Hugo Chavez: Dictator in Waiting
Although the media isn’t paying too much attention to this right now, Venezuela is set to hold an election on Sunday to vote on Hugo Chavez’s referendum. If the Venezuelans vote “si” Hugo Chavez will be able to become presidente for life.
Unfortunately, Chavez has been able to become quite popular with many poor people in his country, and expectations are that they will vote to grant him the power he covets. This reminds me of a line from the Star Wars series, when Natalie Portman’s character Queen Amidala says, “So this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause.” The evil character Palpatine had just declared martial law and granted himself the title of “emperor” to a cheering Senate.
Sadly, the Chavez story is a real one. But the lesson from Star Wars is as old as human civilization. Lord Acton said it best, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
My question is whether Cindy Sheehan, Danny Glover, Harry Belafonte and Sean Penn will ever come to regret their sycophantic photos with the power-hungry and brutal dictator of Venezuela. Then again, the left has never really come to grips with its support for Castro or Stalin, so my expectations are low.
