Nevada Rancher Cliven Bundy Sort Of Apologizes For His Racist Comments, But Not Really

Nevada Rancher Cliven Bundy held another press conference on Friday, and he offered an apology for his recent comments on race. Sort of.

Speaking directly to anyone who may have been offended by what he said in a New York Times interview and a trainwreck of a press conference afterward, Bundy said, "If I did, I ask for your forgiveness, but I'm not withdrawing what I said. I don't know if I said it right, but it came from my heart. The reason it came from my heart, is I'm concerned about all these individuals. I believe they should have equal rights. I believe they are equal in the sense that they were created equal, and I think their opportunity in this world should be equal."

Just to recap, here's what Bundy won't be withdrawing:

• "I want to tell you one more thing I know about the Negro."
• "And because they were basically on government subsidy, so now what do they do? They abort their young children, they put their young men in jail, because they never learned how to pick cotton. And I've often wondered, are they better off as slaves, picking cotton and having a family life and doing things, or are they better off under government subsidy?"
• I said I'm wondering if they're better off under government subsidies. And their young women are having the abortions and their young men are in jail, and their older women and their children are standing, sitting out on the cement porch without nothing to do, you know ... And so, in my mind, I'm wondering, are they better off being slaves in that sense, or are they better off being slaves to the United States government, in the sense of the subsidies. I'm wondering. And the statement was right."

Following Bundy's Thursday press conference, a number of prominent supporters abandoned him, to include Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Fox News host Sean Hannity, who called his statements "repugnant."