Many conservatives, including The Week's Matt Lewis, warned against making a folk hero out of Cliven Bundy, the Nevada rancher who has been illegally grazing his cattle on federal land and who engaged in an armed standoff with federal agents. Now that Bundy has been caught pining for the good old days of slavery — when "the negro" at least had chickens, gardens, and "something to do" — his sympathizers are beating a hasty retreat, including Sean Hannity of Fox News, writers at National Review, and Sen. Dean Heller (R) of Nevada.
Clearly, Cliven Bundy is not long for the spotlight. But it might not be so easy for conservatives to wash their hands of him. If you subtract the vile slavery talk, Bundy's worldview arguably shares fundamental traits with the Republican Party platform, epitomized by Rep. Paul Ryan's budget, which unapologetically seeks to gut the welfare state. Here's MSNBC's Adam Serwer on that point:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Music reviews: Bruce Springsteen and Benson BooneFeature "Tracks II: The Lost Albums" and "American Heart"
-
Why passkeys are the next frontier in digital securityA disruptive new technology promises to put passwords to bed forever — but not yet
-
Thomas Mallon's 6 favorite books from the 80's and early 90'sFeature The author recommends works by James Merrill, Calvin Trillin, and more
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked callSpeed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation
-
Senate passes GOP megabill after Alaska side dealThe pivotal yes vote came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose support was secured following negotiated side deals for her home state Alaska
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policiesSpeed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final daySpeed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidentsThe Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts moreSpeed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custodySpeed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulingsSpeed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
