History Professor Gingrich Falsely Claims U.S. Presidents Don’t ‘Smile And Greet’ Russian Leaders
History Professor Gingrich Falsely Claims U.S. Presidents Don’t ‘Smile And Greet’ Russian Leaders
Yesterday, President Obama shook hands and briefly chatted with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, explaining in a press conference afterwards that he was trying to move towards a “more constructive” relationship with the South American country.
The right wing has responded with outrage to Obama’s meeting with Chavez, claiming face-to-face talks with a dictator show that Obama is projecting weakness. On NBC this morning, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Obama “bows to the Saudi King and is friends with Venezuela” and claimed the President showed “shallowness” in talking with Chavez. Gingrich then claimed that U.S. presidents do not “smile and greet” with Russian leaders:
Q: But do you think he should not be trying to mend relationships with other world leaders?
GINGRICH: How do you mend relationships with somebody who hates your country, who actively calls for the destruction of your country and who wants to undermine you?
Q: But we certainly have mended relationships with countries that have hated us in the past. Russia comes to mind, China comes to mind.
GINGRICH: But we didn’t rush over, smile, and greet Russian dictators. We understood who they were.
Watch it:
Dr. Gingrich, who has a Ph.D. in European history, should re-read his history books. As the Cold War waned, President Reagan (whose foreign policy Gingrich repeatedly praises) met with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at four summits, leading to nuclear arms reductions. President George H. W. Bush negotiated the Start II treaty alongside Russian President Boris Yeltsin, and President Clinton discussed foreign investment with Yeltsin. President Bush, of course, said he saw into Vladimir Putin’s soul after a private engagement. Each meeting had smiles all around:
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Newton Leroy Gingrich perfectly articulates why President Obama should cease and desist all efforts at working with the GOP in a bi-partisan effort:
GINGRICH: How do you mend relationships with somebody who hates your country, who actively calls for the destruction of your country and who wants to undermine you?
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
-G
April 20th, 2009 at 4:47 pmGINGRICH
April 20th, 2009 at 4:48 pmHe has Phd in B.S.
What an idiot! Like Venezuela is a bigger threat than Russia or China armed with millions of nukes? Our GOP presidents had no problem smiling at those guys.
April 20th, 2009 at 4:51 pmSHOCKING – Gingrich has a PhD in Dummy-nomics!
April 20th, 2009 at 4:51 pmHow do you mend relationships with GINGRICH, who hates your country, who actively calls for the destruction of your country and who wants to undermine you?
April 20th, 2009 at 4:51 pmWhat do you expect from a creep who would go into the recovery room after his wife’s cancer surgery to have her sign divorce papers!
April 20th, 2009 at 4:52 pmGINGRICH: How do you mend relationships with somebody who hates your country, who actively calls for the destruction of your country and who wants to undermine you?
When exactly did Obama meet with Limbaugh , Newt ?
April 20th, 2009 at 4:56 pmThis retard is stuck in the 60’s. What a F****** moron
April 20th, 2009 at 4:56 pmAs I said elsewhere: If a right-winger rants in the forest and no one hears him, does he still sound like a fool? Gingrich will spout anything, anytime, anywhere to get his mug in the news. As he suggested to Bill Clinton after his successful Contract on America, “You’re irrelevent!”
April 20th, 2009 at 4:57 pmLong version: Newt has convenient amnesia.
April 20th, 2009 at 4:57 pmShort version: IOKIYAR. SS,DD.
To wingnuts “history” is a relative thing — it’s whatever they say it is.
We’ve heard similar manure from other “conservatives” to whom the very notion of diplomacy is anathema. I mean, seriously, if you can’t negotiate with your enemies, who the hell are you going to negotiate with?
April 20th, 2009 at 4:59 pmGINGRICH: How do you mend relationships with somebody who hates your country, who actively calls for the destruction of your country and who wants to undermine you?
Q: But we certainly have mended relationships with countries that have hated us in the past. Russia comes to mind, China comes to mind.
pwnd?
April 20th, 2009 at 5:02 pmSo our president is supposed to greet some world leaders with a scowl on his face and a chip on his shoulder? No. I prefer adult leadership.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:04 pmIf we had journalists instead of stenographers reporting the news, they would call out Gingrich on his lies and distortions — or, if they feel a need to be polite, they could “refresh’ his memory.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:05 pmMSNBC,
Why does Newt Gingrich’s opinion matter? If you’ve been paying any attention to politics, you know that this man talks out his butt all the time. He deliberately tries to go as over the top as he thinks he can get away with, and he does it because he does get away with it. And then you invite him back.
