The American Standard Bearer

A more absurd scene could hardly be imagined: Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez standing before the most complete collection of political thuggery in history, gleefully identifying the President of the United States as the Devil himself, and in mid-town Manhattan no less. And to top it off, he waves around a copy of “Hegemony or Survival: America’s Quest for Global Dominance” by the undisputed heavy-weight of the sniveling America-Hater set, MIT prof Noam Chomsky, as if to make the ridiculous point that Chomsky represents the true America.

Let’s revue. Hugo Chavez, after failing to take control of Venezuela in a 1992 coup, eventually ascends to power in a democratic election in 1998, largely possible because of the efforts of the United States to foster democracy in Latin America. He then steers his country sharply leftward, eventually sparking a protest march on the Presidential Palace by disaffected constituents. By this time Chavez, having had enough of this democracy stuff, orders his henchman to fire on the crowd and a bloodbath ensues.

The marchers mistakenly believed that with democracy came the freedom to peacefully protest, and for that mistake, many paid with their lives. The Venezuelan people got the message, but three days later, the Army removed Chavez from power and installed Pedro Carmona who promptly began dismantling the entire Venezuelan Government. After only 30 hours, the Army reinstated Chavez as El Presidente for reasons that are not entirely clear but most likely because they negotiated for a piece of Venezuela’s oil wealth.

Of course, Chavez got the last laugh as he methodically removed key military figures and replaced them with his own people. Since then Chavez has consolidated his power so that now, he is in complete control of the country’s oil wealth and is almost entirely unopposed by any political rival.

And so now here he is, in the country that enabled him to come to power, accusing President Bush of crimes that Chavez himself is guilty of, and he’s aided by the slugs of American society, the America-hating left led by Noam Chomsky. Only in America.