Progressives need to stand up for Venezuela!!!!

[BayCityProgressive]

The horror stories from that region keep on coming in! I think we need to get MoveOn.org involved in this and we need to educate peopel about our CIA trying to overthrow a democratically elected leader! We should all be writing letters to our local newspapers and such. This is a complete outrage to me. If anyone would like to start an online petition or write to congress ect. contact me at [e-mail]

[sistersofmercy]

1. I absolutely agree with you more attention should be focused on

this other criminal endeavor of the misadministration. I'll email later.

[FullCountNotRecount]

10. Like Condi said: "Just because he's democratically elected...

Doesn't mean he's legitimate." (Close as I remember).

Don't you love the Bush admin?

All Chavez wants to do is raise the amount oil companies pay in royalties to the gov so that he can get benefits to the poor.

[Dirk39]

2. There's an incredible good documentary about last years "coup"...

If there's any chance, to see this film in the USA, I would highly recommend it. I couldn't even believe that such a film was shown in one of our public channels.
Watch it, watch it, watch it!
Chavez:Inside the Coup
Many interesting links and information are there too.
There are so many lies told about Venezuela and so few people know the truth.
Fucking neoliberal fashists everywhere....
Hello from Germany,
Dirk

[Minstrel Boy]

40. scheduled to be rebroadcast in Canada next Sunday

on CBC Newsworld's domestic service, on the documentary series "The Passionate Eye." It's not to be missed.

[JasonBerry]

3. THANK YOU!!!

There would have been a time when you would have posted this and received nothing but positive encouragement about this issue. But, also, times are different at DU these days. So, expect the drumbeats of right-wing neocon drivel...or hopefully my warning will keep them from posting in this MUCH NEEDED thread.

Thanks for posting this as Venezuela is a battleground of not left/right but right and wrong. For the first time, the 80% who had no voice stood up to be counted and elected Hugo Chavez in a democratic election! Have you seen the new documentary on Chavez and the coup attempt? Absolutely awesome in its "inside the loop" view.

The CIA involvement there is obvious and flies in the face of the United States saying democracy is what's important. In fact, what's only important to the powers that be in Washington is democracy when it's good for global capital.

Great post! I agree about the MoveOn involvement. Good idea with that and I'll send my email as soon as I hit "post" here. Thanks again.

[Cat Atomic]

6. They've been itching to get into Venezuela for a long time

I remember an article in... what was it... I think it was the Christian Science Monitor, sometime around April/May. It quoted "US officials" (unnamed of course) accusing Venezuela of being a base for Al-Qaeda. I shit you not.

I'll see if I can find that article.

[sistersofmercy]

11. I saw that as well. It's unbelievable.

[Judi Lynn]

4. Right after a Venezuelan court ruled that the right-wing recall referendum

petition had been gathered illegally, there was an assassination attempt, reported by a D.U.'er here, and then the revelations start coming out that the Venezuelan REAL government knows there were U.S. plans to shoot down the plane bearing Chavez away during the coup. (You may recall that a TON of information has been written on U.S. involvement in this aspect of that coup already, without the information the plane was supposed to go down, had things gone according to plans.)

Here is DucTapeFatwa's thread from LBN:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=124484

DucTapeFatwa's thread on news they have evidence of CIA instructing coup leaders!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=124487

Anyone who took time to read LBN in the last few days also saw Chavez has been discussing US/Venezuelan relations in great seriousness, starting with his announcement Venezuela will not recognize the Iraq government representatives at OPEC, as they don't represent Iraq!

[JasonBerry]

5. This IS US Foreign Policy In Action

Covert where needed, overt when it will help give the leadership a boost in the polls - ala Iraq.

You are correct, the assassination attempt is there for all to see. If something were to happen to Chavez we would see a massive revolt in that country.

[sistersofmercy]

7. Yes, I've been following the story . it would seem the cruel oligarchy

which has controlled Venezuela for sometime is in bed with the CIA, the misadministration. Chavez is a President of the ppl.

[dani]

9. important stuff - kick...

...

:dem:

[xxqqqzme]

8. we should all email MoveOn

and suggest they get on this - ActForChange or TrueMajority R other good avenues.

[sistersofmercy]

12. Heads up! Latest Breaking has four on Venezuela!

[no name no slogan]

13. Venezuela Today == Chile 1973

And a *kick* too, for that matter.