Here’s a tip for you, MSNBC. Practice Journalism for a change. Journalism does not require that you hear from both sides of a debate and give them both equal weight. Journalism requires you to report the truth. And quite often, especially when people like Newt Gingrich talk, one side is spewing lies.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:06 pmThe only people dumber than Newtie are the idoits that take him seriously. I’m looking at you proud…
April 20th, 2009 at 5:07 pmDoesn’t this POS have a wife to cheat on?
Fcuk the Republicans
April 20th, 2009 at 5:08 pmOld school republican?
April 20th, 2009 at 5:08 pmI think I said it before on a different thread that the conservatives are absolutely laughable in their desperation to whip up some outrage among anybody but the kool-aid drinkers.
This isn’t as silly as the Savage lawsuit, but it shows pretty much the same level of ignorance.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:08 pmWhy is this moron even on T.V? Nobody wants to hear his dumba$$ opinion except for fox news viewers. Keep all the retards on one channel please.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:09 pmwiley Says
April 20th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
So our president is supposed to greet some world leaders with a scowl on his face and a chip on his shoulder?
____________________________________________________________
No, I think our wingnuts want our president to greet certain world leaders with an M-16 pointed squarely at them at all times. Preferably wearing camos. Oh, and a scowl.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:12 pmJust what would repugs, including newt, have Obama do? Turn his back?
Continue the juvenile antagonistic belligerency of Bush? (That was helpful wasn’t it?)
The RIGHT thing to do is to be polite and extend courtesy; expecting the same in return. That is the adult response.
An organization to which I belong had a former leader who took all meetings with potential adversaries as hostile — and he fulfilled his prophecy.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:12 pmI am in charge now and choose a different approach; so far, meeting with potential adversaries has resulted in better cooperation and smoother relations.
Newt lives in terror of Russian leaders after witnessing Nikita Khrushchev banging his shoe on the podium at the United Nations.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:13 pmIt reminded him of his Sunday school teacher.
Hey RealityCheck:
April 20th, 2009 at 5:13 pmWhat do you think is the Newt anti-American?
dbadass Says:
Hey RealityCheck:
What do you think is the Newt anti-American?
I think RealityCheckedOut.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:15 pmHe’s checking his mail…
April 20th, 2009 at 5:16 pmHistory Professor Gingrich Falsely Claims U.S. Presidents Don’t ‘Smile And Greet’ Russian Leaders
What do they do, throw their shoes at them?
April 20th, 2009 at 5:16 pmReason # 455 why Newt Gingrich is a flippin’ idiot.
BTW, the last picture on the bottom right of Gerald Ford with Leonid Brezhnev is hot…Brezhnev is straight pimpin’ with his cigarette and fur coat…now that’s style!
:]
April 20th, 2009 at 5:20 pmNewt is a shameless political huckster who has made a living for two decades on the P.T. Barnum principle that you can fool all of the people all of the time. His success in manipulating that gullible segment is mitigated only by his vanity and enormous ego which compel him to bend in whatever direction his delusional mind believes the wind may blow him into the White House. I am convinced that if Newt’s advisors told him the country was yearning for a log cabin republican president he would out himself by the weekend to capitalize on the trend.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:21 pmNewt is just another COLD WAR RELIC like McCain.
Get out of the way old men, we’re coming through whether you like it or not.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:22 pmafter so many stupid and thoughtless comments from newtie, why do we still pay attention to him?
we seem to be more stupid than him: by giving him attention, we keep him the spot light and give him the credibility he does not deserve.
condemn his stupidity.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:23 pmI like the photo of Brezhnev and Nixon at lower left…
“Call me on the hotline, Dickie…”
April 20th, 2009 at 5:23 pmNewt Gingrich Works for the Military Industrial Complex.
They NEED Enemies!
April 20th, 2009 at 5:24 pmNixon: “Oh goody, let me put in a fresh tape…”
April 20th, 2009 at 5:25 pmIt doesnt matter what President Obama does, repugs like newt will always find something wrong with what OUR PRESIDENT does.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:25 pmIm sure he would much rather send our military into harms way and bomb the crap out of Venezuela. Theres oil in Venezuela.
Nixon gifted a luxuary car to the Russian dictator (whose name escapes me) while in office.
Botch held hands with and kissed the Saudi king.
