Cliven Bundy says the Negroes ‘were better off as slaves, picking cotton’ – what do Rep. Paul Gosar and Tea-Publican legislators think?

Well I’m shocked! (not) It turns out that the conservative media entertainment complex-invented anti-government hero of the moment, Cliven Bundy, is an unrepentant racist who thinks that Negroes were better off when they were slaves pickin’ cotton.

The welfare cowboy freeloading off federal grazing land was profiled in the New York Times on Thursday. New York Times reporter Adam Nagourney was there to hear Bundy say this:

“I want to tell you one more thing I know about the Negro,” he said. Mr. Bundy recalled driving past a public-housing project in North Las Vegas, “and in front of that government house the door was usually open and the older people and the kids — and there is always at least a half a dozen people sitting on the porch — they didn’t have nothing to do. They didn’t have nothing for their kids to do. They didn’t have nothing for their young girls to do.

“And because they were basically on government subsidy, so now what do they do?” he asked. “They abort their young children, they put their young men in jail, because they never learned how to pick cotton. 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? They didn’t get no more freedom. They got less freedom.”

That’s pretty rich for a welfare cowboy freeloading off federal grazing land to complain about the “Negroes” living on a government subsidy. I wonder if he hears himself when he talks.

As you might expect, several Tea-Publican senators and politicians have denounced the welfare cowboy’s remarks about African Americans. Rand Paul and other Republican leaders back away from Bundy:

The Nevada rancher was previously best known for refusing to pay two decades-worth of fines for grazing his cattle on federal land and fighting off the Bureau of Land Management for the nth time, this time with the help of armed militia — or for being the patron saint of state’s rights, pick your poison. But since those controversial comments were published, he has seen most of his friends in high places vanish overnight. Republican politicians who saw the Bundy stand-off as an opportunity to connect with the far right are now trying to figure out which adverb will put the most distance between themselves and the rancher.

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul went with wholeheartedly, releasing a statement on Thursday saying Bundy’s “remarks on race are offensive and I wholeheartedly disagree with him.” Nevada Sen. Dean Heller went with completely. His spokesperson said Thursday, “Senator Heller completely disagrees with Mr. Bundy’s appalling and racist statements, and condemns them in the most strenuous way.” Nevada Assemblywoman Michele Fiore, who previously battled with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes about Bundy, went with strongly. “I strongly disagree with Cliven Bundy’s comments about slavery,” she said.

Despite the flurry of backtracking, support for Bundy in most of the Republican Party had already gone tepid, or been nonexistent to begin with [– except at FAUX News].

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On Peter Schiff’s talk radio show, [Bundy] stood by his remarks. “Are they happier now under this government subsidy system than they were when they were slaves, and they was able to have their family structure together, and the chickens and garden, and the people had something to do? And so, in my mind I’m wondering, are they better off being slaves, in that sense, or better off being slaves to the United States government, in the sense of the subsidies. I’m wondering. That’s what. And the statement was right. I am wondering.”

With Tea-Publlicans now seeking to distance themselves from Cliven Bundy’s racist remarks, I am curious to know what our Neo-Confederate anti-government Arizona Tea-Publicans who trekked up to the Bundy Ranch for the standoff with the federal “guvmint” now  have to say — U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, R-AZ; state Sen. Kelli Ward, R-Lake Havasu City; state Sen. Judy Burges, R-Sun City West; state Rep. Kelly Townsend, R-Apache Junction; state Rep. David Livingston, R-Peoria; state Rep. Bob Thorpe, R-Flagstaff; and unidentified County supervisors from Apache and Greenlee counties.

Arizona state Sen. Kelli Ward — who spoke at a Bundy rally in Nevada this month — wrote in an e-mail to The Washington Post: “Apparently he has some thoughts that aren’t shared by many Americans. He is free to think and speak as he chooses (even if it may offend) and we are free to listen (or not) and form our own opinions. I am thankful for our amazing Constitution and the 1st Amendment right to freedom of speech — if I don’t agree, I don’t seek to silence or shame the speaker or to paint his associates with the broad brush of collective condemnation.” Ward says she also disagrees with Bundy’s statements to the Times.

As of this post: Congressman Paul Gosar has yet to tweet anything distancing himself from Bundy after previously tweeting about his support for Bundy from his ranch.

Nothing from  Sen. Judy Burges, Rep. Kelly Townsend, Rep. David Livingston, or Rep. Bob Thorpe either.

Cat got your tongue Sean Hannity? UPDATE: But of course . . . After Championing Cliven Bundy, Fox News Studiously Ignores His Racist Meltdown. UPDATE: On his radio show, Hannity did say Bundy’s comments “are beyond repugnant to me. They are beyond despicable to me. They are beyond ignorant to me.” Hannity Disgusted With Bundy: Race Comments ‘Beyond Repugnant’.

UPDATE: The Arizona Republic’s Laurie Roberts would also like to hear from you. Hey Arizona legislators, you might want to reconsider your support of Cliven Bundy.