Sean Hannity is running away from his new BFF Cliven Bundy. Hannity took no responsibility for promoting Bundy, and called the racist obnoxious and ignorant.
Audio via Media Matters:
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Hannity claimed that he and Glenn Beck wanted to see the situation defused and that it was getting too volatile. He called the situation a prescription for disaster like Waco and Ruby Ridge. Hannity then turned on Bundy, “His comments are beyond repugnant. They are beyond despicable to me. They’re beyond ignorant to me, and my level of anger is about go back and listen to Democrats. Every election year they want to say Republicans what? Conservatives what? That conservatives are racists. Conservatives hate women. Conservatives want old people to die. Granny over the cliff. They want young people to fend for themselves. They want to poison the air. Poison the water, so people that for right reasons saw this case as government overreach, now are like branded because of the ignorant, racist, repugnant, despicable comments of Cliven Bundy.”
The truth is that Hannity and every other conservative who supported Bundy deserves to be labeled a racist. These people championed and encouraged Bundy. Most importantly, they gave a racist a national platform from which to spout his hate.
Hannity and Beck aren’t victims. They are accomplices. Fox News, Hannity, and all of Bundy’s champions are shameless self promoters, who were encouraging an act of sedition against the United States government.
Hannity who all but suggested that Bundy and his supporters start an armed conflict with the United States government is singing a different tune today.
On April 9, Hannity interviewed Bundy:
HANNITY: By the way, when your cattle graze there, that keeps the price of meat down for every American consumer.
Let’s take a look, American land owned by our government, we’re talking about 28 percent of U.S. landmass, up to 640 million acres the government owns here — which, by the way, why do they own all that land?
Let me ask you one more question, Cliven. You talked about a range war with the federal government. There is a lot of people out there, now that they are taking your cattle, that are fearful this is another Waco situation. Ruby Ridge has come up in some articles. What do you mean by range war? How far are you willing to take this?
BUNDY: Well, you know, my cattle is only one issue — that the United States courts has ordered that the government can seize my cattle. But what they have done is seized Nevada statehood, Nevada law, Clark County public land, access to the land, and have seized access to all of the other rights of Clark County people that like to go hunting and fishing. They’ve closed all those things down, and we’re here to protest that action. And we are after freedom. We’re after liberty. That’s what we want.
HANNITY: How far are you willing to go? How far are you willing to take this?
BUNDY: My statement to the American people, I’ll do whatever it takes to gain our liberty and freedom back.
Three days ago, Hannity asked Bundy’s son what he would do if federal agents came to arrest him, “There’s so many other issues, then, surrounding your ranch, rounding up your cattle and sending in snipers and agents to the tune of 200. Arden, let me ask all of you this last — last question. I keep hearing, people keep writing me that there is a belief on the ground where you are that the federal government — that you all think that there’s a plan on their part to kind of surprise you and maybe arrest you. Do you believe that’s going to happen?”
Sean Hannity has been playing the race card and giving racists a sympathetic platform for years. Hannity got away with it when he championed George Zimmerman, but he finally got caught red handed in the Bundy case. People call Sean Hannity and other right-wing media outlets racist, because they use racism as a political tool, and promote racists.
It isn’t complicated. When a person promotes racist views, gives racists a platform, and uses race to divide the country, they are racist.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