Donald Rumpsfelt shook hands with Saddam Huissen and sold him chemical weapons.
The RePugniScum party is full of traitors and treasonists based on the standards they are holding Prez O to. Let’s be consistent. Using the scumbag party’s standard their party has been run by nothing but UNAMERCAN TRAITORS!!
April 20th, 2009 at 5:25 pmYawn…Another Republican Moron shooting off his ignorant mouth.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:26 pmI don’t understand why Chavez is called a dictator. He may be a populist and a demagogue (I’m not a fan) but no other president in the history of mankind has put its job on the line for an election. And yes, those elections were one of the most supervised elections in the history of mankind.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:29 pmFor the same reason Newt is calling Russian leaders dictators. When, in fact, they were not.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:31 pmNot to pile more facts on top of Newt’s poor little pumpkin head but someone might want to tell him that Chavez isn’t exactly a dictator, having been elected and reelected by his people. I recognize the wingnuts label anyone who disagrees with them communists, socialists, fascists or perhaps all three at once but Chavez has at least as many democratic bona fides as did the late Chimperor.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:33 pmWith the possible exception of Vladimir Putin. He is well on his way to dictatordom.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:33 pmJuan C:
April 20th, 2009 at 5:34 pmIt seems sort of akin to that freedom fighter/terrorist distinction. Nobody knows why it just is. You will also note that none of the lunatic evangelical preachers is ever referred to as a radical cleric…
I agree with Juan C.
Chavez may be a lot of things, but he Is Definitely NOT a Dictator. He was ELECTED by the people of Venezuala.
Why does the MSM keep calling him a Venezualan Dictator.
Doesn’t the Press Value Accuracy???
April 20th, 2009 at 5:34 pmLet me guess….if Gingrich was shown the series of photographs at the end of the post, he would say, “Those are fakes!!! You liberals make me sick!!!”.
Spit.
Idiot.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:35 pmSounds like Newt is one of those right-wing extremists who threaten the nation, rather than trying to rebuild its credibility in the world.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:36 pmYeah, RiceChex is waiting for his nickel a post check to come from the RNC so he can go buy himself a bottle of malt liquor and take it back to his double wide so he can keep up with the neighbors at the trailer park.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:37 pmBeat me to it Juan C. And let’s not forget that one of the reasons Chavez was hostile to the US in the first place was the hasty recognition by the Bush administration of a military coup that briefly overthrew his government. Okay Newt, which government supported democracy that time?
April 20th, 2009 at 5:37 pmJoeBridgeman is correct Newt is STUPID- this is underscored by his ignorance that with the click of a mouse one can “googles” multiple photographic evidence to refute his bile.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:38 pmNewt is just doing what he does best:
pandering to people too ignorant to know he’s lying.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:38 pmWHY REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS HAVE SUCH A HARD TIME MAKING ANY MEANINGFUL CONTRIBUTION TO GETTING AMERICA BACK ON TRACK
The culprit is “The Pledge.” For years, Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, has been able to enforce a demand that Republican lawmakers take a solemn pledge not to raise taxes.
What this means is that all these lawmakers can do is propose tax cuts–to solve any and every problem– even when the past 8 years shows that trickle-down economics and tax cuts for the rich lead to economic disaster.
Pledge-takers cannot support, even if the want to–needed projects such as high-speed rails or rebuilding American’s crumbling bridges and tunnels and highways or health care reform if it means raising taxes.
What is the nation’s main barrier to bi-partisan legislation? It’s not Obama. It’s The Pledge.
Pledge-takers need to know the words of Abraham Lincoln, the greatest Republican ever, who said: “Bad promises are better broken than kept.”
By Will C. Justice
http://www.howtotalkback.com
April 20th, 2009 at 5:39 pmLooking at those photos, I think, “Why don’t world leaders go out in ridiculous fur coats anymore?” Next I want to see a world leader with an eye patch or one of those curly Snidely Whiplash mustaches.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:40 pmI am inherently lazy. Anyone want to do the leg work to find what must be a multitude of pics of the Newt hanging with unsavory characters? How come no bi tching about Ortega?
April 20th, 2009 at 5:41 pmLaurence O’Donnell kicked Pat Buchanan’s but on Harball today, here’s the LINK.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:45 pmdbadass Says:
I am inherently lazy. Anyone want to do the leg work to find what must be a multitude of pics of the Newt hanging with unsavory characters? How come no bi tching about Ortega?
