Video: Popular talk show host and former progressive explains why he left the left

YouTube star Dave Rubin, host of "The Rubin Report," once called himself a "progressive." He's a gay married man living in California, and he was even once part of the leftist online network of The Young Turks. Just hearing these simple facts about him may cause you to reach some immediate conclusions about his beliefs and character.

However, Rubin might surprise you. Over his career as a talk show host, hearing many different sides of the argument, asking the hard questions and witnessing events unfold from college campuses to activist marches, Rubin has reached a simple conclusion: He can no longer call himself a "progressive."

In fact, his journey has taken him in the opposite direction, and now he sits as one of the progressive left's most notable detractors. He even has taken to pointing out the ridiculousness of his former colleagues, such as The Young Turks' Cenk Uygur:

Furthermore, he has a message he would like to get across about the progressive ideology, and he recently did just that by teaming up with the conservative educational YouTube channel "Prager U," whose videos have been featured on TheBlaze often. Prager U is channel started by radio show host Dennis Prager that seeks to bring the ideas of conservatism into the mainstream with fun and entertaining videos with guest speakers starring in the videos. Prager U has featured the likes of Mike Rowe, Steven Crowder and Adam Carolla, each discussing an idea or problem from a right-of-center perspective.

In their latest video, titled "Why I Left the Left," Rubin describes how progressivism long ago abandoned the liberalism it claims to represent and explains how the ideology has crated a sort of "oppression Olympics" where the "gold medal goes to the most offended."

He also details how progressivism attempts to trample the rights of others, especially those who are religious:

I am a married gay man, so you might think that I appreciate the government forcing a Christian baker, or photographer, or florist to act against their religion in order to cater, or photograph, or decorate my wedding, but you'd be wrong. A government that can force Christians to violate their conscience can force me to violate mine.

If a baker won't bake you a cake, find another baker. Don't demand the state tell him what to do with his private business.

Rubin further explains how the progressive movement's obsession with diversity does not encompass diversity of thought, noting that it has become a faux-moral movement that hurls accusations of all kinds at its detractors — something that he says is not a recipe for a free society, but for authoritarianism.

"For these reasons I can no longer call myself a progressive," says Rubin. "I don't really call myself a Democrat either. I'm classical liberal. A free thinker."

"And as much as I don't like to admit it, defending my liberal values has suddenly become a conservative position," he concludes.