Bush Warns Latin Americans Against a Drift Back to Authoritarian Rule

[NNN0LHI]

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGB4WPQVPFE.html

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) - President Bush didn't name names Sunday when he called on Latin Americans to boldly defend strong democratic institutions and reject any drift back to the days of authoritarian rule.

But his remarks were a clear jab at Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. The leftist leader and friend of Cuba's Fidel Castro spent the past two days hurling criticism at the United States at the Summit of the Americas in Argentina.

Eyeing three upcoming presidential elections in Latin America, Bush said citizens must choose "between two competing visions" for their future.

One, he said, pursues representative government, integration into the world community and freedom's transformative power for individuals.

Hey Chimpy you war criminal. SHUT UP!

[MuseRider]

1. If he wasn't destroying

everything in his path this man would simply be just a joke.

He is a dangerous man who does not even know himself.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. But he's dragged us INTO authoritarian rule.

Frankly, I'll swap Venezuela for Chavez; maybe we could get a real democracy going again.

[murray hill farm]

3. i just cannot wait...it will be sooooooooo good!

Chavez will respond...and it will be funny...and it will be just soooooooooooo fun to hear..ha!

[tularetom]

4. I'm against authoritarian rule

unless of course I'm the authoritarian, hee hee.

[PDittie]

5. I would SO like to see

Chavez beat the crap outta * in a fistfight.

[JJackFlash]

13. I'll second that

Chavez would get my vote, too.

[Inland]

6. Another ring a ding on the Irony Meter.

Please, George, do democracy, representative government and the world community a favor and come out explicitly against them.

[Spinzonner]

7. Irony Alert

(Klaxon sounding)

[LiberalPersona]

8. "Do as I say, not as I do." n/t

[Lena inRI]

14. Obviously, . . .

Bushie doesn't know the meaning of "authoritarian rule". . .probably thinks it's rule by authors.

:eyes:

[Cha]

9. "AUTHORITARIAN RULE"??

Who the hell writes bush's jokes?

[cantstandbush]

10. But did you hear what the Argentinian President said about Bush and the

west?

[Union Thug]

11. That's rich. Bush obviously doesn't look in the mirror much

[Garbo 2004]

12. Oh bushie, you mean the kind of country where a citizen's civil rights

can be declared inoperative on the flimsiest of evidence, indeed with no evidence at all that a crime was committed, denied due process and incarcerated for years without charge? A country where the gov't spies on its own citizens without substantive oversight or even probable cause?

Oh you mean, "Do as I say not as I do," Mr. Bush? Gotcha.

[marmar]

15. How do you say hypocrite in Portuguese?

He's got a lot of fucking nerve. They were just laughing at him earlier, now they're probably saying, "Get the hell out of here, you jackass. Don't go away mad, just go away."

:grr:

[quiet.american]

16. Gee....

Something tells me they don't give a shite about what El Busho has to say.

[Seansky]

17. It's just unbelievable that after * and his cronies are being exposed as

extremist, anti-democracy ruler(from election scandals to torture to spying on citizens and attacking them if they dissent) they don't realize that any rhetoric on democracy coming out of their mouths will just TOTALLY backfire.

It is like if they believe that as long as they keep rowing, the boat won't sink, even though it has a big hole in the middle.

[GRLMGC]

18. Motherfucker

Let's see. How much do you wanna bet that Bush subscribes to the same ideology that many people in positions of power in the U.S. backed these authoritarian regimes because they were friendly to the U.S? And the fact that Chimpy is thisclose to being a dictator has been lost on me.

[bobbieinok]

19. remember Rice's antiChavez comments after US backed coup attempt

I remember being stunned when I read her comments, found here


http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/05.01B.Rice.Coup.htm

....

Just because Chavez was elected doesn't mean he exhibited democratic values, Rice said. "We cannot fall into that trap," she said.

....

She said she hoped the coup experience would lead Chavez "to recognize the importance of democratic values for real -- not just claiming that, because you're elected, you are exercising democratic values."

more....

JUST BECAUSE W WAS ELECTED DOESN'T MEAN HE EXHIBITED DEMOCRATIC VALUES...WE CANNOT FALL INTO THAT TRAP

[damntexdem]

20. Oh, if it happens, it won't result from a drift:

it will be imposed by the U.S.