The CIA is doing in Venezuela EXACTLY what it did in Chile 30 years ago. Want proof?

"Just because he's democratically elected doesn't mean he's legitimate."
-- Condi Rice, early 2000s.

"The issues are much too important for the Chilean voters to be left to decide for themselves."
"I don't see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its people."
-- Henry Kissinger, early 1970s.

The noeCons are TERRIFIED of Chavez, and so are their plutocratic fascist clients in South America. But the tide has turned, and there's no turning away from DEMOCRACY. It's breaking out all over South America: Brazil (Lula da Silva), Chile (Isabell Allende, Salvador's daughter), etc.

I am glad to see that progressive Democrats are taking up the cause of Chavez, which has been ignored or marginalized by the "party elite" for TOO LONG. WE the people need to speak up about this and make it clear that as Americans WE WILL NOT TOLERATE THIS ANY MORE.

(PS, go read Greg Palast's "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy". He has a whole chapter devoted to the media coverage of the "coup", and how the story was spun by the Venezuelan and US Media.)

[HawkerHurricane]

14. I have family in Venezuala

My lovely wife is from there.
I could tell you stories, from people living there.
But I won't.
Because the last time I did I got flamed so hard I was afraid of frying my computer.
My wife's family is solidly middle class professionals. College graduates, all work for a living. They are well off, but not truely wealthy. They include a surgeon, a medical laboritory biologist, a architech, a draftsman, a government geologist, a marine biologist. They voted for Chavez. They regret it.
They are convinced that Chavez is a tool of the Oligarchs; targeting the middle class for destruction, using the poor workers as his weapon in an effort to discredit socialism. Because the main enemy of the Oligarchy is not the workers; the workers cannot overthrown the Oligarchy. It is the middle, professional class.

Flame away.

[sistersofmercy]

17. It is my understanding the middle class is very small in...

Venezuela. I visited for three weeks about 5 years ago and the conditions for the poor working class were deplorable. Maids working 7 days a week with one weekend off a month for about 200 US dollars. In addition, mistreatment of servants being a common practice.

[HawkerHurricane]

18. Mistreatment of 'servants' is common

The 'Oligarcha' treat everyone who provides them 'service' poorly; as if they are so far beneath them as to be dirt. That includes medical people; my brother in law the surgeon HATES working on the wealthy for that...he'd rather work on a poor person. At least the poor person will pay on time. (Or I should say that the government run healthcare will pay on time; it's one of the few things he still likes about Chavez.)

[sistersofmercy]

20. I was refering to an account by my sister-in-law who was told by

an uppercrust Venezuelan that one must occasionally beat the help to keep them in line. IIRC, she was told this by a few ppl. Why do your family believe Chavez is in bed with the cruel oligarchy? I watched a report on world link tv which claimed clear evidence that representative of the misadminstration met with members of the oligarchy prior to the massive strike that took place against Chavez.

[HawkerHurricane]

22. That is their theory

Beating the help (and otherwise abusing it) seems to be standard for the Oligarcha.
My family says that Chavez is a plant, but doesn't sound like they mean it. My personal opinion is that Chavez is not 'with' the Oligarcha, but rather has targeted too broad a brush, hitting on the Oligarcha and the middle class professionals also.
The solution is a tightrope; to avoid both the extremism of Chavez and the return of the Oligarcha (or a Oil Company puppet) to power.

[FullCountNotRecount]

19. What rights is Chavez taking away?

Freedom of Speech, Assembly, Voting, Religion?

My understanding is he is trying to get better royalty deals from the oil companies.

Please teach me. I won't flame.

[HawkerHurricane]

21. Well...

All evidence to be considered anecdotal. I don't have links, I have stories told to me. So...

1. Freedom of speech: Say the wrong thing, get visited by a angry mob. My bro in law, the surgeon, complained about the quality of the medical help recieved from Cuba; privately to the administrator of the clinic. That afternoon, a crowd of people harrassed his wife and daughter; they were told to 'tell your husband to watch his mouth'.

2. Assembly: I have no story for that; so as far as I know it hasn't happened.

3. Voting: He's rewriting the constitution of Venezuala to allow himself to serve longer. He attempted to disband the congress when they wouldn't rubber stamp some of his proposals.

