Esquire takes a long peek at the goings on at the Cliven Bundy ranch that Fox News and the Right Wing are desperate for you not to see.

Courtesy of Esquire: 

At the Bundy camp last week, pundits and politicians descended on Bunkerville, Nevada, to throw in their American flag hats with the BLM protestors. A FOX news van had been parked by the side of the road for days. Up on the ridge, militia snipers kept a trained watch as Bundy held court, and disciples from far and wide came to share their personal theories as to why the government was enforcing a court order. 

But on Thursday, we witnessed a mainstream exodus from Bundy’s flank. Sean Hannity, Bundy’s biggest booster, called his racist remarks “beyond despicable,” but maintained that they should not taint the supporters who “for the right reasons saw this case as government overreach.” 

Exactly how difficult was it, though, to determine pretty early on that Bundy and his followers were using the threat of force to back up some terrifyingly misguided beliefs? 

During the few hours I visited last week, this was what was said.

Some of the things the Esquire reporter saw almost defies description, but here is a taste.

Openly discussed racism:

It’s dizzying and hot at the camp, and a very friendly man named Roy, wearing an Obama t-shirt with a joker smile painted on, hands me a cold bottle. He's from nearby Mesquite and has been a close friend and supporter of Bundy's these last few years. When I tell him I’m from New Mexico, the former cop says he has a very good buddy who used to work as a sheriff in my area. 

“He got in a bit of trouble,” he chuckles. “He pulled over a carload of illegals one night, didn’t have room to haul ‘em all, so he put a chain around their neck and put a padlock through it, went to the next one, then he chained ‘em to a tree!” 

He buckles with laughter as the story heats up. “Then he left ‘em and went to town to get his pickup to haul ‘em all back in. So, you might imagine, that didn’t play well — ha! You’re a young’un, but everything wasn’t against the law, way back when.”

Cliven Bundy religious prophet:

The crowd, fresh off their victory at the Battle of Bunkerville, gives Bundy a standing ovation. But he doesn’t seem pleased. He reproaches the crowd for failing to follow the word of God – to the letter – which he says is being delivered through him. They failed, for example, to follow his instructions to tear down the toll booths at Lake Mead and disarm the Park Service. 

"The message I gave to you all was a revelation that I received. And yet not one of you can seem to even quote it.” 

Cliven continues, sermon-like: "The records of our bible — how long have they been kept? Thousands of years. They’ve been turned over generation after generation, buried, and all kinds of things happen to ‘em. And yet, here, something I felt was inspired [by God] and yet we haven’t even carried it forth for even a couple of days. Shame on us.” Smattering of clapping. 

He goes on to explain that, although they managed to deter the BLM, they failed to do it "within one hour," as the revelation had prophesied. So when an hour passes, he decides to get in his bulldozer and march on the BLM himself. The dozer gets stuck in the mud and he receives another revelation. 

“It come to my mind real plain — the good Lord said, ‘Bundy, it’s not your job, it’s THEIR job.’ So we come back over here and heard that they had brought some cattle back. So I want you to understand,” addressing the crowd, "This is not my job, it’s YOUR job.

Wingnuts of all shapes and sizes:

Clearly the longer that any sensible person spends around Bundy and his group of radicals, the more clear it becomes that his ranch has become a kind of gathering place for all of the Alex Jones conspiracy theorists (Yesterday they went after Glenn Beck), angry racists, and trigger happy sovereign citizens types that were within walking, driving, or hitchhiking range.

 If the BLM were smart they would simply sit back and let this powder keg smolder a little longer, because I think it is only a matter of time before these lunatics get bored and start looking around the ranch for someone to take their inner range out on.

Things could get mighty interesting in old Bunkerville before too long.

In the meantime, at least the citizens of Nevada know where all he crazy people are hanging out.