Back on April 5th I wrote about how Obama's latest betrayal of cutting Social Security benefits may be the last straw for me, the line in the sand in which I would switch to Un-Affiliated.
Well, it looks like Howard Dean, at least once the head figure of the "Democratic Wings of the Democratic Party", is feeling the same way.
On Sunday night, Dean tweeted that the restoration of some defense sequestration cuts contained in Obama's budget proposal were a step too far when coupled with the president's entitlement cut proposal that progressives like Dean are already livid about.
"If this is true I may have to become an independant [sic]," Dean wrote, before linking to an April 10 article by Bloomberg BusinessWeek's Josh Green.
Dean doubled down on his threat to leave the part in an interview with BuzzFeed Monday. The White House did not respond directly, but an official did push back Monday on the thrust of Dean's attacks.
"I just think that's unacceptable," Dean said. "If this passed I would have to reevaluate if I belong in the Democratic Party. If this were passed with Democratic votes, I think it would be impossible to be Democrat."
Howard Dean was one of the few Dems making sense to me back in 2003 when the Dems were wrapped up in war fever. I was desperate to hear sane voices in the early Bush years and Howard Dean's voice was one of the few that spoke for me back in those dark years. Once again, Dean speaks for me with his latest comments that reflect on our Dem leadership.
Coming from the past Chair of the Democratic Party, you know that something is very wrong in today's "leadership" of the Democratic Party. Surely Howard Dean isn't the only one thinking the same. There must be many of us who can't stand what is and has been happening to the Party for some years now, but coming to a head with Obama's latest betrayals.
As I mentioned in my April post, I've been a Dem for 37 years, a precinct chair, a state delegate. I would add, I didn't leave the Party, it left me via our current leadership's irresponsible decisions that are straying more and more every year from Democratic Party values. The current leadership seems to have low regard for it's base. Perhaps they will value my vote more as an Independent.