Not going to find much, dbadass, for a couple of reasons. First of all, Newty doesn’t like to share the camera. Even if you found a picture of him and Saddam, Newt would be leaning over to block the view. Second of all, foreign dignitaries don’t waste their time hanging out with losers like Newt. Even when he was the Speaker of the House, their reaction would like be “Who? WTF is a speaker?”
April 20th, 2009 at 5:45 pmNewt Gingrich single handedly destroyed the true conservative movement in this country.
He created the “scorched earth” tactics and ramped up the con game on the Religulous Riech, which they bought like crack addicts, and took true conservatism into the grave.
His Contract For America was a guide book for failure for true conservatives.
Newt is the single most destuctive person to appear on the conservative scene until Tom Delay showed up.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:46 pmAnd the “Today” show, NBC and others….wonder why people are turning to blogs???
When we have to listen to Newt, Pat Buchanan, and Wolf Blitzer…tell us their ‘opinions’ and don’t look at the facts, people turn away.
When ‘60 minutes’ had 25 million viewers watching Obama after he took office…and 2 million watch NBC….where did the other 23 million viewers go???
To someone who isn’t airing stupid people….(In case anyone forgot…Newt was kicked out from being Speaker…think about it) They are looking to find the real facts…
Thanks Think Progress….
April 20th, 2009 at 5:46 pmWill someone PLEASE take away the microphone?
April 20th, 2009 at 5:54 pmBadger Says
Doesn’t the Press Value Accuracy???
mmmm. I’m gonna go with no.
paleolib: Chavez is a nationalist president. Nothing more, nothing exotic, I would have to say. It is one of those few presidents in Latin America who doesn’t follow orders from the US embassy or the IMF. He criticizes the current economic model like we all do. The reason why he is so important is because Venezuela has a lot of oil.
BTW, the book he gave to Obama, “The Open Veins of Latin America” of Eduardo Galeano is now a best-seller. Great book.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:55 pmJuan C. Says:
I don’t understand why Chavez is called a dictator. He may be a populist and a demagogue (I’m not a fan) but no other president in the history of mankind has put its job on the line for an election. And yes, those elections were one of the most supervised elections in the history of mankind.
Well, he has tried again and again to abolish term-limits, until he finally won the elections in 2009. And when some TV stations showed news that he didn’t like, he just shut them down. He decided to nationalize lots of international companies doing business in Venezuela, and he is the one who decided how much to pay them.
He’s surely not the Devil that Dubya claimed he was, but I think that Chavez is just another Castro-in-the-making.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:55 pmOne must wonder if Gingrich was projecting just a little here and thinking of Republicans rather than Chavez.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:56 pmdbadass, look at the link I posted above. Buchanan went on a rant about Ortega.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:58 pmLuis:
I don’t like repression either, but the thing with TV networks is a magnified myth by the mainstream media, of course.
Take a look.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN_Hcirqrmo&feature=related
(Spanish)
April 20th, 2009 at 6:05 pmGingrich, Buchanan, Limbaugh, Savage, O’Reilly, Hannity these are the bright kind face of Republicans….God save America, please!
April 20th, 2009 at 6:10 pmTHATS the problem. Newt has a PhD in European history. Not American. And Russia isn’t in Europe.
Likewise Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq aren’t in Europe.
How can we expect him to understand what he never studied ????????
April 20th, 2009 at 6:11 pmRepublicans are genuinely stupid. Deeply stupid. No two ways about it.
April 20th, 2009 at 6:14 pmThe only conclusion I can come to is that even after the election, these people have no clue whatsoever how easy it is for a broad section of the public to quickly factcheck them. They really seem to think they get to make sh!t up, fling it at the TV camera and have it stick to the screen.
April 20th, 2009 at 6:16 pmNewt is a History Professor?!? Where in the hell does he teach? Liberty College? University of Dumphuk?
April 20th, 2009 at 6:46 pmHistory Professor Gingrich Falsely Claims U.S. Presidents Don’t ‘Smile And Greet’ Russian Leaders
There is no doubt about it: conservatives are both stupid and ignorant, and believe everyone is just as stupid and ignorant as they are.
Gingrich’s babble is so easily demonstrated false, it’s not even funny.
US presidents have been greeting Soviet (or Russian, in conservative parlance) leaders since 1959, when Kruschev was greeted by Pres Eisenhower. Not only did Eisenhower greet Kruschev upon the latter’s arrival in DC, they had dinner together, and even shared a car ride through DC.
