Lost in Radicalism: How the Party I Once Believed In Lost Its Way

Ionce deeply believed in the Democratic Party.

As a Vermont theater major and Bernie Sanders supporter, I saw Democrats championing justice, fairness and working people. But over time, that faith eroded. The party’s embrace of radical policies — censorship, health mandates and authoritarian tactics — betrayed the values that inspired me. When I questioned the new orthodoxy, friends and family distanced themselves as the party aligned with radicals, abandoning middle-class ideals.

My disillusionment grew with the party’s aggressive embrace of transgender ideology, especially its effects on women’s rights. As an athlete and girls’ gymnastics coach, I’ve seen how this undermines sex-based protections in sports and safe spaces. In 2024, at a YMCA in Keene, N.H., a man identifying as a woman