The Daily Show quizzically mocks Sean Hannity for siding with cattle scofflaw Cliven Bundy

On Monday night's Daily Show, Jon Stewart made a pretty persuasive case that Sean Hannity would be using his Fox News show to eviscerate fee-dodging Nevada cattle rancher Cliven Bundy if... well, Stewart isn't quite sure why Hannity is defending Bundy. Federal laws are against Bundy, the courts have ruled against him, and even the Nevada constitution — which he recognizes as legitimate, a courtesy he denies the federal government — makes Bundy a scofflaw.

These are all points also made by Glenn Beck and Tucker Carlson, among other conservatives — a rare place for Stewart to be, as he acknowledged Monday night: "Sean Hannity has now made Glenn Beck the voice of reason." At the same time, Hannity isn't alone — Sen. Dean Heller (R) considers Bundy and his armed defenders "patriots." So does Bundy. But when the rancher compared himself to the Founding Fathers, Stewart had enough: "Dude, you're a welfare rancher trying to pull off the world's largest cattle dine-and-dash." --Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.