But the sheeple with believe this claptrap as if it were true. Sheesh…
April 20th, 2009 at 6:49 pmThanks for that link. Laurence O’Donnell points out that Nixon gave a car to Breshnev (sp?) AFTER Russia invaded Czechoslovakia. That was the point I was trying to make earlier. Thanks.
April 20th, 2009 at 6:50 pmIt does not matter what Obama does, the extreme right will find a way to criticize him. They don’t even care if what they say is true. They criticize Obama even when his policies are the same as Bush. They even criticize his dog. Maybe Obama should have got a white dog, you know what I mean.
April 20th, 2009 at 6:55 pmhey Noot – it really sucks when reality and truth get in the way of your message doesn’t it !!! MORON
April 20th, 2009 at 7:07 pmWho in the eff cares what Newton thinks? He is an age spot on the flabby white @ss of the GOP.
April 20th, 2009 at 7:08 pmNewt Gingrich really didn’t think on this one too much. Opened his mouth and there you have it. Think of it, Obama is smiling too much. Obama has one hell of a big smile, and Newt doesn’t like it. I believe Newt has a personality disorder or something. Imagine disliking someone because they smile too much.
Obama, keep giving us that big grin
April 20th, 2009 at 7:10 pmI like it and it pisses off the Republicans.
Did Presidents shake hands with the Soviets because they could blow us to hell? Wouldn’t want to insult them. But why is not ok to shake hands with some 3rd world dictator? They can’t blow us to hell. Must be the hypocrisy. I think Dewt want to run for Chief of not shaking hands.
April 20th, 2009 at 7:21 pmHere’s a picture of Newt Gingrich smiling & laughing with the former Russian Prime Minister, Viktor Chernomyrdin:
http://www.nato.int/pictures/review/9702/b3000003.jpg
Ooopsie, Newt!
April 20th, 2009 at 7:38 pmcaption, bottom right photo…
Brezhnev: “Ford he says? Do I look like I would drive a Ford?”
April 20th, 2009 at 7:53 pmNewt is an old fashion racist bigot. Bush had the whole world ready to bomb the US because of his bullying and bad policy. Even Bush Sr said his son didn’t know a thing about foreign policy and look where that got us. There’s not an honest bone in Republicant bodies.
April 20th, 2009 at 7:59 pmSince when does Chavez call for the destruction of the US? One of many misstatements that MSNBC didn’t correct. And since when is Venezuela our enemy, as Gingrich states.
Gingrich knows that if he lies and distorts enough, the interviewer can’t keep up with his lies. Giving Gingrich the microphone only gives him legitimacy.
April 20th, 2009 at 8:22 pmWiz Says:
They don’t even care if what they say is true.
This is the thing that drives me nuts. For any given neocon meme, there’s the people who made it up and know it’s false, and a bunch of people too stupid to realize it’s false, and disinclined to check as well. If you’re a Republican, then you’re either a liar or an idiot. There is no third option.
April 20th, 2009 at 8:49 pmGingrich is a hypocritical philanderer whose greatest political prize, his Contract on America, has proven to be an unmitigated disaster that spawned the growth of pond scum like limbaugh, hannity, and michael savage.
Any news media outlet that grants him space to make public comments on any subject should feel embarassed and hang their heads in shame.
It’s funny, but when I read the opening of this story my mind went directly to John F. Kennedy and the meetings he had with Nikita Khruschev. While the pictures show a bunch of Presidents revealing the lies the grinch told, I find it hard to consider any of these men to have been legitimate Presidents. Taken as a group, the pictures appear to me to be more like a study in the decline of America.
April 20th, 2009 at 8:51 pmRepublicans looking to find anything that might stick attacking Obama on silly issues like this one,hoping to create a storm out of it,but this issue will not stick,and there will be no storm.
April 20th, 2009 at 8:52 pmWhat Obama did was right in attending the American summit to begin with,and he was right in shaking hands with all leaders of American continents and chatting with them.
That’s good for all countries attending the summit.
If Gingrich thinks otherwise he is mistaken.
Leaders of American states need to do more summits because there are many issues on the table that concerns all of their states from immigration ,to drug trafficking ,to export and import issues,and many other important issues.
How silly to see the major media networks are making big issue out of this handshaking of Obama and Chavez while ignoring the bigger issues at hand.!
That should read: ” decline in American prestige and legitimate foreign policy.”
