It stuck out to me too. I think it may be the case that the writers at NYT legitimately believe that any responsible adult is a progressive, and if you aren't a progressive, then you're probably one step away from being declared incompetent.

It's not so much the insult to the states, but equating of solving problems in a mature manner with progressive politics. There doesn't seem to be any wealth redistribution or protection of underprivileged groups involved, so I'm not sure what's progressive about it.