NY Times columnist sounds alarm over woke liberals destroying Democrats' midterm election chances

President Biden walks with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as he arrives at the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 6, 2022. (Stefani Reynolds/Pool via AP)

One New York Times opinion column warned Wednesday that the far left’s commitment to woke politics run amok might hurt Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections.

Columnist and Columbia University Professor Thomas B. Edsall highlighted several media reports fretting that arguments over diversity, equity and inclusion had "paralyzed" many left-wing groups' abilities to function.

Edsall wrote, "[D]isputes over diversity, equity and inclusion — over doctrine, language and strategies — have paralyzed much of the left advocacy and nonprofit sector." 

He sought out comment from a senior fellow at the left-wing think tank Brookings over the matter. William Galston told the columnist that several well-established liberal groups had relayed to him their frustrations with young Democrat hires' demands for diversity and politically acceptable language taking away time and energy from the actual mission of their organizations. 

NEW YORK TIMES OP-ED STATES DEMOCRATS' ARE MAKING IT TOO EASY FOR REPUBLICANS TO WIN IN THE MIDTERMS

The New York Times  (Reuters/Shannon Stapleton/File)

"They were prickly, quick to take offense and to see malign motives rather than inadvertent mistakes," Galston wrote to Edsall, which he said led to distractions "detrimental" to their groups' missions.

A few figures within left-wing organizations would only speak to The Times columnist anonymously, out of fear of repercussions. One high-ranking nonprofit official told Edsall that the left’s "new perfectionism" obstructed them from "actually dealing with challenges in our imperfect world."

That same official couched the progressive left’s concerns in religious terms, saying there was a "very vocal fringe that views every problem as a sin." 

Another liberal consultant relayed how common workplace disputes she witnessed routinely "turned into civil rights issues." 

DEMOCRATS ARE GETTING INCREASINGLY NERVOUS ABOUT ‘WOKE’ CULTURE, ANALYSTS SAY

A woman waves an upside down American flag as people gather at Black Lives Matter Plaza to await results of the presidential election on Nov. 5, 2020, in Washington, D.C. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

"The failure to give someone a raise, even when it is a Black boss, becomes a matter of structural racism," she said to The Times.

The columnist's lengthy expose named prominent abortion groups like Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and the Guttmacher Institute, as well as other left-leaning organizations such as the Sierra Club, American Civil Liberties Union, Human Rights Campaign, and Time’s Up as groups plagued with this problem.

Some figures pushed back on these claims or even defended the internal strife. 

For instance, Lee Drutman, a senior fellow at New America, told Edsall that the struggle really was because the "older whiter generation" of Democrats were unwilling to give up their power and the "status quo" to the younger, impatient generation eager for "major, transformative change" in the country.

‘WOKE’ WORKPLACES ARE SACRIFICING ‘DIVERSITY OF THOUGHT’ AS EMPLOYEES PUSH BACK: RAMASWAMY

People protest about abortion, Friday, June 24, 2022, outside the Supreme Court in Washington. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Woke politics has already been demonstrably damaging to Democrats, some critics within the party have argued, pointing to the unpopularity with voters of defunding the police, growing Republican support among Hispanics, and the successful recall elections of woke San Francisco school board members and progressive district attorney Chesa Boudin.

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Noting how changes in leadership within these organizations to reflect more diversity have not solved these issues, Edsall chided Democrats to get their act together before the midterm elections.

"The question in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decisions on Roe and gun rights is whether these organizations can get their acts together before the Nov. 8 midterm elections and the end of the 117th Congress on Jan. 3, 2023, and that’s before we get to the question of the momentous 2024 presidential election," he warned.