Op-ed: Cliven Bundy’s crusade is not responsible and it’s not conservative

By Doug Goodall

Cliven Bundy and his supporters — some of whom no doubt hail from Utah — are back in the news. They are rallying in Carson City for a Nevada bill (AB408) that is as unhinged from reality as Bundy himself.

For decades Bundy has refused to pay the fees he owes for grazing his cattle on publicly owned land. He claims that his freeloading ways are a stand on principle and that the United States government has no authority to manage federal lands in Nevada. He takes that even further by saying, "I don't recognize the United States government as even existing."

No matter where one stands on public land policy, the self-serving radical notions of Cliven Bundy and his followers should be troubling to anyone who wants to live in a society that is stable and a nation that is strong.

Conservatism and radicalism are polar opposites. Conservatism recognizes the importance of order, personal responsibility, values and the rule of law. Conservatism is also about freedom, but not the kind of unfettered freedom that fosters anarchy. A conservative understands that freedom and responsibility go hand-in-hand. You cannot have one without the other.

Edmund Burke, a British statesman who is considered the father of modern conservatism, once correctly noted:"Men of intemperate mind never can be free. Their passions forge their fetters."

Bundy's flawed idea of freedom is rooted in an entitlement mentality. He demands total freedom to do whatever he wants, but rejects any corresponding obligations on his part.

Ranchers all across the West graze cattle on federally managed public lands and willingly pay the below-cost grazing fees charged to help reimburse the real owners, American taxpayers. But Cliven Bundy believes that he is entitled to graze cattle for free on land he does not own.

Not only is Bundy's refusal to pay an affront to every rancher who holds a grazing permit, his position is a denial of legitimate property rights.

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Doug Goodall lives in Orem and is affiliated with Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship 

Go to the CRS website and you will find they are just another environmental group.  They actually think Teddy Roosevelt was a conservative!  Or, more likely, they want the public to think he was.