Fogbow

Far-right activist Ammon Bundy is running for Idaho governor, tapping an anti-establishment trend

Ammon Bundy has carried a small copy of the U.S. Constitution in his front pocket for the past seven years. He does so to remind himself of what the government is supposed to do to serve the people without abusing its authority, he said.

The far-right activist known for his armed occupation of federal land in Oregon rejects the “anti-government label” but is happy to swap it for a catchier one: “I am definitely anti-corrupt-government, anticronyism,” he said in an interview with The Washington Post, adding that he has never rallied for a revolution to overthrow the government.

Over the weekend, Bundy, 45, announced his bid to be governor of Idaho in what analysts say is a sign of state politics moving further to the right — and a wider national trend of anti-establishment candidates going mainstream.

Jeffrey Lyons, an assistant professor of political science at Boise State University, said Bundy is an example of politically extreme candidates garnering attention and support not only in Idaho but across the country — and across party lines.

At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Bundy founded “People’s Rights,” which he described as “neighborhood watch on steroids,” a system to swiftly mobilize and respond when someone’s rights are being infringed.

The Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights and the Montana Human Rights Network found that People’s Rights and Bundy seized on coronavirus anxiety and cultivated “a dangerous new network” of gun-toting “militia members, anti-maskers, conspiracists, preppers, anti-vaxxers, and others.”

What started “with a few dozen supporters” in March 2020 has expanded to more than 20,000 members across the country. The report concluded that Bundy and the People’s Rights leaders differentiate themselves from a more traditional “anti-government” narratives, aiming instead for “governmental power to be used to protect the ‘righteous’ against ‘wicked’ liberals.”

The report highlights that the network shares many commonalities with far-right paramilitary movements of the past.

Bundy denied that the network has members with militia or paramilitary backgrounds, and he said the membership of “more than 60,000” people includes many “soccer moms,” adding that most of its members believe that they have the right to “defend themselves” when the government is stepping on their liberties.

ZinWhit wrote: ↑Wed Jun 23, 2021 3:44 pm For it's worth.

Estiveo wrote: ↑Tue Jun 22, 2021 7:18 pm I thought that address rang a bell. Reuters did an article 10 years ago on Cheyenne rivaling Cyprus & the Caymans for shady, skeevy, corporate registrations. (Surprise! Ukraine is mentioned!)

ZinWhit wrote: ↑Thu Jun 24, 2021 12:21 pm "Bushman is a blind radio shock jock from Utah who broadcasts with white supremacists...."

Uninformed wrote: ↑Fri Jun 25, 2021 5:25 am I have to admit I really don’t understand the purpose of Ammoan running for Governor.

northland10 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 25, 2021 12:48 am

Estiveo wrote: ↑Tue Jun 22, 2021 7:18 pm I thought that address rang a bell. Reuters did an article 10 years ago on Cheyenne rivaling Cyprus & the Caymans for shady, skeevy, corporate registrations. (Surprise! Ukraine is mentioned!)

Ironically, earlier today I read about some guy who was just about to retire, and since he was working in a single office with nobody around, he thought he did not need to be vaccinated. He just died from COVID.

What was that job he was doing where nobody was around? One of those corporate registrars in Wyoming.

neeneko wrote: ↑Fri Jun 25, 2021 7:50 am

Uninformed wrote: ↑Fri Jun 25, 2021 5:25 am I have to admit I really don’t understand the purpose of Ammoan running for Governor.

I suspect it is mostly about keeping his current followers hooked. They want to see him doing something, but getting involved in another standoff is risky and working with someone else's cause take thes spotlight off him. Running for Governor is high profile and low risk.

sad-cafe wrote: ↑Wed Jun 23, 2021 7:47 pm he really doesn't have any chance does he?