Rancher +Militia vs BLM,trouble on the range.(OT)

GOP Scrambles to Condemn Rancher's Remarks on Race
By Carrie Dann
Offering words of encouragement for a rancher leading an armed standoff against federal rangers turns out to be not so great of a political move – especially when the rancher in question muses publicly about the benefits of slavery.

Republicans – including possible 2016 candidate Rand Paul -- are scrambling to distance themselves from defiant Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy after he made startling comments about slavery and African-Americans in a New York Times article published Wednesday night.

From the Times’ Adam Nagourney:

“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.”

Bundy had previously drawn support from some GOP lawmakers for his clash with the Bureau of Land Management.

After Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called Bundy and his allies “domestic violent terrorist wannabes,” fellow Sen. Dean Heller countered last week that they are “patriots.” Paul urged Reid to “calm the rhetoric” and criticized the federal government for what he described as an intimidating presence during the standoff. “The federal government shouldn’t violate the law, nor should we have 48 federal agencies carrying weapons and having SWAT teams,” he told a Kentucky radio station.

In statements after Bundy’s remarks, both Paul and Heller condemned his comments.

"His remarks on race are offensive and I wholeheartedly disagree with him,” said Paul.

And a spokesman for Heller told the Times that the senator “completely disagrees with Mr. Bundy’s appalling and racist statements, and condemns them in the most strenuous way.”

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

Nevada Sen. Dean Heller's spokesperson said Thursday, “Senator Heller completely disagrees with Mr. Bundy’s appalling and racist statements, and condemns them in the most strenuous way.” While on a local television show with his fellow Nevada senator Harry Reid, Heller said, “What Sen. Reid may call domestic terrorists, I call patriots. “We have a very different view on this.”

Arizona state Sen. Kelli Ward — who spoke at a Bundy rally in Nevada this month — wrote in an e-mail to The Washington Post: "Apparently he has some thoughts that aren't shared by many Americans.

Van Susteren has also distanced herself from Bundy. A headline on her Web site linking to the New York Times story reads, "Let Me Make This Plain: I Condemn What Cliven Bundy Said About African Americans."

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul released a statement Thursday saying, Bundy's "remarks on race are offensive and I wholeheartedly disagree with him."

Lauren Scott, who is running for a Nevada Assembly seat this year, tweeted, "Nevadans may support your views on the BLM but your bigoted and racist views are are not welcome in Nevada, Mr. Bundy."

Arizona state Sen. Kelli Ward — who spoke at a Bundy rally in Nevada this month — wrote in an e-mail to The Washington Post: "Apparently he has some thoughts that aren't shared by many Americans.

"I used to live in North Las Vegas and it is home to some of the hardest-working people I have ever met -- men and women who embody the American dream by working hard every day to build a better life for themselves and their families," Reid, a Democrat, said in a statement.

"By contrast, Cliven Bundy has spent decades profiting off government land while refusing to pay the same fair use fees as his fellow ranchers. Today, Bundy revealed himself to be a hateful racist. But by denigrating people who work hard and play by the rules while he mooches off public land he also revealed himself to be a hypocrite."