Right-Wing Media Eagerly Promote Cliven Bundy and His Anti-Federal Faceoff
Mainstream media coverage of the showdown in southern Nevada over Cliven Bundy鈥檚 cattle has so far been scrupulously balanced.
Most outlets 鈥� including local TV stations from nearby Las Vegas, as well as cable news outlets CNN and MSNBC 鈥� have presented Bundy鈥檚 belief that the U.S. government has no jurisdiction over the land on which he grazes his cows as well as the government鈥檚 explanation of how it is enforcing land use rules fairly for everyone.
The same cannot be said for right-wing media outlets, led by Fox News, which have steadily characterized the Bundy family as heroic patriots standing up to a tyrannical government. A number of far-right pundits have even been urging people to go to the scene in Clark County to make their presence known.
Fox鈥檚 Sean Hannity led the parade of Bundy boosters on Fox, featuring that included an interview with Bundy and a narrative that presented his claims at face value. Indeed, Hannity himself repeated Bundy鈥檚 favorite question: 鈥淲hy do they own all that land?鈥� (Hannity reportedly plans to devote an entire show to the situation on Monday.)
Fox鈥檚 Greta Van Susteren also featured an interview on Thursday with Cliven Bundy and his adult son, Ammon Bundy, who was hit with a Taser during a ruckus on Wednesday. Again, it was a sympathetic report, featuring no countervailing information, and it included an interesting explanation from the father and son regarding their attitudes towards the courts:
VAN SUSTEREN: There鈥檚 a court order that says that the federal government can do this. So what鈥檚 your response to that.
CLIVEN BUNDY: My response is it鈥檚 the wrong court. I鈥檝e never had my due process in a Nevada state court, a court of competent jurisdiction.
AMMON BUNDY: Hey, uh 鈥� I like my Dad鈥檚 little story he uses to explain the situation. If someone came in and busted into my house and abused my children, and I call the cops, they don鈥檛 respond. And then I take them to court, I show up in the courtroom, look on the stand, and it鈥檚 the very person that abused my children looking down at me in a black robe. How in the world are we going to get justice in that court?
The Bundys have been receiving support from other right-wing sources, including the Koch-sponsored Americans For Prosperity, which has for the family鈥檚 activities. AFP鈥檚 Nevada chapters have been actively promoting anti-Bureau of Land Management stories through social media.
The further to the right the outlet reporting the case, the more extreme the coverage has been. Over at the Drudge Report, the front page鈥檚 upper-left hand corner has featured string of updates from the scene with headlines such as:
County Commissioner Says Bundy Supporters 'Better Have Funeral Plans'...
Lawmaker: Cattle Roundup 'Reminded Me Of Tiananmen Square'...
Family: 'Wake up America...they are taking everything from us'...
Militia Members Arrive: We're not 'afraid to shoot'...
At conspiracy-minded Alex Jones鈥� Infowars, there has been a steady flow of antigoverment 鈥�Patriot鈥�-oriented stories, including on the local sheriff to begin arresting federal agents.
And at right-wing RevolutionRadio.org, that 鈥渦p to 5,000鈥� militia members were to begin arriving at the scene in Nevada today. 鈥淲e may well be on the cusp of a serious stand-off involving thousands of people,鈥� the website warned. 鈥淜eep in mind that most of them will be armed. Given the circumstances, things could turn very bloody very quickly.鈥�
Indeed, a did arrive at the scene today, but fortunately things remained peaceful.
