Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., wrote a scathing editorial on Thursday about the bullying and anti-Semitic harassment that led to the resignation of New York Times opinion columnist Bari Weiss.
Cotton experienced a similar phenomenon last month after he wrote an op-ed that led to a staff revolt and forced the resignation of former Times opinion editor James Bennet.
“The woke mob at The New York Times has claimed another scalp,” Cotton wrote.
“This is not a one-off event but a trend, as far-left, anti-American forces have consolidated control over some of our nation’s most influential institutions,” he continued.
Weiss, who is a traditional liberal, was “viciously harassed” by her colleagues for refusing to embrace extremist political positions within the paper’s editorial division.
She issued a widely circulated resignation letter to Times publisher A. G. Sulzberger this week that recounted the toxic environment at the flagship newspaper.
“My own forays into Wrongthink have made me the subject of constant bullying by colleagues who disagree with my views,” she wrote. “They have called me a Nazi and a racist.”
Weiss said she had “learned to brush off” remarks about how she was “writing about the Jews again” from bigoted Times staffers.
“Still other New York Times employees publicly smear me as a liar and a bigot on Twitter with no fear that harassing me will be met with appropriate action,” she noted.
None had faced consequences for the attacks, she added.
Cotton tore into Times knowing that conservatives have long been socially acceptable targets of the so-called paper of record. But now, moderate Democrats aren’t safe.
“Just as radicals in many cities have seized control of the streets and are demolishing statues to American heroes like George Washington, a band of more polished radicals have seized control of venerable institutions and are using their newfound power to bully an unwilling country,” Cotton wrote.
“Suffice it to say the New York Times isn’t a newspaper anymore, in the traditional sense of the word,” he concluded.
“It’s a propaganda bullhorn—a super PAC for the Democratic Party, the 1619 Project, and other revolutionary causes,” he said. “Perhaps it should rebrand as The New Woke Times.”
