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Hugo Chavez
Cindy Sheehan has met with Chavez a few times as well as some other liberal figures and he openly admits that he is probably the next target of imperialist America because of his oil so Im wondering if we should make him a major part of our election strategy, bring him into commercials and what not as supporting the democratic party in ending our imperialistic ways and putting our country on the right track with nations like Venezuala instead on the track to war. I think we should put a lot of emphasis on Hugo Chavez as an ally of the democratic party, it'll reach out to the mainstream.
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That is a very tricky
That is a very tricky proposition. Chavez has been tarred as a far left winger and an enemy of the United States and for the democrats to openly back him or to align ourselves with him could be a killing blow to our candidates. Remember Rove is a tricky bastard and he is way ahead of us, when it comes to using whatever we do or say against us. Imagine the headlines 'Democrat Candidate Backs Chavez in Left Wing Coup'. Once we are back in power and with the correct spin we could open relations with Chavez. If it meant more and cheaper oil/gas prices the American people would be happy to go for that, even with the conservatives poisoning the well, but not unless we can show that our citizens will profit from that kind of alliance.
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag, carrying a cross." ~ Sinclair Lewis
In a time of deception telling the truth is a revolutionary act. ~ George Orwell
Bolivarian Revolution
Chavez has certainly been a target for Bush. He symbolizes the turn to the left south of the border of leaders trying to help their people rather than the elite. The latest may be the next President of Mexico, but the vote was so close this past weekend that it'll probably be weeks before we know the result.
The main problem with your stategy is that America and all of it's political parties have been against Latin leaders like Chavez since the Monroe Doctrine.
Dispatch from Mexico City:
STEALING IT IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES
Matt Pascarella in Mexico City
Greg Palast in London
Monday, 3 July
Gore v. Bush. Kerry v. Bush. Obrador v. Calderon.
As in Florida in 2000, as in Ohio in 2004, the exit polls show the voters voted for the progressive candidate, but the race is "officially" too close to call.
But they will call it -- after they steal it. Reuters News agency reports that, as of 8pm Eastern time, as voting concluded in Mexico, exit polls show Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the "left-wing" Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) leading in exit polls over Felipe Calderon of the ruling conservative National Action Party (PAN).
We've told you again and again: Exit polls tell us how voters say they voted, but the voters can't tell pollsters if their vote will be counted. In Mexico, counting the vote is an art, not a science -- and Calderon's ruling crew is very artful indeed. The PAN-controlled
official electoral commission, not surprisingly, has announced that the presidential tally is too close to call.
Calderon's election is openly supported by the Bush Administration.
On the ground in Mexico City, our news team reports accusations from inside the Obrador campaign that operatives of the PAN had access to voter files which are supposed to be the sole property of the nation's electoral commission.
We are not surprised.
This past Friday, we reported that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation had obtained Mexico's voter files under a secret "counterterrorism" contract with database company ChoicePoint of Alpharetta, Georgia. (See BUSH TEAM HELPS RULING PARTY “FLORIDIZE” MEXICAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION)
The FBI's contractor states that, following the arrest of ChoicePoint agents by the Mexican
government, the company returned or destroyed its files. The firm claims not to have known collecting this information violated Mexican law. Such files can be useful in challenging a voter's right to cast a ballot or in preventing that vote from counting.
It is, of course, impossible to know if the FBI destroyed its own copy of the files of Mexico's voter rolls obtained by Choicepoint or if these were then used to illegally assist the Calderon candidacy.
But we can see the results: as in the US, first in Florida then in Ohio, the exit polls are at odds with "official" polls.
In November 2004, US Republican Senator Richard Lugar, in Kiev, cited the divergence of exit polls and official polls as solid evidence of "blatant fraud” in the vote count in Ukraine. As a result, the Bush Administration refused to recognize the Ukraine government's official vote tally ... which proves once again that Republicans are incapable
of irony.
The foreign mainstream press has already announced, despite the polling discrepancies, that Mexico's elections were fair and clean -- which would be a first for that country where Obrador's party has seen its candidates defeated by "blatant fraud" before. The change
this time is that the fraud is simply less blatant.
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag, carrying a cross." ~ Sinclair Lewis
In a time of deception telling the truth is a revolutionary act. ~ George Orwell
Three differences between
Three differences between Mexico and the US.
It's going to take a few weeks to do the recount, suggesting a bona fide effort is going to be made to determine the will of the people.
Obrador has already declared himself the winner, and is taking measures to better assure that outcome. Fox is already calling for calm.
Obrador knows that elections are a life or death proposition in Mexico and has a gift for mobilizing his people in the streets.
Update: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/d0ed6252-0b90-11db-b97f-0000779e2340,_i_nbePage=...
If Obrador loses, Bush will only have Uribe of Colombia to talk to south of the border. Under cover of the 'war on drugs', Bush has poured in millions (if not billions) and provided Uribe with military 'advisers' and equipment (for the Colombian army and the right-wing para-military) to carry on the decades long class war for the benefit of the tiny ruling elite against FARC.
"The mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately, by the grace of God."
