I first heard of Cliven Bundy while listening to a conservative talk show, don’t recall which one. After a few minutes I said to my wife, “all that doesn’t make sense” especially when he said Nevada, not the federal government-owned the land and implied that through tradition he owned the rights to the land. Once the facts came out it was obvious he was a phony and the right-wing radio crowd did not know or worse care, what they were talking about.
I’m basically a conservative guy, but I also like to think I still have the ability to think and reason. I miss conservatives along the lines of William F Buckley. I’m not sure the extreme right of today are actually conservatives at all. And I do know for certain that the likes of Limbaugh and Hannity are not above misleading and misinforming their listeners (not a trait exclusive to the right for sure). Perhaps that’s showbiz, but I find that unnecessary and discouraging. Sadly, conservatism has fallen from its intellectual podium into a blind alley. Hopefully, honest thought and debate will return before it’s too late.
It is, in a way, too bad that Cliven Bundy — the rancher who became a right-wing hero after refusing to pay fees for grazing his animals on federal land, and bringing in armed men to support his defiance — has turned out to be a crude racist. Why? Because his ranting has given conservatives an easy out, a way to dissociate themselves from his actions without facing up to the terrible wrong turn their movement has taken.
QUINNSCOMMENTARY 