I don’t think it’s so much “everyone is a {whatever party I hate}” (which changes with your frame of reference). It’s more “everyone is part of the elites against the people”. The party labels are pretty meaningless, which itself is a bit shattering for those who come to realize it late.
But you’re right, there are a few left that seem to be fighting for the people. Some are effective and others are naive but well meaning.
But they are clearly the minority. They’re fighting bombastic partisan media coverage on both sides, they’re often fighting people within their parties, they’re often struggling just to earn their place.
At first, you get excited at the prospect of holding police accountable when Rand Paul introduces laws against knockless warrants, or you hope for the prospect of a real, sustainable income plan from Yang or Gabbard.
And then you watch as they get maligned and lied about on Fox News and CNN alike. You think, “this plan they’re advocating for will surely attract support from the rest of their party” and then you watch in awe as both sides warp, twist, or outright attack their plans.
You watch with weary eyes as someone like AOC who appears to come from the outside with a background similar to your own gets taken in by people like Pelosi, and you hope against the odds that she will remain true to her ideals, but you know that so many before her did not. After all, at one point Pelosi herself was fighting for the freedom of the internet, yet look at her now.
At some point, you get tired of putting hope into the good ones. You get frustrated every time they seem to make progress only to be struck down. You get sick of seeing them naively fall for the notion that their colleagues are as genuine as they are.
At some point, you just find it easier, both for the sake of conversation but also your own peace of mind, to wrap it all up into the same package of “they’re all bad” and just stop wasting your emotional energy on it.
Or maybe that’s just me.