Why You Should Be Sympathetic Toward Cliven Bundy
The bedrock issue here is that the federal government owns more than 80% of the state of Nevada. This is true across the western states. To an astonishing degree, those states lack sovereignty over their own territory. Most of the land is federal. And the federal agencies that rule over federal lands have agendas. At every opportunity, it seems, they restrict not only what can be done on federal lands, but on privately-owned property. They are hostile to traditional industries like logging, mining and ranching, and if you have a puddle in your back yard, the EPA will try to regulate it as a navigable waterway.
That is only a slight exaggeration.
One could say that Cliven Bundy is just one more victim of progress and changing mores. The federal government has gotten more environmentally-conscious, and now we really, really care about desert tortoises. (It was the designation of desert tortoises as an endangered species that gave BLM the opportunity to squeeze Bundy in the early 1990s.) But here's the thing: the Bureau of Land Management - the federal government - is not necessarily anti-development. Rather, its attitude depends entirely on what sort of development is in question.Also read:
Harry Reid on Bundy Ranch Showdown: 'It's not Over'; Rory Reid says Bundy should be Prosecuted
Bundy Family: We Don't Fear Harry Reid
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