[link removed]

FAIR
View article on FAIR's website ([link removed])
Sanders' Convention Speech Attacked by NYT for Advocating Popular Policies Elsie Carson-Holt ([link removed])





Election Focus 2024 New York Times deputy opinion editor Patrick Healy ([link removed]) (8/20/24 ([link removed]) ) described Sen. Bernie Sanders' speech to the Democratic National Convention as an attempt to "make policy proposals that put [Kamala] Harris in a big-government vise, binding (or pushing) her in a direction that a lot of moderates do not want to go."

Healy depicted Sanders as

grasp[ing] the lectern with both hands as he unfurled one massive government program idea after another in a progressive policy reverie that must have been music to the ears of every democratic socialist at the United Center.

NYT: Bernie Throws a Curve Ball at Kamala

New York Times deputy opinion editor Patrick Healey (8/20/24 ([link removed]) ): "On Tuesday night, Sanders put Harris on the hot seat."

Healey followed the standard New York Times line (FAIR.org, 7/26/24 ([link removed]) ) that progressive candidates need to move to the right to win—and scorned Sanders for ignoring that advice: "Harris needs some of those swing-state moderates if she’s going to win the presidency, but the electoral math didn’t seem to be on Sanders’s mind."

Strangely, though, the specific policies that Healey mentioned Sanders as promoting don't seem to be particularly unpopular, with moderates or anyone else. Rather, opinion polls find them to be supported by broad majorities:
* "Overturning Citizens United": Three-fourths of survey respondents (Center for Public Integrity, 5/10/18 ([link removed]) ) say that they support a constitutional amendment t0 overturn the 2010 Supreme Court decision that allows the wealthy to spend unlimited amounts of money on elections. In the same survey, 60% said reducing the influence of big campaign donors is “very important.” According to the Pew Research Center (5/8/18 ([link removed]) ), 77% of the public says “there should be limits on the amount of money individuals and organizations” can spend on political campaigns.
* "Making healthcare 'a human right' for all Americans": A 2020 Pew Research Center poll (9/29/20 ([link removed]) ) found that “63% of US adults say the government has the responsibility to provide healthcare coverage for all.” Another Pew poll (1/23/23 ([link removed]) ) reported 57% agreeing that it's "the responsibility of the federal government to make sure all Americans have healthcare coverage."
* "Raising the minimum wage to a 'living wage'”: According to the Pew Research Center (4/22/21 ([link removed]) ), 62% of Americans want the federal minimum wage raised to $15 an hour. (Most of the remainder wanted the minimum wage increased by a lesser amount.) According to the think tank Data for Progress (4/26/24 ([link removed]) ), 86% of likely voters do not think the current federal minimum wage is enough for a decent quality of life.
* "Raising teachers’ salaries": The 2023 ([link removed]) PDK poll found that 67% of respondents support increasing local teacher salaries by raising property taxes. The AP/NORC poll (4/18 ([link removed]) ) reported that "78% of Americans say teachers in this country are underpaid."
* "Cutting prescription drug costs in half": A poll from 2023 by Data for Progress ([link removed]) found that 73% of all likely voters supported Biden administration initiatives allowing Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug costs. Health policy organization KFF (8/21/23 ([link removed]) ) reported that 88% of adults support “limiting how much drug companies can increase the price for prescription drugs each year to no more than the rate of inflation.”

Back in 2015, when Sanders was running for president, Healy co-wrote an article for the Times (5/31/15 ([link removed]) ; Extra!, 7–8/15 ([link removed]) ) that declared him "unelectable," in part because he supported "far higher taxes on the wealthy." But raising taxes on the rich turns out to be consistently popular in opinion polls (FAIR.org, 4/20/15 ([link removed]) ).

What we're learning is that progressive policy proposals are deeply unpopular—with the New York Times' deputy opinion editor.
------------------------------------------------------------

ACTION ALERT: You can send a message to the New York Times at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) . Please remember that respectful communication is the most effective. Feel free to leave a copy of your communication in the comments thread.
Read more ([link removed])

Share this post: <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="[link removed]" title="Twitter"><img border="0" height="15" width="15" src="[link removed]" title="Twitter" alt="Twitter" class="mc-share"></a>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="[link removed]" title="Facebook"><img border="0" height="15" width="15" src="[link removed]" title="Facebook" alt="Facebook" class="mc-share"></a>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="[link removed]" title="Pinterest"><img border="0" height="15" width="15" src="[link removed]" title="Pinterest" alt="Pinterest" class="mc-share"></a>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="[link removed]" title="LinkedIn"><img border="0" height="15" width="15" src="[link removed]" title="LinkedIn" alt="LinkedIn" class="mc-share"></a>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="[link removed]" title="Google Plus"><img border="0" height="15" width="15" src="[link removed]" title="Google Plus" alt="Google Plus" class="mc-share"></a>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="[link removed]" title="Instapaper"><img border="0" height="15" width="15" src="[link removed]" title="Instapaper" alt="Instapaper" class="mc-share"></a>
​

© 2021 Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting. All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you signed up for email alerts from
Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting

Our mailing address is:
FAIRNESS & ACCURACY IN REPORTING
124 W. 30th Street, Suite 201
New York, NY 10001

FAIR's Website ([link removed])

FAIR counts on your support to do this work — please donate today ([link removed]) .

Follow us on Twitter ([link removed]) | Friend us on Facebook ([link removed])

change your preferences ([link removed])
Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp
[link removed]
unsubscribe ([link removed]) .