http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/04/25/the-money-behind-foxs-promotion-of-cliven-bundy/199034
Right-wing media have been rushing to distance themselves from the Nevada rancher they've spent weeks championing after Cliven Bundy revealed his racist worldview, but two of Bundy's biggest cheerleaders -- Sean Hannity and Fox News -- have vested corporate, financial, and political interests in the promotion of Cliven Bundy's anti-government land ownership agenda.
Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy became Fox News' favorite folk hero after he refused to comply with court orders directing him to remove his trespassing cattle from public land. Hannity and many other right-wing media rallied around Bundy and his armed supporters as they threatened violence against federal law enforcement officials attempting to impound Bundy's cattle and collect the $1 million he owes in fines and fees after decades of noncompliance with the law.
Bundy has said he doesn't recognize the existence of the federal government nor its authority over the land and has attacked the federal ownership of lands as subverting Nevada's "state sovereignty."
Hannity has promoted Bundy's anti-government rhetoric, arguing that the federal government owns far too much land and pushing Bundy's claim that not only does the federal government not have land-ownership authority but that they don't need or use the land they claim to own. On the April 23 edition of his show, Hannity attacked the government for owning too much land, agreeing with Fox News legal analyst Andrew Napolitano that they do not have the constitutional authority to own any of the land. Throughout the land battle, Hannity continuously argued that the government is irresponsibly fighting for land they have no intended use for -- such as building hospitals, schools, or roads -- and should focus their efforts elsewhere to rapists, murderers, criminals, and pedophiles.
Hannity, totally ignoring the facts read the first line of last paragraph again, this is why Fox viewers are so befuddled hey can't get pass what they hear he's admitting the feds own the land, but wait next sentence they don't have the right to own the land that they don't need anyway so in right wing double talk that means since they don't need it why should Bundy have squatters rights which he seems to have had for 20 years rent free thereby making him another welfare recipient of the gov't he doesn't believe exist has the room stopped spinning yet?
and now for the real 411 it's all about the Benjamin's folks.
Bundy and Hannity's promotion of state ownership of federal lands gives airtime to an issue that conservatives have long been campaigning for but have had difficulty getting voters excited about -- an issue in line with the land interests of the Koch brothers. Slate reported on April 23 that the Fox News corporate, financial, and political interests being served by Hannity's promotion of Bundy lie in the network's connection to the Koch brothers:
Bundy's anti-federal agenda is closely aligned with that of Charles and David Koch, major Republican donors who have been pushing for states to gain control over federal lands - so they can be sold or leased to people like the Koch brothers in deals.
Fox News Network and Sean Hannity have a particular interest in the promotion and realization of such Koch interests because their funding depends on it -- Hannity receives major funding and large ad buys from Koch-affiliated Heritage and Tea Party Patriots.
since Bundy doesn't believe in gov't existing and Fox and the Foxettes and republicans supported him wholeheartedly, you have to wonder why they lie, cheat, mislead and under inform to gain control over an entity that doesn't exist why have they for 5 years campaigned against the Pres. and nothing else, why do tey call it big gov't and why do they clamor to be elected so they can milk that non existing gov't for all it's worth? doesn't that expose the the hypocrisy of right wing and their leaps to embrace anyone who talks or acts anti American?
