Fast Takes: RI gov’s lesson for Dems, North Korea’s Lefty pawns and more

From the right: RI Gov’s Lesson for Democrats

Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee’s loss in the Democratic primary last week “is a lesson that courting the left can’t overcome government incompetence,” argues The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board. Having slipped on the repair of a major bridge, to which “the press attributes his drubbing,” McKee “tried to buy union support” by passing a tax hike and “imposing a three-year moratorium on new charter schools,” which the teachers union had demanded. But “such sops to the left” didn’t help him. Especially when Rhode Island’s “declining business environment” led CNBC to “rate the state’s economy dead last” this year. “Buying off liberal special interests doesn’t offset the costs of government dysfunction, even among Democratic voters.”

Subversion watch: North Korea’s Lefty Pawns

“A proliferation of pro-North Korean groups” in recent years “have done wonders for North Korea’s image on the broader Left” in America, warns City Journal’s Stu Smith. These groups “portray totalitarian North Korea as one of the world’s most democratic countries,” and their “growing reach” among activists and NGOs “poses threats to regional security.” The movement “is committed to reducing American defensive might in the region” and “strengthening” America’s foes. Pro-North Korean organizers have recently “stepped up their outreach efforts,” and as the “bloc of activist groups expands and strengthens” itself, the “time has come to take meaningful action against it,” because “policymakers and lawmakers can no longer afford to ignore the questions surrounding these groups.”

Tech beat: Make ‘Peace’ With Data Centers

“I grew up in Pennsylvania in the 1970s,” recalls Steven Greenhut at The Orange County Register, when “giant steel mills, oil refineries, and clanking, pollution-spewing factories” all “loomed over our communities.” So why the panic over “clean, low-slung and quiet” data centers? The nation’s “data-center concerns are so severe” that they’re warping politics from Michigan to Texas. The “hysteria is channeling the public’s inchoate fears about the rapid expansion of AI and is a flash point for anger at tech moguls and billionaires.” And “if that is upsetting voters, then you can be sure politicians will eagerly take advantage of their angst.” Yet if “we want to have easy access to computer innovations, then we need to make peace with” the creation of data centers nationwide. 

Foreign desk: Finish the Job in Venezuela

The US oil deal with Venezuela “is a key move for America’s energy dominance,” cheers Arturo McFields at The Hill. “It takes China and Russia out of the equation, lowers gas prices in the U.S. and brings prosperity to the South American nation.” Indeed, “the U.S. needs the oil, and Venezuela needs investment and jobs.” Team Trump’s capture of strongman Nicolas Maduro and his arrest on drug charges opened “a new chapter for the region.” Yet one obstacle remains: “a resilient tyranny clinging to power.” Fact is, “interim President Delcy Rodriguez and her cronies are not reliable partners for the U.S. in a long-term agreement.” So now, “after eight months, things need to move forward. Expedite the transition and finish the job.”

Independent: Beyond Tribal Politics

“Two years ago, I moved to the very small South Carolina town of Pendleton, where something unexpected happened to me,” recounts Lura Forcum at RealClear Politics. “I became a volunteer.” Because “Pendleton has a culture of people doing things together,” it’s “hard not to join in.” Yet similar “tribal mechanisms” render the Republican and Democratic parties “dysfunctional.” Unlike “political tribes” that “increasingly organize people around defeating an opponent,” a place like “Pendleton organizes people around creating something together.” The success of healthy groups “does not require somebody else’s harm.” Working, sharing and creating together “fundamentally changes how we know one another.” “Small towns can be exclusionary, conformist, and cruel,” but “Pendleton reminds me that I am something else, too”: “I am a neighbor” and “now, a volunteer.”

— Compiled by The Post Editorial Board