Honduran Power Struggle Polarizes U.S. Democrats, Republicans

[Joanne98]

July 10 (Bloomberg) -- The legality of Manuel Zelaya’s ouster as president of Honduras is dividing Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. at the same time that it is polarizing Hondurans.

Democratic President Barack Obama, a day after Zelaya was physically whisked out of power June 28 by the military, called the ouster illegal. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Zelaya in Washington July 7 and announced negotiations that could facilitate his return.

Clinton refused to meet with a delegation of the Honduran National Congress and the private sector, which is backing Roberto Micheletti, who was installed as the nation’s new president upon Zelaya’s ouster, ignoring an appeal by 17 Republican U.S. senators for her to do so.

Instead, the delegation -- which has hired a top Washington lawyer, Lanny Davis, to help with its public relations -- found a warm reception among Republicans on Capitol Hill including Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the Florida Republican and ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

“There is a growing consensus that what took place in Honduras on June 28 was a legal process in response to Mr. Zelaya’s repeated constitutional violations and breaches of the rule of law,” Ros-Lehtinen said in a statement.

Term-Limit Referendum

Zelaya’s opponents accused him of ignoring court rulings and seeking to retain power by changing the constitution through a referendum on term limits.

The delegation, which included a former Honduran ambassador to the U.S., a former secretary of state and a current congressman, held a press conference this week at the National Press Club and a press conference call in Washington arranged by Davis’s firm, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP.

Davis is perhaps best known as serving as special counsel to former President Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky affair.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aMKj7d_.9de0

[Peace Patriot]

1. "..by changing the constitution through a referendum on term limits."? FALSE!

"Zelaya’s opponents accused him of ignoring court rulings and seeking to retain power by changing the constitution through a referendum on term limits."--Bloombilge

Here is the entire referendum that Zelaya proposed for an ADVISORY vote of the people:

""Do you agree that, during the general elections of November 2009 there should be a fourth ballot to decide whether to hold a Constituent National Assembly that will approve a new political constitution?"

Compliments of BoRev.net: http://www.borev.net/2009/06/national_news_outlets_bring_th.html#more

Even a "yes" vote on this referendum would not have had the force of law. It was to be an advisory vote--little more than an opinion poll--to gage the support that there might be in Honduras for much needed reform, and for DISCUSSION of the Constitution in public assemblies that could eventually lead to a rewrite of the Constitution, and a vote of the people on a new, proposed Constitution--a process that would take years, and not be completed until Zelaya was long out of office! This would be similar to a process of reform--common in Latin American countries--that has occurred in Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador to the great benefit of ordinary people with improved civil rights, more public participation in government, and BETTER government in the interests of all. Honduras' current Constitution was written during the Reagan "reign of terror" to benefit the entrenched rich elite and exclude the poor majority from power. Reforming it through a democratic process is a GOOD IDEA.

I am so sick of this goddamned rightwing "talking point" that keeps getting promoted by our corpo/fascist press, that the referendum was about term limits! IT WAS NOT!

And for THIS, the rightwing coupsters in Honduras shot up the presidential palace, kidnapped the elected president at gun point and flew him out of the country, "appointed" a new president, declared martial law, suspended all civil rights, shut down all news media and opened fire on huge crowd of unarmed protesters at the airport on Sunday, killing a 16 year old boy and wounding others? They are LIARS! And our corpo/fascist 'news' monopolies are helping to spread their lies!

[angstlessk]

2. I say that Obama declare the the earth is round and the earth revolves around the sun

so the republicans can declare the earth is flat and the sun actually rotates around the earth. No matter what stance Obama takes it is sure that the repukes will take the opposite stand NO MATTER WHAT! Of course there ARE those in the Wassilla republican party who actually believe in a flat earth revolves around the sun anyway :silly:

[Joe Chi Minh]

3. What, you mean by the most democratic of means? Say it ain't so....

"There is a growing consensus....?" What, you mean from 4 to 6?

[Still Sensible]

4. It's bullshit politics as usual

if Bush were still in the White House, his administration would have condemned the coup and all the fucking republicans would be lauding the action (while the dems nibbled around the edges finding nuances to attack with).

Now, however, the GOP agenda is Obama must fail at all costs, so many of them will take the opposite position on just about anything this administration does. Occasionally, the President is able to do some things that they don't dare attack... but on any issue where the right wing knows that understanding would require people to actually learn something about the question, they will take the polarizing position.

That is the Karl Rove playbook. On complicated issues take simple positions contrary to the democrats. Whether those positions make sense or not is largely immaterial, because the public isn't going to bother educating themselves on the complicated issue and the MSM certainly isn't going to get past the sound bite. Sure, once in a while they get burned by this tactic, but so long as it works almost all the time they will keep doing it.

Health care right now is a great case in point. Pretty complicated issue and the MSM is simply allowing republicans to LIE about it. Average Joe Rethug believes that Obamacare is socialized medicine (featuring stifling bureaucracy, a wall between patient and doctor and interminable waits for simple services) because their talking heads say so. For most people, they don't want to go deep into any issue and especially this one. Meanwhile the MSM refuses to go beyond the sound bite to actually call them on this bullshit.

The polls indicate that much of the public sees through a lot of this (hence 65-73% support for a robust public option), but it is still frustrating.