4. Religion: It's a Catholic country. My in laws are Catholic. No freedom of religion issues; you are free to be a Catholic and that's pretty much what everyone is.

[FullCountNotRecount]

24. Follow-up: How can Chavez rewrite the Constitution by himself?

How can Chavez rewrite the Constitution by himself?

I'm surprised to hear about the Cuban medical help. I heard that Medical training is the only thing Cuba is good at.

Doesn't he want to change the US-imposed treaty to raise the royalty slightly on oil companies doing business in the nation in order to give benefits to the poor who are being beat up by the upper class. Isn't that upsetting to the upper class and Bush's oil buddies? Bush can back out of oil treaties, why not Chavez?

[HawkerHurricane]

26. The constitution was NOT re written

He merely attempted it. He couldn't force it through congress.

As for the oil treaties/agreements, I and my relatives are all for rewriting them for the benefit of Venezuala. The issue with Chavez is how he's treating the middle, not the poor or the Oligarcha. He's painting the Oligarcha with such a broad brush, the successful professionals are being targeted as if they are part of the oppressive class.

[HawkerHurricane]

29. Correction

The constitution was rewritten, early in his term, after his party gained a majority in the assembly, to allow him multiple terms. The original law was that a president could not serve consecutive terms. They could serve non consecutive terms.

My wife say: you want to know what's going on in Venezuala? Go live there. Try to buy milk for your kids. Try getting your car back after the police seize it for 'illegal parking'. (the standard bribe is 20,000 bolivars). Try to get a policeman to show up for a crime report (standard bribe 40,000). What are Cuban soldiers doing patroling the streets, dressed as policeman. When the shipping union went on strike, and refused to allow the ships to sail on Lake Maricaibo, he brought in foriegners to break the union. Chavez is calling 'Oligarcha' anyone above the poverty line. My niece is Oligacha, because she have a university degree.

All this in anecdotal, you can either believe my (and my wife and her family) or not.

[FullCountNotRecount]

31. Republicans in USA wanted to change the law to help Reagan

Some Dems wanted to change the law for Clinton. I don't think you chose a very good example.

I'm living on 800 dollars a month right now (my rent is $690), so I understand trying to buy a gallon of milk.

We have extortionate parking regs here in Chicago, too. That doesn't make it right in either country.

We have American citizens whose rights have been taken away sitting in Guantanamo. Some think Bush is playing with the constitution.

[FullCountNotRecount]

32. I'm no fan of Castro...

But if he has soldiers for hire to help keep an illegal coup happening in Venezuela...I say that is Chavez's right to have his national and democratic security. Leaders need people around them they can trust not people who are going to overthrow things.

Mayor Daley has 140 relatives in our City government and some say that keeps things running pretty smooth here.

You need loyalty. What better way than Cuban soldiers who need the money?

How much is 20,000 in US$?

[HawkerHurricane]

35. How'd you feel

If the President of Liberia (Charles Taylor?) had 'requested' and gotten American soldiers to prop him up?

King George III used German mercenaries during the revolution. Was that right?

My relatives see the problem as being stuck between Chavez and the CIA. They aren't happy, and will bail out of the country if things get much worse.

[MrPrax]

36. HUH?

"If the President of Liberia (Charles Taylor?) had 'requested' and gotten American soldiers to prop him up?"

They have provided military support and assistance to Samuel Doe and Charles Taylor--in fact Taylor tried to overthrow Doe and had to flee to the US (Taylor had been there before at the school of the americas...taylor was held by the US waiting for extradition...
Taylor was allowed to escape.

"King George III used German mercenaries during the revolution. Was that right?"
um...England did...I thought the Hessians were contracted by the American revolutionaries.. infact part of the deal was land grants in Hudson Valley...the Hessians got ripped off and the new Revolutionary gov't didn't pay up...

And wouldn't Chavez ask Cuba for help?
Who would he go to Uribe?

[HawkerHurricane]

37. So, you think governments in trouble should hire mercs?

"Hey, we're worried about a coup, lets bring in some mercs who are only loyal to thier paycheck to keep us in power."

IF he truly had popular support, couldn't he get people from his own country (plenty of poor people hurting for money) to work for him? Why bring in mercenaries?

