Topic: Honduras setting the example?

[9Shooter]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/06302009/postopinion/opedcolumnists/a_coup_to_protect_a_constitution_176799.htm

ON Sunday, the citizens of Honduras woke up with one president and went to bed with an other. Manuel Zelaya was forced out of the country -- replaced, with full backing from the Congress, the nation's courts, and its military with Interim President Robert Micheletti.

Some have denounced this dramatic change as a "coup d'etat" and an assault on democracy. In truth, it was much more of a last-ditch effort to protect Honduras' constitutional order and rule of law from a reckless populist.

Honduras and the United States have a long history of friendly relations. We signed a free-trade treaty in 2005; Honduras was an early contributor to Operation Iraqi Freedom.

But relations chilled, and chilled hard, after Zelaya won election nearly four years ago.

Zelaya sees Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Cuba's Fidel Castro as beacons for the future. As president, he tried to steer Honduras hard left -- but succeeded mainly in boosting corruption and cronyism. The independent monitors at Transparency International now give Honduras the same ranking for corruption as Libya and Ethiopia.

Honduras is a poor nation, and got worse on Zelaya's watch. But rather than blame the global downturn or his own failures, Zelaya sought to rally the masses behind him by fingering the nation's elites as behind the nation's woes.

He sought vindication by ordering a national referendum that, he said, could alter the Constitution and allow him to run for re-election. And when every free, democratic institution from the Electoral Tribunal to the Supreme Court said no to his proposal, Zelaya pushed ahead anyway.

Last week, he called the military on the carpet, demanding it support his referendum. Gen. Romeo Vasquez, the head of the armed forces, considered this an illegal order, and refused to play ball -- so Zelaya fired him. (He accepted the defense minister's resignation, too.)

The next day, the Supreme Court ruled the firing unjustified. Zelaya refused to obey its decision. The court, he declared, worked only for the rich and caused problems for "democracy."

At every step, Zelaya's chief international backer, Hugo Chavez, cheered him on.

He'd set Sunday as the day of his contra-constitutional referendum. Instead, the Congress, the courts and the military stepped in and pulled the plug on Zelaya's maneuverings.

They sent him packing on a plane to Costa Rica. Then, in a deliberate, bipartisan manner, they selected a civilian president to serve through scheduled elections in November.

This was no coup, but a desperate act to protect the nation's constitution and its institutions from presidential excess and a descent into misrule Chavez-style.

Chavez, of course, is outraged, vowing to do everything short of landing Venezuelan marines in Honduras to restore Zelaya. If his ally doesn't recover power, "el Loco" will lose face at home and throughout the region. Sources report Venezuelan agitators and operatives are already on the ground in the Honduran capitol of Tegucigalpa and elsewhere. Trouble can be expected.

Utopians in Washington believe that the Organization of American States, Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro, the European Union and the State Department will be able to put the toothpaste back in the tube. Let Ze laya back in power, they urge; defend "democracy."

This simply ignores the fact that restoring Zelaya would undercut every free institution in the nation -- green-lighting every extra-legal move he might take in the name of the people.

Washington realists recognize this fact and fear a return engagement. If Zelaya achieves his ambition and returns to power, he could condemn Honduras to years of vendetta politics and populism of the worst sort -- delivering a weakened nation into the eager embrace of Hugo Chavez & Co.

Letting a friendly country fall into the Chavez camp does no one any good. The new government of Honduras wants to preserve peace and the constitutional order. Warts and all, it deserves the chance.

[e11charlie]

Unfortunately it is an example this country is still 10 years away from following.  We will not do this because we lack the balls to.  It will take 10 years of suffering in order to get the people to finally realize what we had and stand together to achieve it.   

[hawkiye]

 I am sceptical as to whether this was done by the people and military or mainly just the military. Unfortunately any time there is a military coup especially in a 3rd world country it is usually to gain power and not restore or preserve freedom in any way.

[NGO]

I got a kick out the radio report of this drving to work this morning....

"BO is watching events closely" 

My wife says  " Yeah I bet he is, wanting to see how this works out for the power hungry President down there!"

I agreeed..

[WTF]

99.9% of Americans lack the balls to do such a thing...But one can only hope i am wrong.

[SNAFU]

99.9% of Americans lack the balls to do such a thing...But one can only hope i am wrong.

Same thoughts here.

They are setting a good example IMHO though..

[9Shooter]

Heard Minnick on 670 tonight driving home.  He's either under-informed, misinformed, or just towing the party line.  From what I've read, including posts from those claiming to be in Honduras, the people, their congress, and the military were all for replacing the guy (as the article claims).  Minnick threw his support behind Obama in condemning the action as an illegal coup.

[eddymunster]

Eventually the trash starts to stink and you must put your boots on and take it out.

[e11charlie]

Amen eddy.  Something came to mind, with BO condemming what is happening he has out right showed his hand and intentions.  This man has no fear of the American people and the sheeple eat it up.  MORONS.

[hawkiye]

Heard Minnick on 670 tonight driving home.  He's either under-informed, misinformed, or just towing the party line.  From what I've read, including posts from those claiming to be in Honduras, the people, their congress, and the military were all for replacing the guy (as the article claims).  Minnick threw his support behind Obama in condemning the action as an illegal coup.

that what makes me sceptical that it was a good coup. The guys lie trhough thier teeth  and the truth is usually 180 dgrees the opposite direction. So the fact they they are condemning it  as illegal means they are most likely for it.

Having said that if we can use it to rally patriots here then great!

[Jeff]

No politician wants to see another politician ousted.

[SUPERGLOCK]

I am sceptical as to whether this was done by the people and military or mainly just the military. Unfortunately any time there is a military coup especially in a 3rd world country it is usually to gain power and not restore or preserve freedom in any way.

FYI...

This was NOT a "coup"....

The people of Honduras voted this new guy in & the military was just enforcing there own Constitutional Law. Unlike what the U.S. would ever do..

These people gotz more BALL's then us & that's a sad state of affairs... 

BTW- Has anyone ever seen BHO birth certificate....yet.?

[Joey]

BTW- Has anyone ever seen BHO birth certificate....yet.?
[/quote]


It doesn't exist, I'm sure the real one was burned long ago.

[hawkiye]

FYI...

This was NOT a "coup"....

The people of Honduras voted this new guy in & the military was just enforcing there own Constitutional Law. Unlike what the U.S. would ever do..

These people gotz more BALL's then us & that's a sad state of affairs... 

BTW- Has anyone ever seen BHO birth certificate....yet.?

I know what the media is reporting. Which is another reason as to why I am sceptical.

[eddymunster]

BTW- Has anyone ever seen BHO birth certificate....yet.?



It doesn't exist, I'm sure the real one was burned long ago.

+1

[bobland]

Zelaya violated the Honduran constitution by calling for elections to change the constitution so he could run as president for life, just as Hugo Chavez did.  Congress ordered him to stop.  He didn't so he was removed from office.  Since he would not go on his own, the military removed him.  This is not a coup. 

The US media is biased towards leftist and socialist governments, so naturally, they defend Zelaya and call it a coup.  Notice how little they reported on all of the constitutional abuses by Bush and Congress.  Zero.

BTW, America by definition is a Republic NOT a Democracy.  By definition, Cuba, Saudia Arabia, Iran, Zimbabwe and others are all Democracies.  Not sure about this?  Google Republic vs Democracy and be prepared to be very afraid.

bobland