Cliven Bundy Supports Gay Marriage, Taxing the Rich
dailycurrant.com 
 Embattled Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy has shocked supporters and opponents again by claiming his “racist” persona is fake and that he’ll pay his overdue fees if the government grants amnesty to Edward Snowden, taxes the rich, legalizes gay marriage, and enacts other liberal measures.
In a lengthy list of demands addressed to President Barack Obama and obtained by MSNBC, the conservative darling claimed he refuses to pay a government that “wages wars for corporate profit while letting 1-percenters get richer as the middle class suffers and the progressive values that made this country great are eroded.”
“President Obama, I am using my nationwide notoriety to draw your attention to issues that are deeply important to me,” he wrote. “If you can show me that you serve all Americans, not just the corporations or the super-rich, I will pay the $1 million.”
Bundy wrote he deliberately made offensive statements about slavery to draw more media attention to his causes. “I’m a lifelong member of the ACLU and Amnesty International for crying out loud. I realized Sean Hannity was exploiting me for his own agenda, so I said that stuff about slavery just to show how gullible he is.”
Working-class hero Bundy became a propaganda tool for conservative media when he and his armed supporters blocked efforts by the Bureau of Land Management to seize his cattle after he failed to pay $1.1 million in grazing fees and penalties for the use of government land over the past 20 years.
Prominent conservatives used him to promote their personal agendas on government overreach and privatization of federal land, while liberal media mocked him as a freeloading bumpkin.
But since his true politics were revealed, liberal MSNBC hosts quickly hailed Bundy as their new hero.
“Cliven Bundy is Henry David Thoreau and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. rolled into one,” Rachel Maddow said today. “Finally, we have a brave salt-of-the-Earth man who is willing to take a stand against injustice and fight for progressive values. The U.S. government should listen.”
Fox News host Sean Hannity, who championedBundy, jumped ship today and called for Bundy’s immediate arrest.
“The U.S. government should storm his ranch and throw this traitor into prison where he belongs,” Hannity said on his show. “Is it any surprise that liberals are rallying behind a racist cheapskate tax evader who wants government handouts? Ronald Reagan would never allow this guy to exploit this country.”
In his demands, Bundy called for increasing the minimum wage, granting amnesty to whistleblowers Edward Snowden and Pvt. Chelsea Manning, legalizingundocumented immigrants, ending domestic spy programs, closing Guantanamo Bay, ending the War on Drugs, higher taxes on the wealthy, prosecution of Wall Street bankers, labeling GMO products, freeing Mumia Abu-Jamal, and a two-state solution for Israel/Palestine.
He also blasted Tea Party Republicans for turning Congress into “a circus of fools” and “undermining the America I love.”
Faux news outrageIn an interview with MSNBC, Bundy said he considers himself “left of center” politically. He purposefully used Fox News to reach a different audience.
“I was hoping NPR would contact me about my protest because I think they’re fair and balanced,” he said. “Since Fox News contacted me first, I just thought I’d use the publicity to talk to a right-wing audience about injustice. Of course Fox News always gets everything wrong, so my reasons for not paying the fees were distorted to serve its agenda.”
Bundy said he’ll keep fighting for his liberal values as long as it takes. “Maybe if Hillary Clinton becomes president, this country will get some sense and sanity back.” |