The Hessians were brought in by King George III, not the Continental Congress. Part of the payment was land grants, mostly to be siezed from the American Rebels. To pay off, of course, King George would have had to win. One of the items in the Declaration of Independence to justify seperation was 'the hiring of foriegn mercenaries'.

[HawkerHurricane]

34. About parking regs...

I wasn't talking about paying the fine. I was talking about bribing the police to get them to admit they have your car, telling you where it is, and THEN going to pay the fine (if any).

It sounds like you're saying that it's wrong for a right winger to manipulate the constitution of his country, but ok for a left winger. But I'm sure that's not what you meant.

[FullCountNotRecount]

30. Couldn't "force" something through Congress?

What does that mean? Threats?

You keep saying "how people are treated". Give me specifics of how he treats them badly?

You keep using the words like "targeted", "painted", and "forced." I need to see some unfair legislation or taxation to understand.

More specifics please.

My Mayor Daley treats the poor like shit. But he got elected with 70% of the vote. We are not trying to oust him. We will take him on in the next election if we can still afford to live in Chicago at that time.

[HawkerHurricane]

38. More examples

As I said, all examples are from inlaws in the country, translated my my wife. Therefore, no links, newspaper articles, or others.

My Brother in law, the geoligist, worked for the government in the Iron industry. He was fired for 'incorrect statements'. When he got a job in the private sector, a crowd harrassed him at his workplace for 'being against the government'.

The surgeon has had his family harrassed more than once, especially over the issue of Cuban doctors working under him at the government owned clinic. (He works at the clinic 4 days a week, private practice 2 days). He says thier skills are substandard, but when he put in a official complaint about one, he had his tires slashed, complete with note saying why.
Reason he complained about doctor: young boy (8 years) came in with crushed hand. My bro in law evaluated, decided that it could be repaired, assigned the Cuban M.D. to treat him...and the Cuban amputated the hand, saying it couldn't be fixed. Didn't ask for help, didn't say 'are you sure it can be saved', just cut it off. Not the only incident, but the only one he's reported, for fear of getting worse. He'd quit the clinic, but then all the cases would be handled by the Cuban or interns...he's considering dumping his private practice to work more at the clinic, even though it would cut his pay. Anything to keep the idiot from amputating more limbs.

Now, I'm not going to say that President Chavez treats the poor badly. But what he's doing is not going to help them; he going to drive the professionals out of the country if he keeps it up.

As I said, trapped between Chavez and the CIA...neither option is going to help.

[blindpig]

43. if venezeula is anything like peru.........

then the middle class/professional class is effectivly part of the ruling class. dress the same, shop in the same mall, same schools, hardly a discernable difference unless you could examine their assets. looks as though the ole USA doesn't have a monoply on the myth of the middle class. not to disparge your inlaws, most americans have bought into this tool of social control.
but then again, i'm only a prole......

[HawkerHurricane]

45. Whelp...

My Bro in Law, the Surgeon, was amazed at how much money I made, since I am only a middle grade enlisted military man...I'm making more than he is.
So, are my inlaws part of the Oligarcha without knowing it? Or part of the Peons and being harrasseds as if they are Oligarcha?

[Judi Lynn]

15. Kicking your thread, BayCitProgressive

:kick:

[lancemurdoch]

16. When the coup happened...

When the coup happened I went to the NYC Venezuelan consulate with a sign that said "Stop the coup - restore democracy in Venezuela". I got there at 5:30PM after work and there were 3-4 upper middle class right-wing Latinos there...most of them not Venezuelan. Then about 15 more came, about 3 of them Venezuelan, the rest Colombian or Cuban or whatnot. Then Telemundo came and videotaped them, as if there was only happiness that this happened, they blocked out the fact that I was there. One interesting thing about this is I reacted spontaneously and was the only person againsit it there because the coup had just happened, they got a bunch of people there and even television coverage, it was like it was planned. They also brought a video camera and took footage of me. It was like they knew there was going to be a coup that day, the guy who seemed to be running it probably had contacts down there. Because there was a rally in support of the government afterward (which I missed), but it had to be planned out - these people had a crowd and television coverage because the coup had to look "legitimate", so it was important to go to all of that trouble so the sort of people who watch Spanish television would not develop their own ideas. It was kind of spooky to be there and see what was happening, realize they (the leaders anyway) had to have foreknowledge, and then watch the sanitized thing go out on TV, with the fact that someone like myself who managed to get there without the warning and preparation, was neatly left out of existence, the coup was just a joyous celebration. If someone else would have showed up supporting it I might have written GOLPE in big letters on the back of my sign and given an alternative viewpoint to the viewers, I didn't feel emboldened though faced with dozens of people who didn't want me there though, especially being alone (which was part of their design). I didn't go to the consulate expecting this, I thought I'd be out there alone, just there to make a point. Thankfully, the people of Venezuela took their government back by going out on the streets.

