Their departures were greeted with a chorus of good riddance, reinforcing a creeping intolerance to heterodox views in the allegedly liberal media. Weiss wrote extensively about anti-Semitism and Sullivan supported gay rights as an early advocate for marriage equality. In an era of social media, even some columnists who get paid to put forward thoughtful but provocative opinions are reluctant to wade into debates where they know social media mobs will attack. A commitment to liberal values can be shared by people writing from progressive to centrist to libertarian political perspectives. Demonizing principled disagreement does not advance liberal values -- it fuels negative partisan narratives that Trump's reelection depends on.

Source: CNN July 17, 2020 10:07 UTC