Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy has decided to leave the Republican Party, the Associated Press reported Monday.
Bundy and his wife, Carol, registered with the Independent American Party during a Friday event in Las Vegas where Bundy was a featured speaker.
“Well, I haven’t got much good out of the Democrats and Republicans so I decided to try a new one," Bundy said of his decision.
Bundy is involved in a long-running dispute with the Bureau of Land Management over his refusal to pay over $1 million in fees and penalties for allowing his cattle to graze on public lands. The conflict came to a head in April when hundreds of armed protesters took to Bundy's property to support the rancher. Shortly after federal officials left his ranch, Bundy came under fire for suggesting black people were "better off as slaves," prompting Republicans to distance themselves from the rancher and his remarks.
“They abort their young children, they put their young men in jail, because they never learned how to pick cotton," Bundy said. "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? They didn’t get no more freedom. They got less freedom.”
President Barack Obama condemned the remarks during the White House Correspondent's Dinner.
"As a general rule, things don't end well if the sentence starts with, 'Let me tell you something about the Negro,'" Obama said. "You don't really need to know the rest of it, just a tip for you."
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