Comments on: Venezuela Election PR Push

By: Barbara

Barbara — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 22:40:06 +0000

So. . . what was the result of the election?

By: Oliver Willis

Oliver Willis — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 05:46:45 +0000

That he even had the inclination to shut the station down is bad news.

By: Capt. Wm Sheeder

Capt. Wm Sheeder — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 00:15:20 +0000

Hey this is about Venezuela Election. Your HATE of Bush bleads out of anything you say. If you were in Venezuela and made such comments about the president Chavez you would be in jail or dead. My son lost his wife because of what she said and the was married to an American. Think very closely about what you say and be greatful you can say it.

By: Bruce Henry

Bruce Henry — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:36:14 +0000

But yet, if I’m not mistaken, that TV station, and others that poose him, still operate. Am I mistaken?

By: Oliver Willis

Oliver Willis — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 18:55:42 +0000

Hugo Chavez shut down the opposition tv station. Quit defending the guy. Simply because the bad righties were propped up by the west doesn't mean a crappy leftist should get a pass. If he didn't have oil to back him up he probably would have run Venezuela off a cliff already. Why does it matter? Because a) We should stand up against tyranny and b) What happens in South America affects us.

By: C.S.Strowbridge

C.S.Strowbridge — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:40:27 +0000

“I don’t believe in any real limits on the public’s ability to select the leader of their choice.”

The problem is the power of the incumbency means the playing field is not level. And when you can write the laws, you can make it more and more unlevel.

By: Todd Dugdale

Todd Dugdale — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:03:47 +0000

I saw that Frontline documentary when it aired. It was very insightful.
What it left out, however, was that for the previous 50 years Venezuela was run by alternating parties that both were Bush Republican clones. They destroyed the economy (except for the oil sector, of course) and made Venezuela a client state of the U.S. in every conceivable way. And that is not a good thing; it didn’t mean foreign aid or investment (except for the oil sector, of course).

Chavez is an ineffective leader. So what? Is Nigeria’s leadership so stellar? If not, why are we so obsessed with Chavez? I can easily list off 10 ineffective leaders of countries with which the U.S. has good relations.

But he didn’t like Bush! Oh no! Even Bush trying to overthrow Chavez didn’t change his mind to see that Bush was one of “good guys”.

Lastly, what kind of “dictator” allows the entire private media of his country to attack him on a daily basis with what amounts to treason? Do you imagine Bush would have looked the other way if CBS had called for an invasion by another country to rescue us from our own elected government?

By: Duros62

Duros62 — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:42:58 +0000

The bottom line is that his opposition haven’t really given the Venezuelan people any alternative.

Sure they do; runaway inflation, triple digit unemployment, slashing domestic spending, selling off national assets to the highest international bidder.
What’s not to like?

By: soullite

soullite — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:10:27 +0000

A little dishonest? Leader for life? That’s like saying FDR was ‘leader for life’ because he won more than two elections. Chavez would still have to continue to win elections. I don’t believe in term limits, I don’t believe in any real limits on the public’s ability to select the leader of their choice.

What is it about this guy that drives everyone to the right of Jimmy Carter wild with derangement? The bottom line is that his opposition haven’t really given the Venezuelan people any alternative. As long as they keep backing the idea that Venezuela should be a disney-land for the worlds wealthy, the Venezuelan’s are going to keep re-electing Chavez.

He doesn’t seem to have any substantial human rights abuses. Every policy he has enacted has either been a direct response to a coup against his democratically elected government, or a legitimate public choice within in a Democracy. He is anti-American, but given how America has treated Venezuela, thats the right call to make. He’s anti business, but again, after they ruined the country why shouldn’t he be?

The bottom line seems to be that anyone above the lower middle class in this country seems terrified that the people, anywhere in the world, might actually get what they want.

By: Vlad

Vlad — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:01:15 +0000

I say put Bush and Chavez in a boat, let them fish all day and they might become best friends.

Anyway, Chavez tried to be a dictator. He tried to gain full uncontestable power, but all his popularity doesn’t seem to bring him close to success.

By: C.S.Strowbridge

C.S.Strowbridge — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 06:02:56 +0000

I think Hugo Chavez is a mediocre leader. Certainly not as bad as the Republicans made him appear, but he should be term-limited. I think given an unlimited number of terms, there is a statistically significant chance the elections would become less and less reliable.

By: Oliver Willis

Oliver Willis — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 03:40:52 +0000

Can we make a Bush Law? Because if he’s the scale for world leaders we might as well just appoint a team of drooling monkeys to run the planet.

By: Jaim

Jaim — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 03:17:41 +0000

He does a better job of running a national economy than, say, George W.Bush.