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Friday, March 06, 2009
Hugo Chavez to Obama: “Imagine a socialist revolution in the U.S. Nothing is impossible.”
Matt Drudge is having fun with his headlines. "Chavez calls on Obama to follow path of socialism":
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Friday called upon US President Barack Obama to follow the path to socialism, which he termed as the "only" way out of the global recession. "Come with us, align yourself, come with us on the road to socialism. This is the only path. Imagine a socialist revolution in the United States," Chavez told a group of workers in the southern Venezuelan state of Bolivar.
The controversial Venezuelan leader, who taunted the United States as a source of capitalistic evil under former president George W Bush, added that the United States needs a leader who can take it to a "higher" destiny and bring it out of "the sad role that it has been given, as a murderous, attacking power that is hated all around the world."
Chavez said that people are calling Obama a "socialist" for the measures of state intervention he is taking to counter the crisis, so it would not be too far-fetched to suggest that he might join the project of "21st century socialism" that the Venezuelan leader is heading.
"Nothing is impossible. Who would have thought in the 1980s that the Soviet Union would disappear? No one," he said.
Chavez's message to Obama follows hot on the heels of his elimination of term limits, compilation of a list of opposition journalists and expropriation of a rice-processing plant from the American company Cargill Inc.
Posted by Kalim Kassam on March 6, 2009 | Permalink
Comments
PSALM 2008-2012
Obama is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He leadeth me beside the still factories.
He restoreth my faith in the republican party
He guideth me in the path of unemployment.
Yea, though I walk thru the valley of the bread line, I shall not go hungry.
Obama has anointed my income with taxes.
My expenses runneth over my income.
Surely, poverty and hard living will follow me all the days of his term
From hence forth we will live all the days of our lives in a rented home with an overseas landlord.
But I am glad I am an American, I am glad that I am free. But I wish I was a dog and Obama was a tree.
Posted by: The Stig | 2009-03-06 8:42:10 PM
But I am glad I am an American, I am glad that I am free. But I wish I was a dog and Obama was a tree.
Posted by: The Stig | 2009-03-06 8:42:10 PM
You had somebody write that last part for you didn't you?
I mean after all Obama is a ststist...and you are a statist...so I don't see the conflict between the two of you.
Posted by: JC | 2009-03-06 10:00:24 PM
American values are not compatible with socialism. Socialism requires a collectivist mindset in order to function, which is why it finds fertile ground in agrarian societies or those with large, powerful labour movements. Americans are individualist in nature (many in the world believe too much so for their own good). The strength of America has always been in its belief in the power and uniqueness of the individual and that competition breeds excellence. In a socialist system, people are cogs, tools for remote management, a question of arithmetic, and are considered inert.
Posted by: Shane Matthews | 2009-03-07 12:01:58 PM
Chavez has no sense of irony - his people can't even eat and he thinks he has wisdom to impart on a 200 year old Republic.
Obama is probably thinking "I'm way ahead of you Chavez".
Posted by: Faramir | 2009-03-08 11:43:36 AM
I think that both of these heads of state are pathological narcissists. The main difference is that one heads up a basket-case kleptocracy and the other a constitutional republic which has morphed into a welfare state and requires more hollowing-out to complete the job. Obama is certainly up to the task. The only question is how much damage he can do before, or whether or not enough of the population awakens to resist or (politically or otherwise) revolt.
Posted by: John Chittick | 2009-03-08 1:29:43 PM
Venezuela is the model economy the whole world looks to and says "Wow now THAT'S how you meet people's need!"
Posted by: Pete | 2009-03-08 4:02:01 PM
The Obama presidency will be a major test for the Democrats. Most of the party has acted like socialists over the last 70 years. However, they have denied the label because they know that the word socialist is viewed negatively here. Instead, they incorrectly used the term liberal and dragged that word through the mud. Now, is the Democrats chance to show their true colors. If they are not socialists, then the Democrats should have no problem voting against his agenda. Otherwise, it will show them for the socialists they are! I am beginning to think that the Obama period might end up seriously damaging the Democrats! It might show people that the best polled part of the Democrat policies(their health, education, environmental, and income redistribution) are all totally unrealistic. Also, his failure might finally end political correctness and affirmative action. People will begin to vote based on who the person is and what his values are. They will turn away from voting for someone just because of color(White liberal guilt- I vote for a black guy regardless because that will show I'm not racist). They vote for the black man when he is the best candidate. They will vote for the Hispanic woman when she is the best. Finally, they will even vote for the old white guy if he is the best candidate. That is real colorblindness!
Posted by: David | 2009-03-09 4:40:01 PM
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