.

“Who was burning those cities [during the race riots] was it ‘We the people’ or was it black people”. Approximately minute 15. (Note, of course it’s a fact the blacks burned the cities but the implication he’s making is that black people are NOT ‘We the people’, see above.)

Listen to the whole thing up until minute 21 for goodness sakes. Yeah, context is going to show his comments weren’t racist. NOT.

Seems to me the Times actually quoted some of his tamer stuff!

Honestly, if anyone disagrees that what he was saying was racist well quite frankly you’re probably racist yourself. And go ahead and call me a race baiter if it makes you feel better about your defense of the indefensible.

Honestly, I expect more from FReepers. I expect some intellectual honesty.

[Terry L Smith]

Bundy said it right, the first time, and the so-called explanation.

Bundy is STILL a patriot.

[kabar]

BETTER OFF, as SLAVES? Are you kidding me?

Again, you take the statement out of context. The basic point he was trying to make is that blacks had more freedom being slaves than they have now being slaves of the state. It is why he said, "...or are they better off under government subsidy? They didn't get no more freedom. They got less freedom."

That's not racist to suggest? Really?

No it is not racist in the context it was expressed. And he was talking specifically about blacks on welfare, not all blacks. The state of the black family is a disgrace with 73% out of wedlock births, hundreds of thousands of young men incarcerated, high school drop out rates and high unemployment. Blacks are disproportionately in poverty.

For the past 50 years, black unemployment has been well above recession levels

The gap in household income between blacks and whites hasn't narrowed in the last 50 years:

In fact, the wealth disparity between whites and blacks grew even wider during the Great Recession

Black children are far more likely than whites to live in areas of concentrated poverty:

The racial disparity in incarceration rates is bigger than it was in the 1960s. "The incarceration rate of black men is more than six times higher than that of white men, slightly larger than the gap in 1960.

You know sometimes people on our side just plain screw up. We say all the time "sure racism exists in this country but we don't let it in conservatism. We call that kind of crap out". Do we? Well here's one time we can prove we do. That is, if we don't have too much pride to admit when it does occur. Otherwise we're no different than the leftists.

What Bundy said is not racist or racism. He is stating an opinion that is well substantiated by fact. You may not like the phrasing or word usage, but to declare what he said as racist is just leftist drivel. It is political correctness run amok with people more concerned about fear of being insensitive than about stating the truth.

Remember what Holder said? "Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards,... certain subjects are off limits and that to explore them risks at best embarrassment and at worst the questioning of one's character."

"It's a question of being honest with ourselves and racial issues that divide us," Holder told reporters in a hastily arranged news conference. "It's not easy to talk about it. We have to have the guts to be honest with each other, accept criticism, accept new proposals."

It seems as though only minorities (and white Democrats) have the freedom to make racial comments without fear of retribution or sanction. However, unartful Bundy's comments were, they are right on the mark describing the sad state of black America.

[FreedomForce]

I agree with you. Conservatives shouldn’t be defending or making excuses for those comments from Bundy no matter how much sympathy and support he deserves on the land rights issue.