Nevada Rancher Cliven Bundy Makes Ridiculously Racist Comments, Says Blacks Might Have Been 'Better Off' As Slaves

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Cliven BundyCliven Bundy, the Nevada rancher whom some Republicans and conservatives have activists have rallied around in a high-profile fight against the federal government, made disparaging comments about African-Americans in an interview with The New York Times that was published Thursday.

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Bundy wondered if African-Americans might have been "better off" as slaves, and he referred to them as "the Negro."

From the Times' Adam Nagourney:

"I want to tell you one more thing I know about the Negro," he said. Mr. Bundy recalled driving past a public-housing project in North Las Vegas, "and in front of that government house the door was usually open and the older people and the kids - and there is always at least a half a dozen people sitting on the porch - they didn't have nothing to do. They didn't have nothing for their kids to do. They didn't have nothing for their young girls to do.

"And because they were basically on government subsidy, so now what do they do?" he asked. "They abort their young children, they put their young men in jail, because they never learned how to pick cotton. And I've often wondered, are they better off as slaves, picking cotton and having a family life and doing things, or are they better off under government subsidy? They didn't get no more freedom. They got less freedom."

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Bundy's recent standoff with the federal government exploded onto the national scene recently, as activists flocked to his ranch to support him.

Bundy's fight with the federal Bureau of Land Management dates back to 1993, when the BLM eliminated livestock grazing in the area, citing protection of an endangered tortoise species. That was when Bundy decided to stop paying grazing fees. And now, the agency says he owes more than $1.2 million in fees. A federal judge first ruled in 1998 that Bundy was trespassing on federal land. Last year, a federal judge ruled the agency could remove the cattle.

The BLM, among others, says Bundy is breaking the law. Bundy says the land is his property, and he has accused the federal government of being overreaching and oppressive.

Bundy's case has won support from prominent national conservatives, including Republican Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Dean Heller of Nevada. A spokesperson for Paul didn't immediately respond to a request for comment, but a Heller spokesperson immediately denounced Bundy's new controversial remarks.

Heller "completely disagrees with Mr. Bundy's appalling and racist statements, and condemns them in the most strenuous way," his spokesperson told the Times.

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