Coloradans on the center-right know in their gut liberals in positions of power are often intolerant of dissenting views and will work hard to silence those not toeing the line. Now there is a growing body of research to back up those gut feelings.

Think of the litany of liberal attacks, just here in our state. The state seeks the to bankrupt a baker and web developer who refused to use their craft to violate their faith. Schools marginalize parents who object to woke curricula. Progressive legislators attack businesses who don’t roll over for laws that would put workers on the street. A school goes after a kid who has a historical patch on his backpack.   

Rejecting the liberal orthodoxy puts you on a rough road.

Often these dissidents are dismissed as right-wing crackpots or worse, or we’re told they just represent a small minority of folks who have left correct modern thinking behind. 

Not so fast. 

This basic, and increasingly disturbing, anti-American tendency on the left was highlighted by a recent in-depth poll conducted for Real Clear Politics – just the latest in a growing body of research.

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Not surprisingly, the poll found Democrats are far more inclined than Republicans to bend to the will of government in areas of free speech. Diving down into the demographics, we learn those under 30 are most open to censorship by the government. Which means that actuarial tables being what they are, this trend will only grow. 

It gets worse. 

Did you know one out of three Democratic voters believe Americans have “too much freedom” to speak their minds? In contrast, only 14% of Republicans believe that. A  majority of Democrats are just fine with government censoring what’s posted on social media. 

Pollsters also tested today’s attitudes toward the adage, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”  Less than one-third of Democrats strongly agreed. 

As Real Clear Politics’ Carl Cannon wrote, “On the issue of free expression at least, Republicans are not the authoritarian party. That distinction belongs to the Democrats…” 

That is sure true in Colorado in matters big and small.

Perhaps the most noteworthy efforts to silence dissent have been the serial jihads of the state Civil Rights Commission hammering creative professionals for refusing to provide products that violate their faith. It took the Supreme Court to repeatedly read the First Amendment – slowly, for understanding – to Colorado liberals. 

But there are daily examples that are just tolerated in the day-to-day work of legislating at the State Capitol. 

Ask lobbyists, including longtime Democrats, who represent clients outside the progressive pantheon – job creators, for example, that provide family-sustaining jobs and are key to the health of local economies. They’ll tell you that highly complex legislation is often presented not as a proposal to be crafted but as a finished project, objections seldom entertained. 

Stakeholder meetings to hear concerns are perfunctory, and substantive objections are often ignored. To them the term “stakeholder” means you hold a stake so it can be driven into your chest. 

In committee hearings, it is not unusual for dissenting non-liberal testimony to be loudly disrespected, derided, discounted, dismissed and discarded. 

It is at its heart a juvenile contempt for contrary views, from individuals who, as the polling showed, aren’t interested in respecting your right to speak out in the public square.

Then there is the case of the boy from Colorado Springs who had a Gadsden Flag patch on his backpack which includes the famous symbol of the coiled snake and the motto, “Don’t Tread On Me.” The energetically uninformed school officials, knees jerking in an emotional reaction, claimed the flag is connected to slavery and racism and wanted to kick the kid out if he refused to not sport the patch.

Had they taken just a minute to look at some facts through their woke-colored glasses, they would have found the flag was actually created as a symbol of defiance against the British during the American Revolution, with no connection to slavery.     

And telling the boy he couldn’t come back to school unless the patch was removed was a flat-out violation of his right of free expression.   

It’s an open question of how long a free republic can survive if a big chunk of the population believes the Bill of Rights is just a list of flexible, situational suggestions.

Sean Duffy, a former deputy chief of staff to Gov. Bill Owens, is a communications and media relations strategist and ghostwriter based in the Denver area.