April 20th, 2009 at 8:53 pmThis just in, Venezuela is more popular than the Republican Party. Chew on that for a while, Newt.
April 20th, 2009 at 8:58 pmThe rise of the information age and instant access references to historical events has only cornered the Regressive GOP and created an even more paranoid, hypocritical beast.
Expect nothing but a deeper slide into treachery by the Right.
April 20th, 2009 at 9:06 pmlink
Showed him who was boss.
April 20th, 2009 at 9:11 pmHow dare you post a picture of Ronald Regan amongst all that riff-raff! Don’t you realize that all those other guys are mere garden-variety heads of state of the Superpowers?
April 20th, 2009 at 9:33 pmjpeg of Gingrich laughing away with Gorbachev:
http://www.nato.int/pictures/review/9702/b3000003.jpg
feel free to make it viral.
April 20th, 2009 at 9:46 pmIt wasn’t all grins and handshakes. Here’s another exchange between Chavez and Obama. Looks more serious than smiley. As Joe Lieberman also found out, cornering Obama for a quick chat on the side isn’t always as much fun as it may seem, if he’s got any bones to pick with you.
April 20th, 2009 at 9:52 pmReagan and Gorbachev came within one moment of agreeing to ban nuclear weapons completely. Can you imagine what a world this would have become if they had had the courage to stand up against their respective military industrial complexes? Both men would have been heroes, real heroes. People like Gingrich would never have had careers in politics. Imagine.
April 20th, 2009 at 10:03 pmDoesn’t Newt have better things to do, like finding out who destroyed the sanctity of his marriages?
April 20th, 2009 at 10:07 pmGingrich, like a lot of people in the past Bush administration is a big consumer of fiction and popularizations of history[1] and somehow thinks they rather than real experience and analysis should be guide of how to act.
Gingrich has written 156 reviews at Amazon, mainly of Civil War history books and he-man “action” novels.
[1] During Iraq-I, Cheney sent Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf a complete set of Ken Burn’s Civil War videos plus strategy and tactic advice derived from them.
April 20th, 2009 at 10:40 pmJimmy Carter’s outfit said Chavez won his election democratically. Pat Robertson says the man should be assassinated. Does that tell you anything about how Americans should view Chavez and his government?
April 20th, 2009 at 10:41 pmcandide Says:
Does that tell you anything about how Americans should view Chavez and his government?
Tells me something about how each side feels about democracy…
April 20th, 2009 at 10:48 pmTruly another example of an afterbirth claiming to be a real person.
April 20th, 2009 at 10:50 pm“Well, he has tried again and again to abolish term-limits, until he finally won the elections in 2009. And when some TV stations showed news that he didn’t like, he just shut them down. He decided to nationalize lots of international companies doing business in Venezuela, and he is the one who decided how much to pay them.”
1)First of all not having term limits doesn’t make you a “dictator.” The u.s. Congress doesn’t have term limits but that doesn’t make it a dictatorial institution (in the sense that the term is conventionally used). Similarly FDR served four terms and if he didn’t die in office he probably would have ran for a fifth; that does not make him a dictator. Many “western” bourgeois democracies have no term limits, like Canada, England (where Tony Blair and Thatcher ruled for an entire decade, respectively), France, etc.
Secondly, abolition of term limits was decided with a democratic vote by the population of Venezuela(whereas term limits in the u.s. are usually decided by the legislature). This wasn’t something “tried again and again” – in 2007 Chavez proposed amendments to 69 articles of the constitution. Whereas the u.s. media focused singularly on the abolition of term limits, this a minor part in much broader political questions. The proposals were defeated by 1% and the constitution was left unaltered. The vote in 2009 focused singularly on term limits and was passed 54.8 to 45.1
with over 70% voter participation. In dictatorships, at least dictatorships in the way Gingrich and ThinkProgress is using here, populations do not have a say on these matters.
2) Chaves didn’t “just shut…down” “some TV stations [that] showed news that he didn’t like”. His government refused to renew a public broadcasting license (when it came up for renewal) for a (one) t.v. channel that actively conspired and participated in a coup attempt (it wasn’t by any means alone) against his government. The short lived coup abolished the nations constitution, the congress, and installed Venezuela’s head of the Chamber of Commerce as unelected head of state. When the coup fell apart the Venezuelan government did not retaliate against the station (given its precarious position with a significant faction of the rich actively trying to topple it as all costs) but that didn’t stop the latter from continuing to actively campaigning for the toppling of the Chavez administration through extra legal means. If some t.v. channel in the u.s. sponsored a failed military coup against Washington its executives would have been hung for treason in no time, if not being sent to be tortured in Bagram or Guantanamo, but the Venezuelan media elite enjoyed a much softer fate.
