Robert's Stochastic thoughts

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Broad Tent

The Democratic party has a long history of extreme ideological diversity. Recently Democrats seem to have reached some agreement on some basic principles such as, for example, democracy.

Now leading Democratic Party strategist, spokesman and lobbyist Lanny Davis reopens that debate by lobbying in support of the Honduran Coup claiming overthrow of an elected president by the military was about "the rule of law."

Ah brings me back to my childhood (actually teen age and young adult memories of learning what the hell my country did when I was a child). Lyndon Johnson (who according to some at least one lefty loony brought universal suffrage to the USA in 1965) approved of the Brazilian coup and sent the US army to assist the military dictatorship in the Dominican Republic against an attempted counter coup.

I am tempted to suggest that the Democratic National Committee expell Mr Davis from the party for ideological error and that we then give Mr Davis his own party -- lets call it the Democrat party just to bug the wingnuts, but I remember the words of the founder of the Democratic party who argued that we should allow all speech even arguments against our republican form of government, since truth need not fear error.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...: http://www.democracynow.org/2009/7/15/honduras

July 15, 2009

US Lobbyists with Clinton Ties Hired to Defend Honduran Coup Regime
By Amy Goodman

AMY GOODMAN: Let me turn now to Lanny Davis. We tried to get him on the show; we couldn’t. But he did testify last week before a House subcommittee on behalf of the Honduran chapter of the Business Council of Latin America, an organization that supported the coup in Honduras. This is part of what Lanny Davis said.

"My clients believe that, looking back with the wisdom of hindsight, it could have been done differently that night that the army decided to whisk him out of the country. And I’m not afraid to say that, with the wisdom of hindsight, it probably should have been done differently. As long as those of you—and I know Congressman Delahunt * shares that view—are also willing to share the distaste for a president that regarded himself as above the law—in every institution in Honduran society, from the Church to civil organizations, to business organizations, to the Liberal Party, to the National Party, to the Supreme Court and the Congress, every institution found this president as putting himself above the law—if those facts are stated by my friends on the Democratic side, where I am affiliated, and my friends on the Republican side, we can then look forward, as President Obama and Secretary Clinton want us to do, and not argue about past history. Whatever the solution—it cannot be imposed by the OAS, ** the United States, by my friends who are Democrats and my friends who are Republicans—it has to be a Honduran solution."

AMY GOODMAN: That is an excerpt of Lanny Davis, former White House counsel for President Clinton, now lobbying for the business group in Honduras that’s supporting the coup.

* Bill Delahunt, Massachusetts Democrat, Chairman of the Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight

** Organization of American States; 7:45 PM
Anonymous said...: http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/07/innocence-of-american-foreign-policy.html

July 13, 2009

Innocence of American Foreign Policy

"Meanwhile, Mr. Micheletti * has embarked on a public relations offensive, with his supporters hiring high-profile lawyers with strong Washington connections to lobby against such sanctions. One powerful Latin American business council hired Lanny J. Davis, who has served as President Clinton’s personal lawyer and who campaigned for Mrs. Clinton for president. And last week, Mr. Micheletti brought the adviser from another firm with Clinton ties to the talks in Costa Rica. The adviser, Bennett Ratcliff of San Diego, refused to give details about his role at the talks. 'Every proposal that Micheletti’s group presented was written or approved by the American,' said another official close to the talks, referring to Mr. Ratcliff." *

* Roberto Micheletti, the appointed President representing the leaders of the military coup in Honduras.

** http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/13/world/americas/13honduras.html

-- As'ad AbuKhalil; 7:46 PM
Anonymous said...: The balance of political influence has dramatically changed in Washington, and as the perspective change was found in the way in which the unprovoked and merciless Georgia invasion of Ossetia in August 2008 almost immediately became for Democratic foreign policy advisers the deception of a Russian invasion of Georgia, now a military coup in Honduras has quickly become for Democratic advisers the fault of a President "putting himself above the law."

So a military coup in Latin America has already been successful in an Obama Presidency a critical foreign policy theme of which is the importance of fostering democracy.; 7:47 PM
Anonymous said...: http://www.democracynow.org/2009/7/15/honduras

July 15, 2009

US Lobbyists with Clinton Ties Hired to Defend Honduran Coup Regime
By Amy Goodman

AMY GOODMAN: Dr. Juan Almendares, * you ran against President Zelaya. You lost, he won. But you’re supporting President Zelaya, his right to return. Can you talk about what you heard Lanny Davis just saying, testifying in Congress, and what is happening now in Honduras? You’re just in Washington for a day.

DR. JUAN ALMENDARES: Yes, it’s a great honor to be on Democracy Now! We want democracy now in Honduras.

I think Mr. Davis, I don’t know him, but it’s an inhuman statement of Mr. Davis. He is lying. And the most important thing is they don’t consider the human situation in Honduras. We have an extremely repressive regime, and also we have the involvement of multinational companies in this action, maquila. We have involvement of Goldcorp from Canada. They are paying people. And also, we believe that they have to see the facts, the human facts. I am a medical doctor. I have seen the wounded people, the terrorized, terrified people in Honduras.

And right now, an attorney, Harry Dixon Herrera, who was talking in the media here, during his talk, his family were assaulted by police. They used machine guns. They psychologically tortured the mother and put in jail his brother. And also, we have the fact of killing two leaders of the popular movement very recently, Companero Bados and Ramon Garcia, who were killed by this same repressive regime. We have a new national security doctrine in Honduras.

What I want to tell Mr. Davis, is he in favor of the torturers, the perpetrators, the people who are really a terrible image in the history of humanity? That’s the question. And that’s the reason we want that the State Department, President Obama, President of Costa Rica, they have to denounce the killing the people, the detain, the abuse of the people, the psychological warfare they are doing in Honduras. So that’s the facts.

I think the American people has to know that we are suffering. And in spite of that, we have a strong people. And also there is a lie that Zelaya has no support. We are not only struggling for Zelaya. We are struggling also for Zelaya’s legitimacy, but also for the rights, the human rights of the people. And I understand that these people, American people, I always have a gratitude with them, because with this solidarity they have, and I am a survivor of the torture.

* Dr. Juan Almendares in Washington, Honduran medical doctor, award-winning human rights activist.; 7:48 PM
Anonymous said...: Enough of the justifying rubbish, Obama and Clinton care nothing at all about the military coup in Honduras, and as with Gaza and the like Democrats have already turned away. Obama can return to preach about democracy in Africa, Honduras is too much to preach about.; 7:52 PM
Anonymous said...: Enough about Democrats of conscience already:

The refrain of needing to war in and occupy Afghanistan for the sake of women is especially offensive to me, but there was liberal Howard Dean who I briefly found yesterday explaining that we needed to war in and occupy Afghanistan for the sake of women. Before that there was Nicolas Sarkozy arguing just that for the sake of France. There has however long been Ms. Magazine, willing to take on Afghan women who would argue otherwise, who would argue against war and occupation.

http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/07/colonial-feminism.html

July 18, 2009

Colonial Feminism

"Afghanistan is in deplorable condition. There's no disputing that." * No, there is no disputing that. In fact, Afghanistan's conditions became more deplorable due to the lousy colonialist role played by the Feminist Majority and other colonial feminist organizations which believe that war and occupation are the best way to liberate "their women."

* http://www.alternet.org/story/141345/why_is_the_feminist_majority_foundation_refusing_to_abandon_the_women_and_girls_of_afghanistan/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=alternet

-- As'ad AbuKhalil; 7:56 PM