As the Bundy clan, infamous for their 2014 armed standoff with federal authorities, is currently joining with militias to occupy a remote federal wildlife refuge in rural Oregon, not a single Republican presidential candidate has spoken up.
This time, tensions are even higher as The Oregonian reports that one of the Bundy brothers responsible for this weekend’s takeover “would not rule out violence.”
Given the GOP’s history of supporting Cliven Bundy and his family since their armed standoff against federal agents in Nevada, candidates running for the Republican nomination will need to respond to the Bundy’s latest armed aggression.
The Washington Post reports:
Republican presidential candidates are staying mum as an armed group has taken over part of a national wildlife refuge in rural Oregon — even those who supported the father of at least one of its leaders, who had his own standoff with the government in 2014, and have called for limits on federal control over Western land.
Some of the issues involved in the standoff — Constitutional rights, allegations of federal government overreach and individual liberties — have come to the fore in the GOP primary race.
Background:
Politico HEADLINE: Rand Paul meets with rogue rancher Cliven Bundy. “Rand Paul met privately with Cliven Bundy on Monday, the Nevada rancher and anti-government activist told POLITICO. The encounter came after Bundy attended an event for the Kentucky senator’s presidential campaign at the Eureka Casino in Mesquite, Nevada. When the larger group dispersed, Bundy said, he was escorted by Paul’s aides to a back room where he and the Republican 2016 contender spoke for approximately 45 minutes.” [Politico, 6/29/15]
Rand Paul Supported Cliven Bundy: “That Kind Of Absurdity Coming From The Federal Government Is Why People Get Angry.” “Well, the way I understand it — and the facts are a little bit murky — if that even if he paid his grazing fees back in 1993, they weren’t going to let him — they were going to limit the number of his cattle and limit his area to graze. So as a lot of people know about the West, you have to have a lot of acreage to graze cattle. So I think they were limiting it and he felt it wasn’t their right to do so. There is real debate where whether this land should be owned by the federal government or state government. With regard to his specifics, I’m for obeying the law and I’m not for a violent outcome. But with regard to the general question, should the states have some prerogative in this, I think so. I would like to see the land owned by individuals, either privately or, at the very most, the state government, but not the federal government. And I would like to see the Endangered Species Act administered with a little more sense of what people need as well as what animals need. […] That kind of absurdity coming from the federal government is why people get angry. They charge homeowners or property owners in Kentucky money to chop down our trees if they find a bat on the land. So really, this needs to be administered closer to home so we wouldn’t have, I think, such outrageous overstepping by authorities.” [“On the Record with Greta Van Sustern,” Fox News, 4/2/14]
Cruz Called The Cliven Bundy Standoff The “Tragic Culmination” Of President Obama’s Use Of “The Jackboot Of Authoritarianism.” “The details of the Bundy matter may be complicated, but I think the reason this issue is resonating in Nevada and Texas and resonating across the country is that for five years, we have seen our liberty under assault. We have seen our liberty under assault from a federal government that seems hell-bent on expanding its authority over every aspect of our lives. Thomas Jefferson famously said the Constitution is meant to serve as chains to bind the mischief of government and we have seen, sadly, our Constitutional liberties eroded under the Obama administration and I think it is in that context that people are viewing this battle with the federal government. We should have a federal government protecting the liberty of the citizens, not using the jackboot of authoritarianism to come against the citizens. And I think this is the unfortunate and tragic culmination of the path that President Obama has set the federal government upon.” [Chad Hasty, 4/22/14]
Carson Called Cliven Bundy And Militia Members “Outstanding People.” In a Washington Times interview, Ben Carson said, “These citizens, for America, who really are pretty outstanding people, they become terrorists because you don’t like the fact that they are standing in your way, doing what they have been doing for over a hundred years.” [Washington Times Interview, 4/23/14]
Trump On Bundy During 2014 Standoff: “He’s In A Great Position, I Think, To Cut A Great Deal, And That’s What He Should Do.” According to Hannity on Fox News, “TRUMP: I do like him. I respect him. He ought to go and cut a good deal right now. That’s the best thing that could happen for everybody. It’s really vicious. I’m not involved very much in it. I see it a little bit by watching you. But he ought to go out and cut a great deal. HANNITY: Yes. Actually, I think that’s good advice. At this point… TRUMP: Yes. What’s he going to do? Are they going to start shooting each other over grazing fees? HANNITY: Honestly, my brother-in-law was there all weekend and he thought it was coming to that. He said… TRUMP: Well, a lot of people thought that. He ought to go out. He’s in a great position, I think, to cut a great deal, and that’s what he should do.” [Hannity on Fox News, 4/16/14]
Published: Jan 4, 2016