Either way nobody was “shut down.” The channel continues to be carried on cable, satellite, as well as local channels, just not on the public airways. you can see it for yourself here http://www.rctv.net . I also find it ironic that media monopolized by half a dozen oligarchs is considered a “free press” but anytime these interests are in any way challenged or harmed right-wingers (whatever their party) complain about “human rights” as if corporations are in any way human beings or democratic in nature. And yes, contrary to what you think the vast majority of the Venezuelan media, both t.v. and print, is in private hands and it does not pretend to be “objective” by any means.
3) And yes Chavez “decided to nationalize lots of international companies doing business in Venezuela, and he is the one who decided how much to pay them” since the resources belong to Venezuela and not the u.s. and if you don’t like it you can take your business elsewhere. However, the is nothing radical (except maybe relative to the current international norms) about the nationalizations. Most of what was nationalized what under state ownership while Venezuela was ruled by traditional right wing parties, until the IMF led privatizations in the late 1980’s and 90’s changed everything and led to further economic collapse, social upheaval, and eventually Chavez’s election to the presidency.
Thinkprogess doesn’t have any reason to call Chavez a “dictator”, other then that its state doctrine that hes a bad guy and one naturally follows the parameters of reasonable thought and to imply to its readers that its so right wing that it considers some social democrat,not that different despite his correct anti-capitalist rhetoric from, say, Olof Palme of Sweeden, is way too oppressive for its tastes.
April 20th, 2009 at 11:07 pmIt seems to me that Emory and Tulane Universities should revoke their degrees.
April 20th, 2009 at 11:14 pmfro Says:
3) And yes Chavez “decided to nationalize lots of international companies doing business in Venezuela, and he is the one who decided how much to pay them”
This is the real reason that we don’t like the guy; at least it’s the only reason I can think of that makes any sense. He kicked out our oil companies. Therefore he must die or be overthrown. Which makes me wonder who’s the bad guy here?
.
As regards his relationship with the media, lots and lots of democracies don’t have the level of free speech that the U.S. does, and we don’t label them our enemies. In Canada, a sitting judge can rule that no news outlets can report on a case before them so as to avoid tainting the jury. Does that make Canada a dictatorship? No.
April 20th, 2009 at 11:19 pmDamn, Brezhnev has an awesome coat up there.
April 20th, 2009 at 11:21 pmI just watched Lawrence O Donnell clean Pat Buchanan`s clock on Hardball and it was great……..Pat went on a tirade about the hand shake and Lawrence had to remind him about the Nixon and Mao,Nixon and Brezhnev and schooled him on our policy`s concerning past re-puke president`s helping with the South American coups in the 70`s and our fine re-puke president giving the Russian leader a car after they invaded Czechoslovakia and so on with other handshakes and don`t forget the hand holding with the Saudi`s.To quote Christine Pelosi”the right has the audacity of nope” and that`s all they have.This stuff is hilariously funny and it really shows how irrelevant the right is today.
April 21st, 2009 at 12:43 amWhy don’t Ginrich and Limba have a debate, hosted by FOX? How about it FOX? That would be a big ratings boost!
April 21st, 2009 at 12:45 am.
R E M E M B E R:
Newt Gingrich laments that America was not attacked, AGAIN!
Now who hates America?
.
April 21st, 2009 at 1:36 am.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qN4I3QoneI8
… Oops ;)
April 21st, 2009 at 1:39 amI am really enjoying this right wing mantra of alarming dispair over President Obama’s bow, Michelle Obama brush with the Queen and again President Obama shaking someones hand.
No wonder they are so hawkish. Everything frightens them.
It is entertaining to watch the right hyerventilate like this. FOX shows Obama shaking hands and puts on Newt (an expert in reading hand shakes) and ques Newt to tell Americans Obama just sealed the fate of America to servatude.
Now Cuba will be dictating American policy around the world and American voters will have no say.
Like the republicans when in power ever adhered to voter’s voices. Like my republican congressman that never bothers replying to his district voters (as me) when it comes to voting for Exxon/Mobil.
April 21st, 2009 at 1:53 amfro Says:
Great post fro. That is exactly my understanding of each of those issues. I am glad I kept reading. My answer to the guy would just be repetitive.
