I spent my entire life as a Conservative Republican until 2016.

However, I realize now, that much of what I believed is just not true.

The following are simple facts that led me out of the party and the movement.

If the Democrats want to win converts, they should start here

1. A gun owner is more than twice as likely to shoot and kill a family member then an armed intruder.

2. Tax cuts for the rich do NOT encourage economic growth or improve the labor market. They simply exaserbate income inequality.

3. Republicans do NOT care about religious freedom. Their votes for a man who promised to ban Muslims shows their utter contempt for religious freedom as an American value enshrined in law.

4. Republican policies always make the annual deficit worse, not better. Democratic policies always make the annual deficit better, not worse.

5. There is not one country on earth that has successfully adopted a free market healthcare system. Not one.

Sure, there are examples of socialized systems that have failed, but not a single example of a free market system that has succeeded.

6. Every first world country that uses a form of socialized medicine, such as single payer, spends less per capita and produces a better outcome than the United States. Every. Single. One.

7. Character in leadership still matters, yet no group is more accepting of immoral leadership than white evangelicals who comprise the backbone of the Conservative movement and Republican party.

8. As much fun as it is to poke fun of California, no states are as poorly run as Republican controlled states like Kansas, Alabama and Mississippi.

9. Free trade matters. NATO matters. NAFTA matters. Building strong economic and social ties to our allies is the best way to combat threats from Russia and China.

10. Immigrants are the life blood of our economy and the heart and soul of what makes America great. We need more of every kind of immigration. More refugees. More diversity lotteries. More migrant workers. More foreign students.

11. Abortion is bad, but the Republican method of packing the courts to reverse a 40 year-old law, has not and will not save a single life.

The best way to reduce abortion is through access to healthcare, birth control and proper sex education.

12.Not all Republicans are White Supremacists, but all White Supremacists are Republicans.

Scarier still, the White Supremacist ideal that "immigration damages culture", has officially taken root within the mainstream of the GOP.

13. Nine out of 10 states with the longest life expectancy are all solidly Democratic states.

The ten worst states for life expectancy are all solidly Republican

GOP policies literally take years off of your life. https://www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/scientists-just-ranked-all-50-states-by-life-expectancy-results-are-truly-stunning.html

14. Surprise surprise, Democratic states produce much smarter kids.

9 out of 10 of the states with the HIGHEST average ACT score voted for Hillary.

7 out of 10 of the states with the LOWEST average ACT score voted for Trump

15. Republican, limited government policies are NOT good for the economy. In fact, most Democratic states have significantly stronger economies than Republican states

For example, Deep Red states (Trump 25+) have an average per capita GDP almost 25% LOWER than Deep Blue states.

Conservatives claim that high taxes stifle the economy, but they are wrong. In fact, the 10 least tax-friendly states have a per capita GDP almost 10% higher than the 10 most tax-friendly states.

The simple question Conservatives can never answer: if conservative policies worked, why are states like LA, AL and MS so much worse than Democratic states like WA, MA and even CA?

Of the 10 best states, only two voted for Trump. Of the 10 worst, only 1 voted for Clinton.

The South voted overwhelmingly against the 19th ammendment which gave women the right to vote.

Today the South votes overwhelmingly Republican-- which begs the question:

Did the South stop being sexist or did the sexists find an ideological home in the GOP?

The one thing Republican policies are supposed to be good for is the economy and for businesses It turns out the only thing Republicans have ever gotten to trickle down is the stock market.