Donald Trump and Republicans have often been accused by the left of being tyrannical, but the reality is, the Democratic Party and its supporters have cornered the market on authoritarianism, and nowhere has that become more evident than in the party’s approach to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While most states agreed to ‘shut down’ as the pandemic spread in early 2020, red states were the first to reopen, and Republican governors led the way in pushing back on various mandates and requirements implemented by the federal government, especially under the Biden regime. In fact, there are those who believe the U.S. economy would have collapsed completely if it had not been rescued by red-state reopenings.

Now comes a new survey proving, again, that Democrats are the party of tyranny, as Rasmussen Reports notes:

While many voters have become skeptical toward the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a majority of Democrats embrace restrictive policies, including punitive measures against those who haven’t gotten the COVID-19 vaccine.

A new Heartland Institute and Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 48% of voters favor President Joe Biden’s plan to impose a COVID-19 vaccine mandate on the employees of large companies and government agencies. That includes 33% who Strongly Favor the mandate. Forty-eight percent (48%) are opposed to Biden’s vaccine mandate, including 40% who Strongly Oppose the mandate. 

Voters are similarly divided over the federal government’s top COVID-19 expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci. Forty-five percent (45%) view Fauci favorably, including 28% who have a Very Favorable impression of him. Forty-eight percent (48%) have an unfavorable impression of Fauci, including 34% who have a Very Unfavorable view of him.

The survey’s results come on the heels of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling which struck down Biden’s vaccine mandate for businesses with 100 or more employees, and by a 6-3 margin.

Rasmussen notes that the seemingly even split in the results is misleading:

While 78% of Democratic voters support the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate plan, only 22% of Republicans and 41% of voters not affiliated with either major party support the vaccine mandate. And many Democrats would support even harsher measures, including fines for Americans who won’t get the COVID-19 vaccine and criminal punishment for vaccine critics.

“After two excruciatingly long years, likely voters are beginning to question the federal government’s handling of the pandemic,” Chris Talgo, senior editor and research fellow at The Heartland Institute, said. “First and foremost, likely voters are beginning to sour on Dr. Anthony Fauci, who seems to have lost credibility after countless flip-flops.”

“Moreover, almost half of likely voters oppose President Biden’s vaccine mandates, which seem less about stopping the spread of COVID-19 and more about increasing the power of the federal government. When asked about several other potential strategies, such as fining those who refuse to get vaccinated, the consensus among likely voters is that the federal government should do less, not more,” he added.

Additional survey results proving which party is the party of authoritarianism include:

— Fifty-eight percent (58%) of voters would oppose a proposal for federal or state governments to fine Americans who choose not to get a COVID-19 vaccine. However, 55% of Democratic voters would support such a proposal, compared to just 19% of Republicans and 25% of unaffiliated voters.

— Fifty-nine percent (59%) of Democratic voters would favor a government policy requiring that citizens remain confined to their homes at all times, except for emergencies, if they refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Such a proposal is opposed by 61% of all likely voters, including 79% of Republicans and 71% of unaffiliated voters.

Along those lines, and perhaps right on cue for a new talking point, the editorial board of the Salt Lake City Tribune called for GOP Gov. Spencer Cox to issue a vaccine mandate and deploy the National Guard to essentially put unvaccinated citizens under house arrest.

“Were Utah a truly civilized place, the governor’s next move would be to find a way to mandate the kind of mass vaccination campaign we should have launched a year ago, going as far as to deploy the National Guard to ensure that people without proof of vaccination would not be allowed, well, anywhere,” the editorial board wrote.

But sure, Donald Trump and his supporters are ‘tyrannical.’