When a leftist goes too far...
I meant to blog about this yesterday, but my day (and week) has been crazy.Yesterday, Venezuela's government granted President Hugo Chavez sweeping new powers.
He'll be able to rule by decree for the next 18 months.
That's right, President Chavez has been given complete control over 11 broad areas of legislation including: the economy, the oil industry, defense and the structure of the state.
The purpose of no longer submitting to a very compliant parliament was so that the president can remake laws for "the construction of a new, sustainable economic and social model" to achieve an equal distribution of wealth.
This isn't liberalism or progressivism. This is totalitarianism, pure and simple. Liberals and progressives should be screaming about this man's power grab. When President Bush tried something much more innocuous, progessives and liberals were screaming about a power grab. We should be up in arms about Chavez's manuevers. Even if we agee with his desire to create a more equitable distribution of wealth, his tactics aren't progressive. They limit freedom and and choice. Chavez doesn't have to submit to the popular will and is above the law. He may even re-write the Constitution to stay in power longer than the constitutional term limits allow.
Hugo Chavez may claim the title of a leftist or a socialist, but he shares nothing in common with liberalism and progessivism in America. Chavez is wrong and should be removed from power like every other dictator in the world.
posted by Expat Teacher @ 3:04 PM
