Have you heard the joke about the time Gov. Polis allowed Coloradans to manage their own lives during the Terrible Times when he called us all names and threatened us with death if we didn’t do as he demanded?

That joke is masquerading as facts in a Washington, D.C. newspaper article, which has rewritten Colorado’s recent history to make Polis appear as a freedom-loving, live-and-let-live kind of politician who is adored by the masses on both sides of the political aisle.   

Here’s the set up from Polis:

“Colorado is a very independently minded, freedom-oriented state, and they don’t want Republicans or Democrats telling them what to do,” Polis told The Hill.

That part is true. 

Now for the punchline: Polis insists he is focused on the empowerment of individual voters to follow his command.

“They value accurate information, they value facts, and people should be empowered to make their own decisions, whether that’s marijuana, whether it’s wearing a mask — we’re a state that values freedom.”

We should be empowered, and yet Polis ran this state like a dictator for two years. 

Empowerment is not forcing businesses to shut their doors.

And when some restaurant owners dared to open their doors anyway to keep from going bankrupt, they had their business licenses revoked or their entire inventory of alcohol seized by Polis administration officials. 

Yet Polis insisted to this gullible reporter who printed his claims without question, that it’s those rebellious Republicans who insist on managing everyone’s lives by telling government: Get. Off. Our. Backs.

Forget fact checking, this article cries out for a reality check.