Thomas Jefferson, July 4, 1826
Update: Mexico
This morning, Democracy Now! devoted most of it's show to the contested Mexican presidential elections. It's just like 2000 here with Obrador's opponent acting like the Republicans. That shouldn't be surprising since the Bush Party sent down some of their campaign professionals to help the opposition out. Dick Morris, now of Murdoch's Fox network, also pitched-in. They ran a smear and fear media campaign. Some of the TV spots showed Obrador's face transforming into that of Chavez or Castro.
The supposedly independent election commission announced that preliminary results indicated that the election was tipping towards Obrador's opponent before they had counted some 3 million votes. The corporate-owned Mexican and American media picked this up and has annointed Obrador's opponent the winner and is running a smear and fear campaign against Obrador. This is just what the Republicans did for Bush and against Gore in 2000.
The election commission has members from the other two major parties, but not Obrador's, and Fox met with the commisssion before the preliminary announcement was made.
However, Obrador's supporters on the Internet are helping to raise a grassroots movement in favor of Obrador. Demonstations are beginning to be oganized. For more, see:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/07/05/MNGT2JPD251....
"The mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately, by the grace of God."
Thomas Jefferson, July 4, 1826
You think Democrat ads
You think Democrat ads featuring Hugo Chavez will "reach out to the mainstream?" I strongly disagree. I think the only thing worse would be adds featuring Kim Jong II. Seriously, if any candidate showed any kind of attachment or relationship to Chavez, the republican spin machine would make sure that that candidate got the Willie Horton treatment for their association with the man. People on all sides of the political spectrum are a bit put off by this guy (I really don't know enough about him to formulate an opinion as to whether he's good or bad) and associating him with democratic candidates or the party would be a HUGE disaster. I can hear the spin now.. "Candidate X endorsed by American Hater Chavez." In one fell swoop this would enusre that 1) all the whacko right wing fundies would come out to vote and 2) independents and moderate republicans would vote for whoever the candidates opponent would be. Heck this might drive some democrats away as well.
The upcoming elections won't be won (at least not by us) using rhetoric and placards touting relationships with foreign leaders. What will really "reach out to the mainstream" is putting forth progressive policies and ideas on wages, healthcare, the economy, the stifling cost of a college education, the senseless death of our troops in Iraq, the Bushies constant hacking away of our rights, etc. The repugs have given us a litany of amunition to beat them into submission with. We just need people out there that have the brains to put this stuff out there for consideration and the fortitude to not back down in the face of the inevitable repugnican electoral hijinks we are all sure to see.
Really, comparing Chavez to
Really, comparing Chavez to Kim Jong iL is a bit of a stretch. Yes, Hugo "hates" the BA and its PNAC backers, but he has never stated a dislike for the USA or its people. He is not a communist, nor did he sieze power through violence.
Remember that it was the neocon RR Pat Robertson who called for the assassination of Chavez, and the "official" US response was to distance themselves from that nutcase.
I agree with Di that it would be ill-advised to align the Democratic Party, or any of its candidates, with Chavez simply because of the bad US press he has received. On the other hand, remember the old adage: The enemy of my enemy, is my friend.
Who has the power to do the most harm to the USA and its Constitution? Is it Chavez, or the PNAC-backed BA?
I wasn't really trying to
I wasn't really trying to compare Chavez to Kim Jong II. As I said I don't really know enough about Chavez to have an opinion on him. I just meant that the only thing that might get a worse reaction from people than alligning our party and candidates with Chavez would be doing so with KJ II. And the "America Hater" thing wasn't my view, just what I'm sure we'd see from some of the fundies if we did this. After all, the BA is America in their eyes. I guess my post could have been clearer on those points, so I apologize for the confusion.
As for your last question, that's an easy one. :) The BA and friends. Seriously, they've already put the constitution in the toilet and given it a big flush, but there's so much more damage to do. I'm sure they have big plans for the next two years. I keep waiting for W to suspend civil rights and declare himself King.
Chavez
Chavez was democratically elected and survived a US-backed coup and recall election (and US-backed assassination plot according to Chavez).
Maybe the reason Bush hates him so much is that Chavez set-up subsidized heating oil for the poor in Chicago and Boston, besides using the oil revenues to help the poor and not the ruling elite in his own country. Chavez was also ready to provide aid to the Gulf Coast victims of Karina before FEMA. Remember, Bush has said his base is multi-millionaires and billionaires, not the middle class and poor.
"The mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately, by the grace of God."
Thomas Jefferson, July 4, 1826
Yes, this would be very tricky indeed
Even though Chavez seems to be one of the few leaders spreading out the wealth in his country to benefit the poor (see
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/070606T.shtml ) still, to use his name as a campaign strategy would likely be political disaster in the USA since the media has been so widespread in their criticism of him. The sadly successful Rovian techniques of swiftboating many good democrat candidates is very frustrating. I think that more and more people are seeing through the BS from the current admin and their henchmen, and the most important work for success for future democratic candidates is to have correct tallies, i.e., stop voter machine fraud and suppression of democrat votes. I believe that the democrats have won many elections that haven't been counted that way -- and now the people interfering have extended that sleazy hand into Mexico. Luckily the perpetrators haven't been able to subvert the elections in Venezuela and a few other countries yet.