海角大神

The 鈥淏attle of Bunkerville鈥� 鈥� the ongoing grazing standoff between old-school Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and the federal Bureau of Land Management 鈥� was, of course, never just about cattle grazing. But it has now taken a turn that, at first glance, seems bizarrely unrelated: "the Negro.鈥�

鈥淚 want to tell you one more thing I know about the Negro,鈥� Mr. Bundy, who with help from armed supporters won a standoff with the BLM last week over cattle grazing rights, told admirers and a New York Times reporter at a press conference Wednesday. 鈥淭hey abort their young children, they put their young men in jail, because they never learned how to pick cotton. And I鈥檝e 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鈥檛 get no more freedom. They got less freedom.鈥�

Conservatives who had framed Bundy鈥檚 fight with the BLM as an act of patriotism are now backing off their support in light of his comments, which Sen. Dean Heller (R) of Nevada, who had previously lauded Bundy, called 鈥渁ppalling and racist.鈥�

Yet the connection between racially offensive views and a certain strain of tea party politics at the Bundy ranch is not all that surprising, some political analysts argue. Race and segregation have, after all, long been defended in the context of the 10th聽Amendment鈥檚 state sovereignty guarantees.

The historical debate about race and white supremacy 鈥渋s where the really extreme ideas of state sovereignty come from, and they were revived in the 1940s in the explicit context of resisting racial desegregation and maintaining the system of white supremacy,鈥� says Garrett Epps, a University of Baltimore law professor and the author of 鈥淲rong and Dangerous: Ten Right-Wing Myths About Our Constitution,鈥� in a phone conversation.

In that way, Bundy鈥檚 opinions about black Americans 鈥渁re not random views," adds Mr. Epps. "They鈥檝e been kept alive, and they鈥檙e part and parcel of the idea that people should come out of the hills with guns and threaten to shoot federal officials. They go together. It鈥檚 not random.鈥�

Bundy vaulted to public attention as the spearhead of a new militia movement in the US, in which disparate groups have been emboldened by the armed standoff's success in resisting federal agents. The BLM decision not to challenge dozens of armed men who came to Bundy鈥檚 side was a unique moment, historians say, even as Senate majority leader Harry Reid of Nevada called them 鈥渄omestic terrorists.鈥�

Bundy鈥檚 comrades in arms are a hodgepodge of the American right: militia members, tea party activists, and county sheriffs who all came together to push for 鈥減opulist constitutionalism鈥� 鈥� the idea that interpretation of the US Constitution falls ultimately to the people, not to the US Supreme Court. Under the law, however, Bundy 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 have a leg to stand on,鈥� on the conservative "Power Line" blog.聽

He would get no argument from Senator Reid, who on Thursday called on聽national Republican leaders to "show a united front against this kind of hateful, dangerous extremism by publicly condemning Bundy." 鈥淭he 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,鈥� Reid said in a statement.

Meanwhile, tea party groups, some of whom rallied to Bundy鈥檚 cause, remain dogged by charges that racist attitudes are pervasive within a movement that has gained credibility on the mainstream right.

In a study released earlier this year, 鈥淩ace, Ideology and the Tea Party: A Longitudinal Study,鈥� researchers write that 鈥渢he data support claims that the Tea Party is 鈥� for some white supporters at least 鈥� a racially motivated movement. Anti-black sentiment was associated with Tea Party identification across time points. This relationship, however, appeared to be masked by assertions of national decline and the embrace of libertarian ideology.鈥�

Variations on Bundy鈥檚 views about race are "the original sin of this movement 鈥� it鈥檚 very hard to find groups that are entirely free of it,鈥� argues Epps.

For some commentators, Bundy鈥檚 comments about "the Negro" were an unusually frank admission of deeply held convictions, some commentators noted.

鈥淚 particularly admire the way Bundy expresses some of the latest conservative thought on the subject, stripped of the sophisticated rhetoric that attempts to hide the underlying racism,鈥� , in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Other commentators sidestepped Bundy鈥檚 incendiary phrasing 鈥� cotton, Negro, abortion 鈥� to argue against his view on the merits.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 鈥� galling is that Bundy鈥檚 a guy currently involved in an armed standoff with law enforcement over his unpaid use of federal land to graze his cattle, and he鈥檚 the one referring to 鈥榯he Negro鈥� being 鈥榦n government subsidy,鈥� " , on the Root website.

If Bundy is now a cause c茅l猫bre for those on the far right, that's not necessarily the case for many mainstream conservatives. They opted to stay on the sidelines during the BLM standoff, so Bundy鈥檚 statement may have limited backlash on conservatives more broadly.

鈥淪ermons that begin with sentences like 鈥業 want to tell you one more thing I know about the Negro鈥� generally don鈥檛 end well, especially when they鈥檙e uttered by white conservative ranchers gleefully breaking federal law,鈥� , in Vanity Fair. 鈥淚n the wake of Bundy鈥檚 racist comments, those who stayed silent are probably thanking their lucky stars.鈥