re: #273 kirkspencer

Not quite but close, and yes that’s a tactical win.

Background: the government already sold a large portion of the ~400 head it had rounded up. The total fines and such, excluding interest, are a bit under 200,000. Cattle at this time are selling for $1200 to $1500 per head after commission. (There are exceptions but that’s the current cattle association report, with articles about how it’s high and how long will it last. But I digress).

The number one objective is for Bundy to quit using federal land that he’s destroying. That’s going to take 30 days to determine, but Bundy agreed with the sheriff to get the cattle off the land.

The number two objective is to get the back due moneys. That was accomplished.

So we’ve got the secondary accomplished and (finally) an agreement to complete the primary.

The armed resistance crap? Expect it to have repercussions over the next year or so as people get their collections and licenses investigated by BATF and other organizations. It’s a federal crime to offer armed resistance to federal authorities performing their duties, and it’s another one to kidnap federal agents. (Confine federal authorities while they are in the performance of their duties.) But for both PR and operational reasons avoiding a bloodbath was important.

And the federal government has both time and resources for this to take it in low-violence nibbles.

So yes, I call it a win.

You misunderstand…there was a photo posted upthread in which Bundy supporters claim that Bundy can claim victory from this ordeal (the sign said something to the effect: “The West Has Now Been Won”). My point is that he was crushed. The gov’t waives a bunch of soft costs to make it look like they gave something up, but otherwise he got his ass completely kicked.