I’ve spent my entire adult life voting for Democrats, until now. Why have I joined nearly half of voters in my home state of Colorado that identify as unaffiliated? Here are my top ten reasons. 

Lockdowns: It was Democrats who locked us down and closed schools during 2020-2021. It drove small business owners under, caused catastrophic learning loss and a mental health crisis amongst young people. The old and infirm suffered and died alone. Now, the Democrats are trying to distance themselves from these failed policies. They claim they are not responsible. Who is then?

Endless States of Emergency: In some states, like California, the governor still retains emergency powers. So he can wreak all this havoc again, any time he pleases. 

Disagree with Covid policy? That means you’re evil: Democratic leaders (and a complicit press) demonized anyone who challenged these cruel Covid policies. We were vilified and deemed unworthy of employment and accused of being everything from fascists to racists and murderers.

No debate or dissent on any issue: Democratic Party leaders and loyal voting acolytes tolerate no dissent. If you step out of line, you’re a far-right conspiracy theorist. Pro-choice, not “pro-abortion”? You hate women. Don’t want to be called a “birthing person”? Transphobe. Don’t want to vote for [insert female candidate here]? You hate women. You want to vote for [insert female Republican candidate]? Not that woman! 

It’s a cult, Scientology-style “disconnection” required: Loyal Democratic voters will not even engage with a person who questions any official Party policy. If you don’t shun family and friends who deviate from the Party line, you too are evil and undermine all good things in the world, therefore you must also be taken down. 

They’re hypocrites: Democrats tell us all to buy electric cars while shutting our electricity off. They tell us we should buy less, travel less, eat bugs, stay home, recycle, have fewer children, all while they fly around in private planes, wearing designer clothes, eating $800 meals at French Laundry.

They deny reality: No such thing as learning loss. Obesity — Fat-phobe. Healthy at any size. Biology isn’t real. Men aren’t stronger than women, that’s invented by the Patriarchy. Crime? What crime? Inflation? What inflation? It’s a figment of your imagination or made-up by Republicans… ok, it’s real but it’s going down now because we raised interest rates; democracy is ending and you’re worried about the price of milk?

They’re snobs: They look down on anyone who: Doesn’t eat grass fed beef or that gross fake meat that’s “good” for the environment but bad for your health; likes the Olive Garden or Las Vegas; goes on cruises or to all-inclusive resorts; doesn’t read the New York Times

They don’t believe in free speech: Elected government leaders and appointed officials in the Department of Homeland Security have been pressuring private companies to curb speech, a clear violation of the First Amendment. They’ve been working behind the scenes — and sometimes in plain view — to control social media companies in order to manufacture consensus through the silencing of dissenters. Even the ACLU agrees, at this point (are they back?), that this is kind of a problem.

They govern with no regard for children: They shut schools and opened bars. They kept playgrounds closed while opening golf courses. They masked toddlers while adults partied in night clubs unmasked.

To sum it up, the Democrats have lied about everything for the past two years. They lied about Covid and the risk to children in order to keep schools closed at the behest of public health officials and the teachers’ unions. Now they lie and say schools weren’t closed and they had nothing to do with it anyway even if they were closed.

Yet, they insist that we believe that the “noble lies” they tell are necessary, that they are well-meaning and so any corruption or dishonesty or authoritarianism is okay. Because they mean well. I’ll never believe these people are well-meaning good guys again.

I’m not a Republican. I don’t want to tether myself to any party. I’ll vote according to the issues that matter most to me. Yet Democrats have sorely underestimated how many people like me there are.

They continue to tell us what we’re supposed to care about and ignore what we tell them we do care about. We told them. We tried. They didn’t listen. Go vote.