My spanish is not that great but I know right wing ex-Cubans own a lot of the Spanish language TV stations and portray everything happening in Latin America with a very right wing slant that would make Fox blush.

I know there was an effort for a Venezuela Solidarity group, that had some success in San Francisco, and some in New York. And I ran into some of them recently. I should get engaged regarding it again to make sure that someone locally is on top of it.

[Judi Lynn]

23. Excellent information, lancemurdoch!

For anyone who didn't know, the owner of the tv station you discussed is Gustavo Cisneros, I believe. He's a personal friend of George H. W. Bush, who spent a couple of weeks with him and one of the Cuban sugar-baron "exiles" at one of his properties in the Domican Republic.

For people who haven't read about Gustavo Cisneros, this N. Y. Times article bears a lot of info. worth reading:

(snip) He draws much of his influence from his company's media properties.
The Cisneros Group has the widest reach of any broadcaster in South
America, and Cisneros-owned companies like Venevision produce and
distribute more than 19,000 hours of programs in Spanish and
Portuguese each year to 40 million households in 21 countries on
three continents. It is the largest shareholder in Univision, a
Spanish-language network that owns 18 stations in the United States
-- six in California, five in Texas and others in New York, Florida,
Pennsylvania, Illinois, Arizona and Connecticut. (snip)

(snip) When it became apparent in 1998 that Mr. Chavez, a populist
politicianwho led a coup attempt as an army colonel in 1992, would be
elected president, Mr. Cisneros and other influential businessmen in
Venezuela supported him and sought to influence him. For years,
members of Venezuela's elite have supported politicians of a variety
of stripes to try to retain their influence in the economy, said
Miguel R. Tinker Salas, a Venezuelan who directs the Latin American
studies program at Pomona College in Claremont, Calif.

Their support for Mr. Chavez eroded, however, after the president
madeclear that he planned to pursue fundamental changes in Venezuela
to try to redistribute wealth in the country, where 80 percent of the
population lives in poverty. Mr. Chavez's speeches often had
references to "squalid oligarchs" bent on preserving their
upper-class privileges. (snip)

(snip) As Mr. Chavez broadened his efforts to take greater control of the
Venezuelan economy in recent years, Mr. Cisneros's luxurious villa in
Caracas became a meeting point for people interested in discussing
political alternatives, according to Juan Carlos Zapata, managing
editor of Tal Cual, a newspaper.

