Mr. Prager, you are the one who told us that happiness and gratitude are pretty much the same thing.Well, being grateful makes you conservative, and being grateful makes you happy.
What does not make you happy? Bad news. And what is the business of journalism in general and the NYT in particular? Attracting attention by reporting bad news.
It is illogical to expect that the NYT would report on conservatism making people grateful and happy. That simply is outside their business model.
Who needs more reasons?