Cliven Bundy Runs For Congress In Nevada; Joe The Plumber: âHeâs Got My Vote!â
Cattle rancher Cliven Bundy has been called a lot of things: patriot, conservative folk hero,Â racist, defender of the land,Â butÂ soon â if Nevadaâs 4th Congressional district residents have their way â heâll be called Congressman. âAt first I flat-out said ânoâÂ because Iâm no politician â far from it,â said Bundy. âBut then I started getting calls from all over. One of my personal heroes, Joe the Plumber called me up and saidÂ there are a lot of people out there justÂ exactlyÂ like him who believe I could make a difference here in Nevada. Well I thought about that andÂ then said Iâd do it. JoeÂ told me heâd do everything he could to help so I went and filed the papers. I joked with him that at least Iâd lock up the plumber votes!â âCliven Bundy stands for all the things this country has stood for,â said nearby Mesquite resident Nannie Doss. âHe earned his right to speak for us and heÂ provedÂ that he wonât back down from a fight, no matter what. I like that. I wish there were a hundred more just like him!â Bundyâs standoff with Bureau of Land Management rangers brought him instant folk hero status. The conflict began in 1993, when without notice, the Bureau changed decades-old rules on cattle grazing. Bundy refused to renew his grazing permit, was fined, and eventually charged with trespassing on federal property. In April of 2014 after armed federal agents started rounding up Bundyâs cattle, locals showed up to defend the rancherâsÂ rights and to protest the governmentâs stranglehold. Government agents eventually backed down to avoid an armed conflict. âWhen they putÂ a hand on my cattle and IÂ stood my ground,â said Bundy, âthatâs when my friends came locked and loaded to back me up. I guess thatâs why people want me to stand up and speak for them. It would be an honor to serve those kinds of Americans,â he added. In recent weeks, the Bundy ranch and surrounding roads haveÂ remained âfree and clear of federal authorities,â although the rancher does not remain confident that government agents or left-wing agitators will stay away. âMess like thatâs alwaysÂ a stoneâs throw awayÂ whenÂ regulator types and troublemakers stick their nose in,â said Bundy, âbut now Iâve got the campaign to figure out. If I do get in, there will be some big law changes made, thatâs for certain. We need to take things back.â