Lovely

9 Responses to “Lovely”

1. tgirsch Says:
   February 16th, 2009 at 11:33 pm

   Chavez is a shithead, no doubt, but I’m not sure he rises to the level of “dictator.” If it’s a phony election when the opposition gets 46% of the vote, what does that say about elections where the loser gets 50.1%?

2. Xrlq Says:
   February 17th, 2009 at 9:51 pm

   In fairness, this particular election may or may not have been phony, but the recall election he “won” almost certainly was. Between that, ruling by decree and shutting down opposition broadcasters, I’d say that if that doesn’t make Chavez a dictator, there is no such thing. Obtaining power democratically was Plan B, and I don’t see him leaving power that way, ever.

3. tgirsch Says:
   February 18th, 2009 at 12:53 am

   He’s certainly heading in the dictator direction, if he’s not there already. But we’re not talking about the Saddam Hussein sort of phony elections where the dictator gets high 90′s support. And let’s not forget, Chavez actually lost a similar referendum election less than a year ago, which would be hard to imagine in a true dictatorship.

   As for shutting down the opposition, is that anything at all like being able to detain people indefinitely without charge or legal rights on little more than your say-so? ;)

   tgirsch´s last blog post..More on CRA and the Subprime Meltdown

4. Xrlq Says:
   February 18th, 2009 at 7:01 am

   Nah, it’s more like siccing “truth” squads on TV and radio stations that run ads critical of your record.

5. tgirsch Says:
   February 18th, 2009 at 2:14 pm

   Either way, it’s a lot closer to us (or, probably more accurately, we’re closer to it) than to a bona fide dictatorship.

   tgirsch´s last blog post..More on CRA and the Subprime Meltdown

6. Xrlq Says:
   February 18th, 2009 at 10:39 pm

   That we may have just elected our own version of Hugo Chavez President of our country makes me feel a lot worse about us, but it doesn’t make me feel any better about Chavez. I don’t see Chavez leaving power by democratic means, ever. When he goes, it will be because he was forced out by public unrest, a coup, or dying of old age.

7. tgirsch Says:
   February 19th, 2009 at 4:49 pm

   Tell you what, if Obama gets term limits revoked, I’ll buy you a case of your favorite beer. Shit, Obama will be lucky to get a second term!

   tgirsch´s last blog post..A Simple Formula

8. Xrlq Says:
   February 21st, 2009 at 12:44 am

   It sounds like we’ve come full circle. If Obama convinces his overwhelmingly Democrat Congress to pass a law allowing him to rule by decree, and steals the 2012 election, and then gets term limits revoked so he can remain in power indefinitely, would anyone outside the U.S. seriously dispute that he had become a dictator? Inside the U.S., sure; calling your own dictator a dictator can have consequences.

   If all that happens, I’ll need more than case of beer to drown my sorrows. Four is more like it. Not to worry, though, if memory serves you can easily score me four cases of beer in a commie country for about the cost of one case in a free one. The beer may or may not be as good. East German beer was a far cry from its western counterpart, but Pilsner Urquell and the real Budweiser (now marketed in the U.S. as Czechvar) were every bit as good as they are today. [And extremely cheap, too; my friend and I did the math and figured out that you could actually make money buying Pilsner Urquell in Czechoslovakia, drinking as much as you could stand and sharing the rest with 500 of your closest friends, and returning the bottles in West Germany.]

9. tgirsch Says:
   February 23rd, 2009 at 5:26 pm

   A mea culpa: It seems I was operating from a flawed definition of dictator. Given the general meaning of the term, I’d concede that Chavez qualifies. My initial rejection of the term comes from how charged it is: I think “dictator,” and I think Idi Amin or Hitler or Mussolini. Chavez may well be on his way there, but he ain’t there yet.

   I do, however, stand by my claim that it’s a bit much to call this particular election “phony.”

   tgirsch´s last blog post..Quote of the Day, 2009-02-23

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