What Have Liberals Done to the West Coast?

Nicholas Kristoff is the unofficial dean of the New York Times opinion page. I have been reading him for many years and find him one of the good liberals. He understands points of view other than his own, and he seeks to do good on behalf of others. His columns are often well worth reading.

Recently he raised the question, What have the liberals done to the West coast? He tries to understand why American cities on the Pacific ocean are such a trainwreck.  He says voters have the right to ask, “Why put liberals in charge nationally when the places where they have greatest control are plagued by homelessness, crime and dysfunction?”

He admits that “We accept a yawning gulf between our values and our outcomes.”

He begins by defending the Progressive Left. He argues that Blue states have a longer life expectancy, are much, much richer than conservative states. The education levels in blue states are much higher.

He then tries to isolate the problem to liberals on the Pacific ocean, not liberals everywhere else. The homicide rate in New York City is half that of the west coast cities. Drug overdoses are much lower in eastern liberal cities. Homelessness is a much bigger problem on the West Coast. The three states with the lowest rates of homelessness are Vermont, Maine, and New York.

His conclusion? “So my take is that the West Coast’s central problem is not so much that it’s unserious as that it’s infected with an ideological purity that is focused more on intentions than on oversight and outcomes.” In other words, west coast liberals are too idealistic.

Kristoff admits that the west coast has no Republican Party to hold the liberals accountable and this also is a problem.

How do we critique Kristoff? Ah, where to begin.

James Freeman in the Wall Street Journal observes that it isn’t just west coast cities that suffer from social meltdown. Crime, housing costs, and government disfunction affect Progressive-run cities across America. Think Chicago has a crime problem? Detroit? Baltimore? St. Louis? They are a long way from the Pacific geographically but just like west coast cities in crime and disfunction.

Another argument that it isn’t just the west coast: People are fleeing Progressive enclaves by the hundreds of thousands. They are leaving California, New York, and Illinois and moving to Florida and Texas. They are looking for sane responsible government.

Let’s return to Kristoff’s argument that west coast cities are too idealistic. Let me say again as I have said before. They are too committed to the wrong religion. The problem in Progressive cities is bad theology. They begin by not believing in the true God of the Bible and then follow this up by a false doctrine of man. Progressive liberals believe people are basically good, the homeless and criminals are victims rather than the Christian view that they are evil and have made foolish choices. The abandonment of the biblical view of the family has contributed mightily to the crime in our cities, removing the father from the home and trying to replace him with big government.

Progressives enjoy great wealth and blessing but it is not because of Progressivism. It is the gift of Christian culture, a culture they are determined to destroy.

The column Nicholas Kristoff wrote took courage. It is rare for anyone to look in the mirror and ask, “What’s wrong with me?” But he did it. Now I pray he will follow it up with more wisdom and better answers, answers that begin with the Bible and the Person of Christ.

More: Why are big cities more liberal? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0zyVUeP10g

Nicholas Kristoff in a moment of honesty (this column will be behind the Times’ paywall):

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/15/opinion/progressives-california-portland.html

From James Freeman in the Wall Street Journal; The curse of Progressivism: https://www.wsj.com/articles/progressivism-that-doesnt-result-in-progress-d68d7d70?mod=opinion_lead_pos12

Stephen Miller in The Spectator reviews Kristoff: https://thespectator.com/newsletter/nicholas-kristof-tries-to-figure-out-who-destroyed-the-west-coast-bad-press-06-18-2024/?utm_source=Spectator%20World%20Signup&utm_campaign=fec9eacb83-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_06_18_07_51&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-fec9eacb83-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D