Fast Takes: Dont bet on DSA sinking party, Venezuelans want real change and more

Democrat: Don’t Bet on DSAers Sinking PartyLooking at “what happened in the early 2010s,” Republicans might not be “so sanguine or Democrats so concerned” about the rise of Democratic Socialists of America radicals ascendant, muses Daniel Lipinski at The Wall Street Journal — yet we should worry more “about the country’s future.” Dems in 2010 thought the Tea Party would hurt Republicans, yet the GOP scored “historic gains in the House” that year — and Tea Party Republicans then tied their party’s hands by “refusing to vote” for anything less than their full agenda, and the righties claimed victory again in 2014.So it’s “foolish” to think the DSA today will “sink Democrats” this fall: It might “not only capture the Democratic Party” but “ride it to victory” in the November.

That’s not a “prediction” — but “a warning.”Foreign desk: Venezuelans Want Real ChangeSeven months after Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro’s removal, tyranny is “down, but not done” in Venezuela, laments Arturo McFields at The Hill, as the regime seems “willing to do anything” but take “concrete steps towards relinquishing power.” Delcy Rodriguez’s interim government is in “a new dialogue” with the opposition reps, but so far off the table National Assembly are discussions about ending opposition figure Maria Corina Machado’s exile and releasing 379 political prisoners.Only 23% of the population approves of Rodriguez’s performance; most Venezuelans “want real change, not half measures.” The Trump administration needs to “finish the job” and work towards dismantling this “repressive system,” by guaranteeing free elections and freeing all political prisoners.

Venezuela needs democracy and freedom to prosper, not a “new face from an old dictatorship.”Sports beat: The Dodgers’ Cash AdvantageThe Dodgers “surged to a 40 percent chance of winning it all” after nabbing pitching ace Tarik Skubal thi...