Reid Tells GOP Leaders to 'Show a United Front' Against 'Hateful, Dangerous Extremism' of Bundy

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said GOP leaders need to unite against the “dangerous extremism” of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and his supporters.

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Bundy stood by comments he made about African-Americans at a press conference, as quoted by the New York Times, musing whether blacks are “better off as slaves, picking cotton and having a family life and doing things, or are they better off under government subsidy.”

“That’s exactly what I said. I said I’m wondering if they’re better off under government subsidy, and their young women are having the abortions and their young men are in jail, and their older women and their children are standing, sitting out on the cement porch without nothing to do, you know, I’m wondering: Are they happier now under this government subsidy system than they were when they were slaves, and they was able to have their family structure together, and the chickens and garden, and the people had something to do?” Bundy said today on Peter Schiff’s radio show. “And so, in my mind I’m wondering, are they better off being slaves, in that sense, or better off being slaves to the United States government, in the sense of the subsidies. I’m wondering. That’s what. And the statement was right. I am wondering.”

Reid released a statement calling the residents of North Las Vegas “some of the hardest-working people I have ever met – men and women who embody the American dream by working hard every day to build a better life for themselves and their families.”

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“By contrast, Cliven Bundy has spent decades profiting off government land while refusing to pay the same fair use fees as his fellow ranchers. Today, Bundy revealed himself to be a hateful racist. But by denigrating people who work hard and play by the rules while he mooches off public land he also revealed himself to be a hypocrite,” Reid said.

“To advance his extreme, hateful views, Bundy has endangered the lives of innocent women and children. This is not a game. It is the height of irresponsibility for any individual or entity in a position of power or influence to glorify or romanticize such a dangerous individual, and anyone who has done so should come to their senses and immediately condemn Bundy. For their part, national Republican leaders could help show a united front against this kind of hateful, dangerous extremism by publicly condemning Bundy,” he continued.

“The bottom line is that elected officials and those in positions of power or influence have a responsibility to unite behind the basic principle that we are a country of laws, and that whatever our differences, it is unacceptable for individuals to use violence or the threat of violence to advance their radical views.”

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus quickly struck out at the rancher’s statements.

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“Bundy’s comments are completely beyond the pale,” Priebus said in a statement. “Both highly offensive and 100% wrong on race.”

“Senator Heller completely disagrees with Mr. Bundy’s appalling and racist statements, and condemns them in the most strenuous way,” said Chandler Smith, spokesman for Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.).

“His remarks on race are offensive, and I wholeheartedly disagree with him,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said in a statement.

Paul said earlier in the week that Reid needed to tone down his rhetoric of calling the militia members domestic terrorists, and stressed that “the federal government, through the Endangered Species Act, has overstepped.”

“I think the fact that 80 percent of the land is owned by the federal government in Nevada, these are things we could correct,” Paul told Fox. “But I don’t think they ought to be corrected in a standoff or an armed standoff or in violence.”

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