Posted on 02/02/2006 10:34:18 PM PST by proud_yank
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has compared Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to the Nazi leader Adolph Hitler, saying both were elected legally and then "consolidated power." Secretary Rumsfeld made the comment as part of an answer to a reporter's question about the election of left-wing leaders in Latin America.
Speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, Secretary Rumsfeld told the questioner that the rise of corruption in democratic governments in Latin America caused voters to look for what he called more "populist" leaders.
"We've seen some populist leadership appealing to masses of people in those countries and elections, like Evo Morales in Bolivia, take place that clearly are worrisome," said Mr. Rumsfeld.
Secretary Rumsfeld said he would not characterize the situation as "a new wave of left-wing anti-American regimes," as the questioner did. But he went on to criticize the leftist Venezuelan leader, Hugo Chavez, who has become a sharp critic of the United States and a close friend of Cuba's communist leader, Fidel Castro.
"We've got Chavez in Venezuela with a lot of oil money," he noted. "He's a person who was elected legally, just as Adolph Hitler was elected legally, and then consolidated power, and now is, of course, working closely with Fidel Castro and Mr. Morales and others. It concerns me."
As Secretary Rumsfeld spoke, President Chavez was preparing to travel to Cuba late Wednesday to visit President Castro and accept an award from the United Nations for promoting Latin American culture.
Secretary Rumsfeld did not comment on, and at that time may not have known about, Venezuela's expulsion of a U.S. military attaché. The official, a U.S. Navy captain, was accused of spying. Several Venezuelan military officers have been accused of passing information to the U.S. military through the embassy in Caracas. There was no immediate response from the U.S. government.
With all the communist dictators to compare too, he didn't have to resort to Hitler. Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Castro, etc, all would have done nicely.
All is forgiven. I promise.
If you disagree with yourself, don't feel bad. John Kerry does it all the time.
The Nazi Party was elected though. Maybe that's what he meant.
LOL! JK does it, too, eh? Maybe I have a future of failure in politics then.
In the words of Grounds-Keeper Willie, "Back to the loch with you, Nessie!"
The upside is that there are about a billion reasons that would make that easy. And I am partial to that ambrosia of the fast-food cosmos, which Our Lady of the Tomato has in spades.
I agree. Everything tastes like chicken, and every politician's opponent is just like Hitler. It got old fifty Hitlers ago at least.
"Why not Napoleon III? That works for the "legally elected, consolidated power" routine."
Maybe to a bunch of people with history doctorates. The majority of readers of his comments are strained to produce 2 sentences about his namesake, Napoleon Bonaparte.
Of course the same group might not get a paragraph about hitler, or name the major countries he fought the second world war against, or get the side of the USSR wrong. You surely know the general % on popular ignorance of history. 1 in 50 can name the leaders of the USSR and Third Reigh at the beginning of Operation Barbarossa.
"There will never be another Hitler. Men may act in a similar vein, but Hitler is of his own. "
Obviously many things are different, but mr. manyletters (i cannot spell his name from memory) in Iran actually reminds me more of all my readings about pre-war germany's Hitler than anything I have seen in my adult lifetime, and my comments are only in small part informed by his bizarrely rabid anti-semitism. The main issue is that this is a man who wants a fight with the world and his enemies as he sees them, and will push until they comply.
But there's got to be something more vile to label Chavez that communist POS- communist POS is more appropriate for high ranking members of our own Democrat Party.
Perhaps that would be confused with the ever popular "Jenjis" Khan.
Hillary comes to mind, but that's been taken.
Well, she's an African American, no?
Well, Hitler is more popular for comparison, because (A)He has a fun-to-pronounce name, and (B)He represents not REAL evil in most peoples' minds, but a sort of cartoonish evil.
__________________
You are showing your age, or, perhaps, your lack of moral discernment.
"The National Organization for Women, together with Global Exchange and the US Women and Cuba Collaboration, will lead a delegation from the United States to Venezuela to participate in the Venezuelan Solidarity Delegation March 5-16."
This should provide more great photo ops for the gender feminists who infest the Democrat party. One can only wonder if we'll see Hugo Chavez again.
Why is the UN giving Chavez an award ?????
They really have to be completely out-of-their-collective-minds to give the new Hitler an award for anything.
There has to be some intelligent people at the UN that know Chavez is leading his country and South America into ruin that will last for decades.
Just one more example of the commie/socialist mindset that infests the U.N. It's been a long time since the U.N. was a friend to America. Why are we still in the U.N.? Ans., IMO, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."
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