Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy who found himself becoming the poster boy for state's rights, might have just lost a lot of his political supporters after offering up some racist comments.
As previously reported, the 67-year-old rancher who has snagged backers in Congress and his own little mini-militia to help support his fight against paying for use of federal lands spoke with The New York Times and may have been a little too open in his views.
While speaking about his views, he turned to the subject of welfare and referred to African Americans as "the Negro." He said, "They abort their young children, they put their young men in jail, because they never learned how to pick cotton." He added, "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?" He feels they now have "less freedom."
Some of his GOP supports are backing away from Bundy now, though not all. According to USA Today, Sen. Rand Paul released a statement condemning the comments. "His remarks on race are offensive and I wholeheartedly disagree with him."
Nevada Sen. Dean Heller also released a statement noting he "completely disagrees with Mr. Bundy's appalling and racist comments."
Fox News TV host Greta Van Susteren backed away slightly after the comments, reports The Washington Post. A headline on her website said, "Let Me Make This Plain: I Condemn What Cliven Bundy Said About African Americas."
Some blasted his comments, but tried turn the conversation back to states rights, such as Nevada Assemblywoman Michele Fiore. While saying she doesn't agree with his racist views, she noted that it shouldn't "divert our attention from the true issue of the atrocities of the BLM."