Former State Rep. Ken Dunkin (in black turtleneck) was at White House conference
CHICAGO – "I'm a recovering Democrat," former State Rep. Ken Dunkin (D-Chicago) told the Young Black Conservative Leadership Conference in D.C. over the weekend.
Dunkin, who being "woke" a few years ago while heading Illinois House Democrat Caucus, said President Barack Obama was disappointing while speaking to a conference hosted by Turning Point USA.
"Gun violence in Chicago really started in 2008 – the year Barack Obama was elected the second time," Dunkin said.
"I'm not blaming him, but he left Chicago with not a lot of resources. Obama didn't kick nothing back…," he told the crowd. "We stayed at the inauguration. We never left the party. We never demanded anything from Barack Obama because we didn't want to embarrass him."
That's when Dunkin says he began to see things differently. The Democrats refused to work with the governor, and Dunkin says he wanted in on the negotiations. "If' you're not at the table, you're on the meal," Dunkin said.
Dunkin said he began challenging the status quo – from the top to the bottom of the state's system. "Stop over taxing us, I said. Stop being so pro-union, you can't do anything for our economy," Dunkin said.
The result? "I had one of the most expensive campaigns for re-election, and Barack Obama worked against me," he said. "I served for 15 years when I said to others in the Caucus, can we wake up? We're not in 1865."
Dunkin called for continued support for the effort, and voiced his respect for those at the conference – well aware they would all be called names "for stepping off the Democrat Plantation."
The speech recorded on Facebook by Marcus Brown:
