The disconnect between New York Times writers and the country writ large isn’t surprising. Young, upwardly mobile, college-educated progressives — the cultural and political milieu that most elite journalists come from — have consistently polled as the most Covid-hawkish demographic in America. But that cohort is increasingly out of touch with the national mood. As the rest of the country — including a growing number of Democrats — moves to return to normal, elite progressives aren’t moving with them.

The progressive wing of the Democratic Party, consisting of Americans who identify as “liberal” or “very liberal,” is one of the most educated political groups in the country (if, by “educated,” one means having academic degrees). It’s also the youngest, whitest, and most politically engaged segment of its party: According to a November 2021 Pew report, 71 percent of the “Progressive Left” are younger than 50, 68 percent are white non-Hispanic, and the demographic as a whole “donated money to campaigns in 2020 at a higher rate than any other Democratic-oriented group.” (Notably, “the three other Democratic-oriented groups” in the Pew taxonomy — Establishment Liberals, Democratic Mainstays, and Outsider Left — were “no more than about half White non-Hispanic”).

Members of the group tend to be “particularly likely to get political news from NPR and The New York Times in a typical week,” Pew noted. And they “have been particularly cautious when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic: In late August, 79 percent reported wearing a mask all or most of the time when in stores and other businesses. And, [in] that same period, 94 percent said they had received all of the required shots to be fully vaccinated — the highest share of any group.”