Places run by liberals don’t always have great outcomes

See By Nicholas Kristof. Excerpts:

"Consider that three of the four states with the highest rates of unsheltered homelessness — California, Hawaii and Oregon — are all run by Democrats. Look up and down the cities of the West Coast — where liberals reign — and it’s impossible to celebrate a triumph of good governance. We may have great values, but we don’t always have great outcomes.

During the Covid pandemic, we mocked Republicans for ignoring science and resisting vaccinations. Fair enough. But Democrats too often also ignored science and kept schools closed longer than necessary, with devastating consequences for some of America’s most marginalized children. Some kids in Republican states won’t be able to read books in school libraries about gender or race because of right-wing censorship, and some kids in Democratic states won’t be able to read them because they fell behind or dropped out during school closings."

"The left’s self-righteousness has also resulted in streaks of intolerance, such as blocking conservative speakers on university campuses and perpetuating stereotypes of evangelical Christians (one of the few groups on many campuses it’s considered acceptable to mock).

Overzealous liberals regularly undermine their own causes. Democrats’ calls for defunding the police may have helped Republicans win seats in the House and Senate — just as some leftists who voted for Jill Stein in 2016 may have helped put Trump in the White House, as Ralph Nader voters in 2000 put George W. Bush in the White House."

"I also worry that the liberal penchant for renaming things is counterproductive. When we employ terms like “Latinx” and “A.A.P.I.” or we fret that it is offensive to refer to “the French” or “the college-educated” or we cite “people with uteruses” rather than “women,” the result is meant to be inclusive but actually leaves many Americans feeling bewildered and excluded. The way to win elections is to engage voters rather than wag fingers at them.

Slogans can’t replace evidence-based policymaking that understands trade-offs and embraces nuances. It’s easy to say housing is a human right, but that doesn’t get anyone into a home."