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Kennedy nephew: Senate contender and proud Chavista
KENNEDY NEPHEW: SENATE CONTENDER AND PROUD CHAVISTA. Not only does Jamie Kirchick have a new essay up on Doublethink Online; he also has a new article up at TNR about the warm feelings of Joe Kennedy II for Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez.
With his uncle’s passing, Joe II is now a leading contender for the open Senate perch in Massachusetts. Here’s the kind of wisdom Joe II might bring to US foreign policy:
Kennedy has gone out of his way to defend and even praise Chavez, telling The Wall Street Journal in 2006 that the caudillo has done “so much more” for his country’s poor than any prior leader…As for concerns about Chavez’s assault on democracy, Kennedy drew a moral equivalence between the manifold abuses of the Chavista regime and our own government, saying that there’s “ample room for improvement in the ways that people get elected in Venezuela as well as in Florida.”
Well, if Hillary can compare Nigeria’s outrageous elections to the one in Florida…
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10 Responses to “Kennedy nephew: Senate contender and proud Chavista”
I think it's time for a Change [tm], and an end to the dynasty, though not the politics. Draft Kathy K.
Curt Schilling all the way
It's possible that Kennedy was just using Chavez to get heating oil for needy Americans.
They bury it in the last paragraph, but even Fox News reports this much:
EDIT: Fixed link to Fox News.
We do not have a Democracy either. We have a Representative Democracy controlled by those whom have enough money to control popular opinion. Some would argue that we have a defacto Corporate Republic. Whether or not a country is a, “Democracy”, is obviously not a requirement for being a friend of the United States. The People’s Republic of China, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, just to name a few.
Hugo Chavez is clearly a Socialist. There are examples of Socialist countries that enjoy a higher standard of living for it’s people than the population of the United States. Finland and Sweden are examples. The contention the United States has with Hugo Chavez, aside from his bombastic and insulting remarks, is that he nationalized the oil companies in Venezuela. Clearly he intends to use the natural resources to a greater Venezuelan benefit than when they were more controlled by U.S. oil companies. In this day of depleting energy resources, I for one can hardly blame Hugo Chavez for his actions. Though I think he damages his cause with his insulting rhetoric.
Just to be clear. Chavez crushes domestic dissent. He treats government resources as his personal campaign fund. He has slanted the electoral playing field without going far enough to make the elections seem like a farce. This isn't about protecting American oil companies. It's about Joe Kennedy excusing repression in Venezuela.
If the choices are Joe Kennedy II and Curt Schilling, I'm glad I don't live in MA.
The only two reasons Chavez has 'done so much' for the poor' is, one, he's buying their votes, and two, oil was $140/barrel and Venezuela could afford it. Now that oil prices have dropped and people are beginning to criticize him, he's showing his true despotic colors.
“It's about Joe Kennedy excusing repression in Venezuela.”
It was also about the Dems buying easily-bought votes and cheap PR among cheap people while aligning themselves with Chavez. (There are no moral limits to what some would have done to bash Bush and Cheney back then, as well as now.)
“Now that oil prices have dropped and people are beginning to criticize him, he's showing his true despotic colors.”
Might that make you think about Iran, too, incidentally? No question about their nature, in any case.
I think you are to hard on Hugo Chavez.
Look what unrepressed “dissent” has brought us, a totally ineffective government whiling to be manipulated by those with money to pay for the laws they want. You have replaced repression with oppression.