Bad but not unexpected news
It might be the case that fraud was unnecessary for the Chavez win. But if fraud was necessary, then fraud was committed. There is virtually no chance Chavez was going to be allowed to lose.
The lede says it all [emphasis mine]:
With 90 percent of the votes in, President Hugo Chavez was declared the winner in the Venezuela presidential election. Chavez received 54 percent of the vote to serve an unprecedented third term after he changed the country’s constitution, NBC News reported.
I’ll close with my favorite quotation from Dostoevsky’s Grand Inquisitor, from The Brothers Karamazov:
In the end they will lay their freedom at our feet, and say to us, “Make us your slaves, but feed us.”
I’d love to say “well, if that is what the people of Venezuela want that is what they are entitled to.”
But, I don’t believe for one minute that is what the people there really want or voted for.
That sucks.
Is it sadder if the vote is legit or if Chavez cheated?
Sometimes democracy belches up vapid demagogues who promise the world and use the skillful channeling of hostility toward minorities (racial, ethnic, religious, or class) to unite a base of support constituting a majority. These demagogues are beloved. No matter how bad things get, no matter how undeniable the demagogues’ depredations, they remain “men of the people.”
Thank God this only happens in places like Venezuela, though.
Right?
Pundits said that a high turnout would Chavez. Turnout was high- only 20% abstention.
Regarding what will occur the next six years- who knows?
And as Ben Franklin once said, “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
I have heard it is not how the votes are counted, but who counts the votes.
Venezuela’s electoral council has declared that Hugo Chavez beat Henriques Capriles in Sunday’s presidential election with about 54 percent of the vote, despite exit polls showing otherwise.
Venezuela Twitter users have claimed Chavez’s victory was wrought with election fraud, and that the socialist incumbent president sent tanks into the streets of his country as those exit poll reports showed him losing. A picture of the tanks surfaced on Twitter Sunday evening.
The British Guardian newspaper reported that Chavez also sent troops armed with AK-47s into Venezuela’s streets to fight against any protests in case unrest came as a result of the news.
and the more interesting stuff is Israel and Palestine are shooting at each other… (war)… and turkey and Syria are at war, but were slow to say so… and a few other things…
Israel Launches Airstrikes After Attacks From Gaza
you can see that between bad planning, gasoline, drought, etc… someone is going to starve in the near future (for socialism and starvation go hand in hand historically).
U do realize that the USSR had elections with all the trappings of a “Republic”.
It is highly doubtful that this was an honest election.
Bolsheviks cheat even if they don’t have to, making any election under their control inherently illegitimate.
As for modifying the constitution to allow a third term, well again Bolsheviks use any means to maintain power. FDR simply ignored a long tradition and I have no doubt whatsoever that if Obama wins he and his minions will make an attempt to declare him president for life or repeal the 22nd amendment.
If we had a real CIA we would be deeply involved in overthrowing Chavez. However I suspect that we are actually helping him.
Venezuela’s Electoral Council projected, nay, declared Chavez the winner by ‘about 54%’ with ‘about 90%’ of the votes counted. The Council acts like the US MSM.
I share Harold’s concern, but not about Amendment repeal (way too slow and uncertain). US vote fraud is always, always by Democrats. Capriles et al. are like American conservatives: unilaterally abide by the rules AND LOSE by the rules. There is something magic about 53-54%- just big enough to be credible.
My concern is about a manufactured crisis leading to imposition of martial law under a Baraq-declared National Emergency, based on, for example, a cyber takedown of the banking system.
hogwash: yes, I realize it. Except in the USSR there was no opposition, and the votes were ratifications of the pre-ordained results.
Chavez goes the Soviets one better, in a way. He preserves the form and appearance of a contested election, and the results mimic the results of a fair election (54% to 45% seems reasonable). The propaganda purposes are different: not ratification, but legitimacy.
“well, if that is what the people of Venezuela want that is what they are entitled to.”
No one is entitled to vote away someone else’s rights.
Jimmah Carter was presumably not there this time to certify the election as “fair”.