GOPers, Fox Retreat From Support of Bundy After His "Negro" Comments

"Prominent Republicans and conservative news media outlets rallied in recent weeks around the cause of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, whose armed standoff with authorities over grazing rights on federal land had made him an instant folk hero on the right. But Bundy’s GOP defenders, including Sens. Dean Heller (Nev.) and Rand Paul (Ky.), rapidly abandoned him on Thursday following reports of incendiary remarks that the white rancher made about minorities. Bundy wondered aloud whether blacks would be better off as slaves picking cotton, and alleged that people of color are 'against us.'

The controversy marks another major headache for establishment Republicans working to build better relationships with blacks and Hispanics — crucial voting blocs that have increasingly supported Democrats in recent elections. The GOP is in the midst of a messaging tour aimed at reintroducing the party to minority voters, including lawmaker visits to minority neighborhoods and to historically black colleges."

Wesley Lowery and Aaron Blake report for the Washington Post April 24, 2014.

SEE ALSO:

"Fox Goes Silent On Bundy After Racist Tirade" (Media Matters)

"A Defiant Rancher Savors the Audience That Rallied to His Side" (New York Times)

"Video of Rancher Cliven Bundy’s Remarks on Race" (New York Times)

"Rancher’s Views on Race Send Supporters Fleeing" (New York Times)

"Cliven Bundy Accidentally Explained What’s Wrong With the Republican Party" (The Upshot/New York Times)

"Roger Ailes Owns Cliven Bundy Now: How Dumb Opportunism Became a Right-Wing Nightmare" (Salon)

"WATCH: Jon Stewart Skewers Fox for 'Welfare Rancher' Cliven Bundy Hypocrisy" (Alternet)

"CNN's Bill Weir Calls Cliven Bundy Welfare Queen With a Cowboy Hat" (CNN)

"Will Fox News’s Sean Hannity Keep Hyping Cliven Bundy After Comments About the ‘Negro’?" (Washington Post)

"Bundy Stands By His 'Negro' Comments" (E2 Wire/The Hill)

"Sen. Harry Reid Calls Bundy a ‘Hateful Racist’" (The Hill)