I'm the world's only true democrat, says Putin

[whopis01]

Source: Reuters

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has described himself as the world's only "pure" democrat and attacked the United States and Europe, which have criticized him, for falling short of their own ideals.

Asked whether he agreed with former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's description of him as an "impeccable democrat", Putin replied laughing:

"Of course I am an absolute, pure democrat. But you know the problem? It's not even a problem, it's a real tragedy. The thing is that I am the only one, there just aren't any others in the world."

"After the death of Mahatma Gandhi there's nobody to talk to," he concluded, referring to the Indian leader who championed civil rights and non-violent resistance to tyranny.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL0454405820070604?feedType=RSS&rpc=22

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Not quite sure that I would agree with him on this one...

[Buzz Clik]

1. This from the former head of the KGB. um, yeah.

[whopis01]

9. Perhaps it is just a misunderstanding of the phrase "One Person, One Vote"

Maybe he didn't realize that meant that every person should have an equal vote and just thought it meant that a Democracy had only one person who got to vote....

[Buzz Clik]

11. LOL! That's the only logical explanation.

[Socal31]

18. His own words...

There is no such thing as an "ex-KGB".

[David__77]

25. He wasn't head of the KGB, though he was an agent.

He was never the head of the bureau. Not like how Bush I was CIA head.

I will agree that Putin represents the victory of the intelligence service in tightening the screws on the state, so to speak.

[no_hypocrisy]

2. Compared to Bushco, I'd say it's a dead heat.

[rurallib]

6. My thought exactly.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. Note he couldn't keep a straight face while saying it (n/t)

[mainegreen]

4. Ah, that old dark, sarcastic russian sense of humor. n/t

[bemildred]

5. Or perhaps an autocrat with a sense of humor:

"After the death of Mahatma Gandhi there's nobody to talk to"

[hatrack]

7. Wow, who cracked the nitrous tank in the G8 meeting room?

I thought this was The Onion at first.

[Psephos]

8. And I am Marie of Romania n/t

[JAbuchan08]

10. How can you have a one man democracy?

Maybe Bush could answer that question.

[whopis01]

12. One Person, One Vote (just carried too far) n/t

[TheWatcher]

13. Sure, Vlad. And Hitler was the world's only TRUE Humanitarian.

:rofl:

I'm sorry, I never thought ANYONE could outdo the absurdity of our Boy King, but congrats, Vlad. I didn't know you had it in you.

[NastyRiffraff]

14. This is what Bush has brought us to

A guy like Putin claiming to be the world's only true democrat! An ex-KGB guy! With any other U.S. president, he'd be laughed out of he world's stage.

[damntexdem]

15. But how can Putin be the world's only pure democrat? I thought Dubya was.

Still, if the king is the state, then the king must be the only democrat -- so maybe it's just one per country.

;-)

[Book Lover]

16. Oh my goodness, that's just ... beautiful

A lovely, glinting-in-the-sunlight, pure lie. No obfuscation like our politicians: Putin just lies in a simple, clear declarative sentence. It would have taken Bush several mangled passages before coming out with the same idea.

[Endangered Specie]

17. Yes yes and Josef Stalin was the greatest musical composder

and artist ever to have walked the face of the Earth :eyes:

[Igel]

19. Perhaps he's using Ushakov's dictionary.

ДЕМОКРАТИЯ. Форма правления, при к-рой власть осуществляется самим народом, массами, непосредственно или через представительные учреждения. В буржуазных странах демократия существует только формально. Советский переворот дал невиданный в мире толчок развитию демократии,... демократии социалистической (для трудящихся), в отличие от демократии буржуазной (для эксплоататоров, для капиталистов, для богатых). Ленин.

Democracy. A form of governance in which power is manifested by the peopled itself, by the masses, directly or through representative institutions. In bourgeois countries, democracy exists only in form. The Soviet upheaval provided a push for the development of democracy unhead of in the world ... socialist democracy (for the workers), as opposed to bourgeois democracy (for exploiters, capitalists, and the right). Lenin.

-----------
On the other hand, unalloyed democracy is rather an evil, so perhaps he has in mind democracy = majoritarianism.

[rustydad]

20. Was he elected?

Last I heard he was. Was GWB elected? Last I heard he wasn't, twice. Putin has managed to take Russia from the basket case in the 1990s (mostly because of Yeltsin being drunk and listening to advisers from Amerika) to a country that has paid off it's huge debts and now is running a big surplus. He has taken back the Russian energy sources from corrupt oligarchs who literally stole them and is slowly building the countries infrastructure. He has brilliantly out-maneuvered the US in Central Asia. Yes he is ex-KGB. But is he a corrupt dictator? Or is he a strong leader elected to twist arms to get things done? Both he and Chavez are popular in their countries because they are performing. Yet we here in the *greatest democracy* can't find a descent candidate to run for the Democratic Party. The Democrat forum last night was excruciating to watch. Those morons don't have a good idea between all of them. Democracy is great when you have great leaders. Democracy is shit when you have crap leaders. We in the US have had crap leaders for a long time. And when a good candidate comes along they get Wellstoned, don't they? I am really sick of these DU threads that sound like they originate in the back rooms of Faux news. Bob

[Grey]

21. Wish I could 'recomend' this reply.....

Thanks, Bob.

[whopis01]

26. anyone who would call himself the world's only true democrat

has a serious lack of respect for a great deal of the world's population. That is true whether he was elected or not.

[tom_paine]

22. Putin's a FUNNY Tyrant. That puts him one up on Bushler.

Nothing funny about Bushler, although to be truthful, probably nothing funny about Comrade Putin to HIS victims, either.

[David__77]

23. I think he's just amusing himself.

He cares no more for popular input than Bush does. That said, I think he's way, way better for Russia than Yeltsin was. I just hope that a progressive opposition can emerge, united and ready to fight against Putin's sell-outs of oligarchs and foreign investors.

There's a lot of hubristic pomp in this statement of his. I'm sure the majority of the Russian electorate that supports him just ate it up.

[dave29]

24. He should join the Democrat Party!

Bush has offered to work with whomever they are.