Ted Cruz
Sen. Cruz (R-TX) made waves on Wednesday when he lamented that the government’s purpose was to protect its people, “not using the jackboot of authoritarianism to come against the citizens.” And so the Bundy standoff, he asserted, “is the unfortunate and tragic culmination of the path that President Obama has set the federal government on.”
In an email, the senator’s Press Secretary Catherine Frazier said outright: “Those comments are completely unacceptable.”
Reince Priebus
Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus on Thursday slammed Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy's comments about "the Negro" and whether African-Americans would be "better off as slaves."
Assemblywoman Michele Fiore
The Nevada Republican famously clashed with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes last week, declaring “We will not allow governance by gunpoint” and deeming the BLM’s behavior “suspicious.”
Fiore issued a statement on Thursday morning, responding to the “Negro” comments:
“I strongly disagree with Cliven Bundy’s comments about slavery. Mr. Bundy has said things I don’t agree with; however, we cannot let this divert our attention from the true issue of the atrocities BLM committed by harming our public land and the animals living on it.”Sen. Dean Heller
In a televised debate last week with Sen. Reid, Heller (R-NV) pushed back against his Democratic counterpart’s “domestic terrorist” comments and said: “What Sen. Reid may call domestic terrorists, I call patriots.” The Republican also suggested the government ought to hold hearings to figure out who is accountable for the standoff.
Heller spox Chandler Smith told the Times that the senator “completely disagrees with Mr. Bundy’s appalling and racist statements, and condemns them in the most strenuous way.”
Dana Loesch
TheBlaze TV host and conservative pundit Loesch has been one of the staunchest defenders of Bundy during the standoff, largely focusing on the BLM’s actions. More on that here.
In response to the “Negro” comments, Loesch said that the quote is “odd and sounds offensive.” She expressed bafflement that Bundy would pivot from government overreach to his racial remarks. “I hope no one is surprised that an old man rancher isn’t media trained to express himself perfectly,” she added, noting her belief that “He seems to be decrying what big government has done to the black family — which big government has negatively affected not just the black family, but all families regardless of ethnicity — so perhaps he included that in his remarks against big government?”
“It’s justified to have a healthy suspicion of the New York Times,” she added, suggesting the newspaper did not provide the full context. “If Bundy is a racist, that is awful, but what exactly does that have to do with the BLM?” she asked. “I’ve been saying for weeks that this isn’t about one rancher. It’s about government overreach.”
Kevin D. Williamson
National Review correspondent Williamson turned heads last week when he wrote a column likening Bundy’s intentional violation of the law to Mahatma Gandhi‘s famous stand against colonial Britain.
When confronted with Bundy’s “Negro” remarks, Williamson stood firm, noting that Gandhi had “thoroughly creepy” views on race as well, but we remember him for other reasons. “People turn out to be complicated and unpredictable,” he added after noting Gandhi’s lamentable views on homosexuality.
Sen. Rand Paul
Earlier this week, Sen. Paul (R-KY) zoned in on the policy questions at hand, asserting that the Bundy case shows “there is a legitimate constitutional question here about whether the state should be in charge of endangered species or whether the federal government should be.” He also pushed back against Sen. Harry Reid‘s inflammatory labeling of Bundy as a “domestic terrorist.”
In a statement on Thursday morning, the senator said: “His remarks on race are offensive and I wholeheartedly disagree with him.”
Glenn Beck
Beck has not been among the staunchest defenders of Bundy — so much so that Jon Stewart branded him the “voice of reason” compared to Fox’s Sean Hannity.
On his radio show Thursday morning, Beck said the “Negro” comment “shows you how unhinged from reality this guy is.”Beck also said Americans need to make it absolutely clear that they do not stand with Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy after a report in the New York Times and subsequently released video footage showed Bundy questioning whether blacks would be “better off as slaves.”
Gov. Rick Perry
The Texas Republican governor’s defense of Bundy has largely focused on “the bigger issue” of federal overreach in land management, seeing as Perry is in the midst of his own dispute with the BLM.
Appearing on CBS This Morning, the governor elected not to openly denounce the “Negro” remarks. “I don’t know what he said, but the fact is Clyde [sic] Bundy is a side issue here compared to what we’re looking at in the state of Texas.”
Sean Hannity
Hannity has been the most aggressive Fox commentator in his coverage of the Bundy standoff, garnering Stewart’s mockery and our own columnist’s suggestion that he is stoking the flames of violence.
Senator Harry Reid
In a lengthy statement issued Thursday afternoon, Reid referred to Bundy as a "hateful racist" and suggested he "mooched" and profited off government-held land. And Reid, who represents Nevada in the U.S. Senate, called on Republican leaders to denounce Bundy's "hateful, dangerous extremism."
