I am the very model of a New York Times contrarian,

My intellect is polished but my soul’s authoritarian,

From Allen down to Exxon, bullies’ water I am carrying,

Except for Donald Trump’s, because I find him a vulgarian.

I’m very well acquainted, too, with arguments political,

I love to mount defenses for the vile and hypocritical,

I filigree each sentence till its meaning I am burying,

My job is to distract you from the rising smell of carrion.

My eagerness to stand up for the powerful is frightening,

I’m always showing up when a sepulcher needs some whitening,

In short, with polished intellect and soul authoritarian,

I am the very model of a New York Times contrarian!

There’s nothing that I relish more than playing Devil’s advocate,

My beat is moral virtue comma complete, total lack of it,

I’ll only call you “victim” if it’s clear that you’re a predator,

I’m lucky to have landed with a sympathetic editor.

Hate-reading makes my columns all go viral like canarypox,

Present me with the truth and I will turn it to a paradox,

I’ll spew undoubted bullshit till you’ll swear that it’s veracity,

Sometimes vocabulary gets confused for perspicacity.

I’ll never have to worry about financial adversity,

My sinecure’s secured by “intellectual diversity,”

In short, with polished sentences and soul authoritarian,

I am the very model of a New York Times contrarian!

I introduce myself in verse based on a comic opera,

Though tragedy would surely strike my critics as more proper-a,

But manic, frantic forms can help obscure a darkness visible,

And keep people from noticing my arguments are risible.

I’m confident that confidence is all I need to dominate,

I’ll gladly share my theories with your business or conglomerate,

For money I will tell you money’s good for the environment,

Or argue that a safety net is nothing but entitlement!

The best people all know me and my pedigree’s immaculate,

That’s good, because my takes are generally quite inaccurate,

But still, with polished intellect and soul authoritarian,

I am the very model of a New York Times contrarian!