Rory Reid: Cliven Bundy Is a ‘Loser’ and ‘Should Be Prosecuted’

The son of Sen. Reid said, ‘He is not a victim and he’s not a hero ... He broke the law’

GILLAN: “By now, the BLM backed down and canceled its roundup of Bundy’s so-called trespassed cattle worried about the potential for violence between its officers and Bundy’s supporters. So that leaves Bundy, the militia members, conservative lawmakers, and everybody else that came to his side savoring victory today. The question is, what kind of victory? The BLM says it will pursue other action against him to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in grazing fees he’s refused to pay since 1993. You know, this thing escalated and we were all wondering what’s going to happen. You had guys with guns running around everywhere on both sides. What’s your take away on this?”

REID: “Let’s talk about the winners and the losers.”

GILLAN: “OK.”

REID: “Why don’t we start with the losers?”

GILLAN: “OK.”

REID: “Let’s start with Cliven Bundy himself. He is not the victim and he is not a hero. The facts aren’t in dispute. He’s been using land that he doesn’t own for over 20 years and he didn’t pay. He broke the law. There are hundreds of ranchers throughout Nevada that conduct their profession honorably. There’s thousands of them throughout the country and when they have a dispute with the BLM they try to work it out.”

GILLAN: “Why is he not a winner? I mean, he gets his cattle; they backed off on the roundup. I mean, at first blush you say hey, he kind of exited here OK.”

REID: “I think most people care about their reputation, and I think he’s been exposed as somebody who broke the law. The Nevada Cattleman’s Association -- which is the trade organization that advocates for cattlemen in the state of Nevada -- not even they support Cliven Bundy at this point. We believe in a country in which we are subject to laws and you can’t just ignore the laws that we don’t like. And I think clearly if state and local prosecutors look at this more closely, they’re going to find that he broke the law and he should be prosecuted.”

GILLAN: “Who else lost?”

REID: “I think the BLM lost. The BLM shouldn’t have started this if they couldn’t develop a plan to finish it successfully. Now, I can understand why they suspended the operation; no trespassed cow is worth somebody getting hurt. But the First Amendment zones they created were ridiculous. They tried to block off too large of a piece of land. And they’ve successfully conducted these impoundments in three Nevada counties, in Elko, Eureka County in the past. But they just didn’t finish this one well.

GILLAN: “They also came in with a -- well, what critics would say is a heavy-handed law enforcement presence here. You know, John Ralston did a good interview with Bob Abbey who is the former national director and state director of the BLM who felt the same thing, that look, I mean, he feels that the taxpayers are the ultimate losers because you’re not getting the grazing fees that you’re owed.”

REID: “That’s true.”

GILLAN: “But the BLM really kind of overplayed their hand in this in some ways

REID: “I don’t think there’s any way to look at this and say that they were a winner here. They were a loser.”

GILLAN: “By now, the BLM backed down and cancelled its roundup of Bundy’s so-called trespassed cattle worried about the potential for violence between its officers and Bundy’s supporters. So that leaves Bundy, the militia members, conservative lawmakers, and everybody else that came to his side, savoring victory today. The question is, what kind of victory? The BLM says it will pursue other action against him to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in grazing fees he’s refused to pay since 1993. You know, this thing escalated and we were all wondering what’s going to happen. You had guys with guns running around everywhere on both sides. What’s your take away on this?”

REID: “Let’s talk about the winners and the losers.”

GILLAN: “OK.”

REID: “Why don’t we start with the losers?”

GILLAN: “OK.”

REID: “Let’s start with Cliven Bundy himself. He is not the victim and he is not a hero. The facts aren’t in dispute. He’s been using land that he doesn’t own for over 20 years and he didn’t pay. He broke the law. There are hundreds of ranchers throughout Nevada that conduct their profession honorably. There’s thousands of them throughout the country and when they have a dispute with the BLM they try to work it out.”

GILLAN: “Why is he not a winner? I mean, he gets his cattle; they backed off on the roundup. I mean, at first blush you say hey, he kind of exited here OK.”

REID: “I think most people care about their reputation, and I think he’s been exposed as somebody who broke the law. The Nevada Cattleman’s Association -- which is the trade organization that advocates for cattlemen in the state of Nevada -- not even they support Cliven Bundy at this point. We believe in a country in which we are subject to laws and you can’t just ignore the laws that we don’t like. And I think clearly if state and local prosecutors look at this more closely, they’re going to find that he broke the law and he should be prosecuted.”

GILLAN: “Who else lost?”

REID: “I think the BLM lost. The BLM shouldn’t have started this if they couldn’t develop a plan to finish it successfully. Now, I can understand why they suspended the operation; no trespassed cow is worth somebody getting hurt. But the First Amendment zones they created were ridiculous. They tried to block off too large of a piece of land. And they’ve successfully conducted these impoundments in three Nevada counties, in Elko, Eureka County in the past. But they just didn’t finish this one well.

GILLAN: “They also came in with a -- well, what critics would say is a heavy-handed law enforcement presence here. You know, John Ralston did a good interview with Bob Abbey who is the former national director and state director of the BLM who felt the same thing, that look, I mean, he feels that the taxpayers are the ultimate losers because you’re not getting the grazing fees that you’re owed.”

REID: “That’s true.”

GILLAN: “But the BLM really kind of overplayed their hand in this in some ways

REID: “I don’t think there’s any way to look at this and say that they were a winner here. They were a loser.”

 

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