Washington Post Astonished by Strong-Arm Tactics of Latin American Dictators

I about fell out of my chair while reading a Washington Post editorial.  Introspection is as foreign to the U.S. media as citizenship is to the ACLU.  What these bastions of the fourth estate are decrying is the strong-arm tactics of Latin American presidents.  Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez has long flouted his authoritarian policies in the guise of democratic rule.  His use of class-warfare has garnered many elections.  This seems to be a winning formula for third-world countries.  And what’s amazing is how astonished the Washington Post editors are at the effectiveness of this thuggery.  Here is an excerpt.   

 On Sunday Mr. Correa claimed a landslide victory for a new term that will keep him in office until 2017, a decade after he first took power. Like Mr. Chavez’s own reelection in October, Mr. Correa’s was eased by a steeply tilted playing field. Following the Venezuelan caudillo, Mr. Correa won votes by spending billions in oil revenue in an unsustainable spree.

Now, doesn’t this sound like someone we all know?  Hmmm?  Like someone who resides in a certain White House?  The only difference is that our wannabe dictator uses the printing press to spread the wealth, instead of oil money.  Isn't that also an unsustainable spree?  The article continues:

And even more than Mr. Chavez, the Ecuadoran ruler strong-armed his country’s media into becoming his personal propaganda apparatus. Mr. Correa’s government, which inherited one radio station in 2007, now runs five television channels – including two confiscated from private owners – four radio stations, two newspapers and four magazines. If that were not enough, the president regularly employs a law allowing him to commandeer the national airwaves at any time of his choosing, for any purpose.

Meanwhile, Mr. Correa has intimidated Ecuador’s independent media into virtual silence. Since May, the government closed 11 other radio stations that did not toe its line. A law forbidding biased reporting on political campaigns and allowing dissatisfied candidates to sue over alleged violations forced the media into pallid and skimpy coverage of the alternatives to Mr. Correa – even as government media blatantly ignored the rules.

The only difference is White House didn’t have to strong-arm the American media.  These dirtbags are all in for this authoritarian.  At least, the media in Venezuela and Ecuador put up a fight.  The press in the United States practically humped Obama’s leg.  These people are pathetic.

 

 

Source: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/02/25/3871655/the-new-chavez-wannabe.html#storylink=cpy