It appears that The New York Times, one of the Democratic Party’s staunchest supporters, is beginning to turn on the party.
Democratic leaders often blame their Republican colleagues for putting the brakes on their progressive agenda. So investigative video-journalist Johnny Harris and Times editorial board economic writer Binyamin Appelbaum teamed up to find out what happens when Democratic power goes unchecked.
They analyzed the nation’s 18 blue states — those where Democrats possess the power of both the legislative and the executive branches of government, "or at least have some veto-proof majority in the legislature," Harris said in the video.
The pair focused their research on three core Democratic Party platform initiatives: affordable housing, educational opportunity and economic equality.
Much to their surprise, blue states received failing grades on all three initiatives, while Republican-controlled red states succeeded.
"In key respects, many blue states are actually doing worse than red states. It is in the blue states where affordable housing is often hardest to find, there are some of the most acute disparities in education funding and economic inequality is increasing most quickly," they wrote in an accompanying description of the video.
"Blue states are where the housing crisis is located. Blue states are where the disparities in education funding are the most dramatic. Blue states are the places where tens of thousands of homeless people are living on the streets. Blue states are the places where economic inequality is increasing most quickly in this country. This is not a problem of not doing well enough; it is a situation where blue states are the problem," Applebaum said in the video.
Harris came to realize that Democrats often talk a good game, but are short on the follow-through — they’re all show and no go.
He said that "affluent liberals tend to be really good at showing up at the marches and talking about how they love equality, [and] at putting signs in their lawns saying, 'All are welcome here.'"
He added, however, that ”by their actions, what they are actually saying is, 'Yes, we believe in these ideals, just not in my backyard.'"
And as The New York Times’ writers observe, housing can have an effect on educational opportunity and income.
"In America, schools get their funding based on the real estate taxes of the houses within that school district," Harris said. “The more expensive the neighborhood, the more funding goes to the school."
They conclude, "Instead of asking, 'What’s the matter with Kansas?' Democrats need to spend more time pondering, ‘What’s the matter with California?'"
While Townhall senior editor Matt Vespa saw nothing surprising in the Harris-Appelbaum findings, he wondered how they ever got published by the Times.
"The most shocking part about this whole story and video is that the NYT even published it at all," He said. "It wrecks the oasis that liberals have constructed in their own minds."
But it’s not just the Times.
Charles Lane, a Washington Post editorial writer specializing in economics, came to the same conclusion two years earlier in a column headlined, "Democrats must figure out how to address Blue America’s housing crisis."
And following the electoral rout Democrats suffered early this month in Virginia, Democratic strategists now see that voters are beginning to realize that the party’s whole identity is in shambles.
"What they discovered, largely through focus groups and polling, was even worse than expected,” wrote David Siders for Politico. “The problems cut far deeper than the failings of their gubernatorial nominee, Terry McAuliffe, or President Joe Biden’s flagging approval ratings. Rather, the Democratic Party’s entire brand was a wreck."
Conservative actor Kevin Sorbo suggests that maybe the flaws have always existed within the party.
"Ever wonder why there are no democrats on Mount Rushmore?" he asked.
In a rare commentary, the late CBS Evening News anchor Walter Cronkite strongly criticized America’s handling of the Vietnam War during a February 1968 newscast. This came at a time when then-President Lyndon Johnson was considering his own re-election campaign.
According to sources close to the president, Johnson viewed the newscast and on that basis decided not to run.
"If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America," he reportedly said.
The Democratic Party may be on even worse footing than LBJ was 50-plus years ago. The party may be losing The New York Times and The Washington Post, two of their No. 1 cheerleaders. If true, they’ll likely lose the House and Senate next year and the White House in 2024.
As the late British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once observed, "Americans can always be trusted to do the right thing — once all other possibilities have been exhausted."
At this juncture pretty much all other possibilities have been tried and failed.
Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and has been a frequent contributor to BizPac Review and Liberty Unyielding. He is also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and an enthusiastic Second Amendment supporter, who can often be found honing his skills at the range. Read Dorstewitz's Reports — More Here.