Putin, living out Bush's wettest of wet dreams, is proposing what amounts to a wholesale abolition of its 13-year old democracy. Putin proposes a virtually complete halt to direct elections of governors and duma legislators, and seeks ever-more centralized power in Moscow.
Hey. Totalitarian dictatorships for the 21st century. What a great way to wage war on terrorism.
Putin. You can take Pooty-Poot out of the KGB, but you can't take the KGB out of Pooty-Poot.
Let's focus on the Presidential race, courtesy
of Oliver Willis
John Kerry:
- 'But I remain deeply concerned about President Putin's ongoing moves to limit democratic freedoms and to further centralize power. Russia's emergence as a new democracy was one of the most hopeful and significant developments of the 20th century, and recent infringements on civil society and democratic processes must be reversed. Russia will be a much more effective partner in the war on terror, if its government is transparent, open to criticism, respectful of the rule of law, and protects the human rights of all of its citizens, including those in Chechnya.'
What about
George Bush?
- In fact, it will hurt. Failure to take sides with democratic forces in Russia will cast doubt on Bush's commitment to worldwide democracy. A White House official commented to the New York Times that Putin's actions are 'a domestic matter for the Russian people.' Really? If so, then the same holds for all other peoples whose rights are taken away by tyrants. If the Bush administration holds to that line, then those hostile to democracy in the Middle East will point to the glaring U.S. double standard; those who favor democracy in the Middle East will be discredited. That will be a severe blow to what Bush regards as a central element of his war on terrorism."
What was that again about exporting democracy?
No comments:
Post a Comment