One political party is in the process of “identity meltdown” — and it’s not the Republicans, according to The Wall Street Journal.

“Democrats need an identity-politics intervention. Having unleashed race, gender, sexual orientation and class as the defining issues of American politics, these furies are now consuming their authors. Where’s Barack Obama when Democrats need him? Every national Democrat of note is demanding that Virginia Governor Ralph Northam resign for appearing in blackface in 1984 and for offering different explanations for an offensive photo on his medical college yearbook page. But Mr. Northam is refusing to go,” the news organization said in an editorial, which reviewed the situation, along with the complex challenges faced by Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and Attorney General Mark Herring, plus Sen. Elizabeth Warren, now 72 hours into her new identity as a presidential candidate.

“Republicans can hardly believe their luck as they watch Democrats destroy themselves with the same weaponized outrage that has long been used against them. They also see the double standards, knowing that a Republican in similar straits would already have been forced from office. Given that Brett Kavanaugh was libeled only months ago as a gang rapist with no evidence, Republicans might be forgiven some schadenfreude as they now see the torments of identity politics turned upon the tormentors,” said the Journal editorial.

“The problem for Democrats is that the ideology of race, gender and class is now so deeply ingrained on the political left that no one dares to challenge it. A presidential candidate who tried would be taking a big risk,” the editorial writer noted.

“That leaves Mr. Obama, the only Democrat with the personal and political standing to explain the perils of using race and gender as all-purpose, indiscriminate political weapons. Surely he can see how this is damaging the party’s electoral prospects. Democrats may be too far gone to listen, in which case the only discipline would be political defeat.”

CUOMO AND SCHUMER: ‘LOWEST RATINGS EVER’

Uh-oh. There’s disconcerting news for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, says a new Siena College poll.

“For the first time ever, half of New Yorkers view Andrew Cuomo unfavorably. It’s his lowest favorability rating ever and his lowest-ever job performance as governor. And it is a dramatic drop in both ratings from last month,” says Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg.

“Just before Schumer became U.S. Senate Minority Leader, he had a 67-23 percent favorability and was far and away the most popular New York pol. At that time, Republicans viewed him favorably 55-37 percent. Today, he has a break-even favorability rating with all voters, and Republicans — New York Republicans — view him unfavorably 84-15 percent,” Mr. Greenberg said. “He remains popular with Democrats, 63-31 percent, and independents are evenly divided.”

The poll of 778 registered New York voters was conducted Feb. 4-7 and released Monday.

CHA-CHING

“Americans’ optimism about their personal finances has climbed to levels not seen in more than 16 years, with 69 percent now saying they expect to be financially better off at this time next year,” reports Gallup analyst Jim Norman, who also noted that “optimism about finances over the next year is almost at a record-high level” and that half say they are in better shape financially than a year ago.

WHAT MR. ERICKSON LEARNED

Avowed “Never Trumper” and talk radio host Erick Erickson revealed Monday that he had a change of heart about President Trump and would vote for him in 2020 — this after voting for a third-party candidate in 2016. He quickly offered a follow-up column at TheResurgent.com titled “The People Most Outraged by My Decision,” noting that some conservative Christian friends were disappointed but not outraged by his pro-Trump revelations.

“The real anger comes from progressives. They classified me as a ‘reasonable conservative’ where ‘reasonable’ meant I would never vote for Donald Trump. By saying I will be voting for him, I am now suddenly an ‘unreasonable’ conservative. To be a reasonable conservative, one must either abandon conservatism or otherwise be useful to the left by opposing the president. If you are in my shoes, get used to all the new found concern for your career, brand, opinion, influence, etc.” Mr. Erickson wrote.

“At least we can all now be sure that reasonableness for much of the left is tied to opposing Donald Trump and anyone who might vote for him is unfit for consideration by the left. That, of course, says way more about the left than about anyone who would support the president. The moral of the story here is to do what you think is right and not worry about what people on the internet think,” he concluded.

THE GRASS GROWS GREENER

It’s an exciting week for the “cannabis industry,” a term that would have astonished the hippies of yore, when jail time was a reality for those who favored marijuana.

Indeed, the National Cannabis Industry Association — an advocacy group based in the nation’s capital that represents some 2,000 member businesses — has organized a “Seed to Sale Show: Navigating the next wave in the global green rush.” It begins Tuesday in Boston at the Hynes Convention Center, a very sizable venue: The group will host 3,000 guests, 150 exhibitors, 77 speakers, and an investment forum, billing the event as “the market’s only true B2B cannabis summit.”

It is sold out.

The agenda includes topics such as “Entry to Exit: A Legal and Business Primer for a Thoughtful Entry and Successful Exit in the Cannabis Space” and “What’s Hot and What’s Not: Cannabis Product and Consumer Trends.”

The association continues to monitor political trends. It released a “Congressional Scorecard” before the mid-term elections, and has published “The New Politics of Marijuana: A Winning Opportunity for Either Party,” a research report.

POLL DU JOUR

• 67 percent of well-informed people around the world cite climate change as a threat to their nation.

• 62 percent cite the threat of the Islamic State as a threat, 61 percent cite cyberattacks.

• 55 percent cite North Korea’s nuclear program as a threat, 50 percent cite the global economy.

• 45 percent cite “U.S. power and influence” as a threat, 36 percent cite Russia’s power and influence and 35 percent cite China’s power an influence.

Source: A Pew Research Center Global Attitudes Survey of 27,612 adults in 26 countries conducted from May 14-Aug. 12, 2018, and released Monday.

• Promising news and facts to [email protected]

© Copyright (c) 2019 News World Communications, Inc.

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