April 21st, 2009 at 3:11 amI see Newt has been to Alaska again, taking classes from Sarah on public speaking!! I fear the repub. party is in much bigger trouble than I ever thought possible…
April 21st, 2009 at 5:51 amWhen will the wingnuts learn that everything is recorded. You cannot lie without being caught. McSame never learned and Gingrich is the same. You cannot make crap up, Newter. You are a liar, a cheat, and a philanderer.
April 21st, 2009 at 7:58 amIt’s ever so annoying how the republicans continue to demonstrate a hypocritical, holier-than-thou attitude. Yet, I have found amongst the republicans not the slightest disposition to accommodation and peace-making like the Bible enjoins. The Scriptures say to turn the other cheek, the republicans say NEVER! The Scriptures say to resolve with your enemies and the republicans say ENMITIES AND ANIMOSITIES FOREVER! The Scriptures say no one should think of themselves more highly than they ought to, and the republicans say WE ARE THE STRONGEST AND EVERYONE ELSE HAS GOT TO LISTEN UP OR FACE OUR MUSIC. The list is endless. I particularly like that reminder about the fact that Gingrich (is he Newton or simply that awful creepy-crawly creature with prehensile limbs?) was kicked from the office of speaker.
I believe there must be some mercenary motivation to all the far-right operatives, which keeps them going and pays the bills. They prefer an American president becoming the subject of ridiculous computer and video games making hot sales around the world as GWB has become from his commando skill in ducking from the irate journalist’s shoes!!!!!!!
April 21st, 2009 at 8:06 amNewt, that’s why we don’t have YOU in OUR government any longer!!!
April 21st, 2009 at 10:13 amGingrich is as stupid and despicable as they come. Now he’s trying to get some advance pub for a run for president. Who exactly are the idiots who vote for these people?
April 21st, 2009 at 10:27 amMaybe Newt thinks all of his former heroes were passing gas and therefore not smiling. *rolls eyes*
April 21st, 2009 at 12:15 pmif obama had a barbeque with the taliban 2yrsbefore he became president.i’d be worried;since bush is out its no longer a problem.seems the republicans you could vote for are silent;maybe their going to jump ship.never before has any president been so scrutinized;i know its not because he looks black.perhaps i’m just nieve.
April 21st, 2009 at 12:26 pmIn fairness to Newt. I’m not sure Reagan knows whos hand it is he’s shaking. Nixon’s smile looks more like a snicker, and I think Ford is laughing at him not with him…and that may have something to do with that funny coat.
April 21st, 2009 at 12:32 pmI think to dismiss Newt Gingrich as ignorant or ‘just a liar’ is to miss the point of his actions. Like Limbaugh, he is a shill for the Republican Party. His job is to discredit anything and everything the current Democratic leaders do and say, regardless of whether or not he has to make up preposterous lies to do it. To paraphrase Stephen Colbert ‘a lot of people disagree with what you say, but they don’t give you credit for how often and how loud you say it.’
If you are among those people who (1) have easy access to resources like the Internet, and (2) are motivated to look up the truth of what you hear, then you are not in his target audience. But to those who are Republican because they were raised to believe they should be by their parents, or people who hear what he is saying, and don’t have the access to contradicting information, or the time and desire to do so, he is sowing the seeds of doubt and discontent (often successfully, from what I hear, else he would not draw the financial support to do it), or helping cement some people’s pre-existing dislike of the Democratic leaders in question.
If there are more of the latter sort of people than the former, then four years from now (or sooner if the Republicans can find some spectacular way to discredit Obama, like they did with Clinton), his sown words, nourished by all his b.s., may bear fruit.
April 21st, 2009 at 12:37 pmDoodlebug: “nickel a post”……..
Wow, you mean they gave him a raise? It used to be just a penny a post. <];-P
April 21st, 2009 at 2:56 pmThis is the kind of thing that I have hated about the Republicans, especially in the past 8, going on 9 years. Gingrich makes comments without thinking that perhaps there might be intelligent people out there who know that he’s not telling the truth or making an accurate statement. What’s with Republicans that they can have that shit-eating grin on their face, while spewing untruths? I truly believe that Republicans are not as intelligent as they would like us to believe. I mean, look at Bush — what a retard!
April 21st, 2009 at 5:56 pmWhat Newt is trying to say is that his presidential candidacy is based on the idea he has no idea of how to conduct diplomacy.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:29 am