"The entire counterrevolution could be found at his home at certain
moments," said Mr. Zapata, who has written several books about
Venezuela's business elite. (snip)

~~~~ link ~~~~

[FullCountNotRecount]

25. If Chavez is being antidemocratic or hurting American Corp. Profits?

That's the question.

[Isome]

33. I can vouch for the righwing bias of some Cubans

One only needs look as far as Ileana Ros-Lethian and Mario and Lincoln Diaz-Balart (don't know if they're related), both Republicans from Miami. They're as rightwing as you can get. Not to get too far off topic, but to validate your observations in NYC... I suspect that many Cubans who fled the country after Batista was overthrown still hold his politics sacred. They believe that business (making money) is everything; poor people are just the tools to facilitate the process of further enriching the rich.

Here's an excerpt from an article that provides critical background information that you won't get from mainstream media. (Click here read the whole article. Scroll down to Don’t Go Near the Basement, Senor.)

Big Oil was plenty mad at Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez; quite enough reason for the White House to want him out of office. ...The U.S. did not believe that Chavez, elected by a landslide in 1999 on the strength of Venezuela’s poor and non-white majority, could be counted on to repeat the favor if Arab anger at U.S. support for Israel leads to another shutoff. Chavez had to go.

...When gunfire broke out at demonstrations organized by big business, the President was arrested and taken to an island prison, where he expected to be killed. ...

...Meanwhile, the poor swarmed out of the barrios, or “ranchos.” Chavez’s supporters suffered scores of casualties at the hands of the oligarch-controlled Caracas police but succeeded in surrounding the Presidential Palace.

Carmona heard the roars and chants of the mostly mestizo, mulatto and black crowd, by now numbering several hundred thousand. He knew he was trapped. ....

I encourage anyone interested to read the article. It's from the perspective of people who have been in the business of social commentary for decades, and regularly communicate with those who have firsthand knowledge of the situation. You can always look for additional information to measure its veracity.

I saw the Faux News report by Geraldo Rivera, who went to Venezuala. The pro-Chavez supporters were all black & brown-skinned people. The anti-Chavez supporters all looked decidedly non-black.

Geraldo's outrageously slanted interview style of the pro-Chavez spokesperson made me want to scream. He'd ask a question in Spanish, repeat it in English, and when relaying the answer to the English speaking audience, he'd inaccurately rephrase the answer, or use mocking tones, or mutter "yeah yeah". As usual, we're not getting the full picture from our award-winning American journalists.

[lostnfound]

27. What would Chavez be like WITHOUT the U.S. pressure cooker?

And the worst thing is, what will he be replaced by if he is overthrown? Most likely, a Pinochet look-alike. The poor masses have had a taste of democracy. A significant percentage will keep fighting, and Uncle Sam will be right there ready to help the new dictator suppress them through fear and torture.

What would Chavez be like WITHOUT the U.S. pressure cooker? He's already got an impossible task. Democracy gets ugly when 80% are poor -- rising expectations, dangerous to the wealthy, frightening and uncomfortable for the middle class. I despise the policy of suppressing it, but intellectually I understand the motivation.

When I read about Venezuela during the oil strikes last year, I mentioned to a friend of mine "We learn about the ideals of democracy and capitalism in school, but no one ever discusses which one should triumph when they are in conflict with each other." My friend looked stunned and said, "but that could never happen!!"

Oh but it does happen, in places where the poor masses are controlled by a handful of elite property-owners. Then you start getting into infinitely messy questions of who should have rights to the land, the resources, the oil..

[DrBlix]

28. CIA Planning To Kill Chavez

Chavez said NO to the World Bank/IMF refused to sell his people down the river and said he didn't need them or a loan. Chavez in effect signed his own death warrant. Big oil interests want to prevent Chavez from raising royalties.
.
There are very few elite in Venezuela with the vast majority being poor, the same majority that overwhelmingly voted to elect Chavez a man for the people. They toss words around "commie" is one, not true.
.
The very powerful "oil" card that Chavez has and wants to play is the very thing that will be his downfall. And he will go down. It doesn't pay to fool around with mother nature and it doesn't pay to try and fool around with oil power and profits.
.
But in all of this there will be a heavy price to pay not only for Chavez but by the WB/IMF/Bushinc.
.
NAFTA is in trouble in the Americas and now expantion of FTAA Free Trade Agreements Americas, there is much dissent about FTAA the Americas are not falling in line as they should.
.
Knock off Chavez and you will see such an uprising in the Americas the Globalists" WB/IMF/Bushinc. may never get it back in control. As it sits the going is tough.
.
Viva Chavez! This will be heard throughout latin America.
====
Like Condi said: "Just because he's democratically elected... Doesn't
mean he's legitimate."
All Chavez wants to do is raise the amount oil companies pay in royalties to the gov so that he can get benefits to the poor.

[9215]

39. Kick

[Isome]

41. Kick? ...good idea!

...

[SeattleRob]

42. for excellent information on what's really going on

I would suggest checking out the excellent website:

www.narconews.com

They have very good information about the coup and the anti-democratic reporting by American news organization.

Also check out www.gregpalast.com for more stories about Venezuela and the US Backed coup attempts

[Isome]

44. This is too important...

It's a perfect example of the worst of U.S. foreign policy (meddling) that engenders anti-American sentiment. It also shows a ruthless disregard for the will of the people of Venezuela, and how hypocritical our nation seems when it espouses the wonders of democracy as it actively seeks to overthrow yet another democratically-elected leader.

Though 'candidate fever' has swept through DU, this an important issue that we must consider when selecting our nominee for president.