McCain counters Obama on Honduras

[grahamhgreen]

Source: Twitterroom

Speaking about the recent coup in Honduras, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said President Manuel Zelaya clearly “was in violation of his country’s constitution.” McCain made his comments on Twitter this afternoon:

Violence and unrest in Honduras & China - we need to continue to stand up for human rights and democracy around the world!

I regret the military takeover in Honduras, but it’s clear President Zelaya was in violation of his country’s constitution.

McCain’s statement runs in direct conflict with the Obama administration’s position on the coup. Last week, the president said that the coup was “not legal” and that Zelaya is still the president of the Latin American nation. Members of Congress have generally been mum on the situation, but some tensions are beginning to show, especially amongst Republicans. Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla.) said that Zelaya “trampled on the Honduran constitution” and called the Honduran president’s effort to extend his term a “blatant power grab.”

Zelaya proposed a constitutional referendum that would allow him to seek reelection, superceding term limits layed out in the country’s constitution. Members of the Honduran military arrested him and forced him into exile on June 29. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with the ousted president today.

http://twitterroom.thehill.com/2009/07/07/mccain-counters-obama-on-honduras/

Read more: http://twitterroom.thehill.com/2009/07/07/mccain-counters-obama-on-honduras/

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Hope this isn't a dupe.

The obvious response is that SURELY A COUP IS IN VIOLATION OF THE COUNTY'S CONSTITUTION, DOH!!!!

If the Pres. did act this way, I'm sure there is a proper response outlined in the Constitution, and I'm sure it's NOT A COUP!

[masuki bance]

1. You seem so sure of things. nt

[EFerrari]

11. Not a big risk given every world body has by now taken the same position.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. John, you surely support this since these fellas are fellow travelers

I wonder thought, would your party support a military coup in the US? I think yes.

[troubledamerican]

3. In our lifetime? In less than 8 years.

[Cha]

18. They supported a "coup" period in the US

in 2000 and certainly they were behind the Venezuelian coup that took over Chavez for a short bit.

rwingers like their coups.

[IndianaGreen]

4. McCain would have supported fascist Franco over the Republic

All of our elites will close ranks with the Honduran elites, and try to fool us that it is in our interests to support the Honduram elites against their own people. There won't be a shortage of politicians with "D" behind their names.

Why is this so? Emma Goldman said it best:

The western model of parliamentary democracy could more accurately be characterised as a '4-year dictatorship'. The crucial difference between 'representative' democracy and 'direct' democracy is that under the former, voters have no part in deciding policy and are unable to recall their representatives. Instead they have nothing more than the illusion that by voting they are in some way able to control the political process.

Emma Goldman

Freedom and Revolution (1922)

http://struggle.ws/rbr/freerev.html

[Webster Green]

5. Not too surprising from that fascist pig.

What a loser. :thumbsdown:

[DLnyc]

6. John McCain, yet again, kisses fascist ass.

Funny he feels this way about Zelaya, who only requested a poll to gauge popular support for changing term limits (ever hear of Michael Bloomberg, by the way?).

Especially funny seeing as he didn't feel this way when his friend Booosh ripped OUR constitution into tiny shreds (not to mention the Geneva Convention and Magna Carta).

Basically, McCain's deal is he supports anyone who's out to get rich by ruthlessly robbing, lying, stealing and generally fucking over the entire planet.

Fuck John McCain.

[Ian David]

14. No more complaints now when we call him John McNazi.

We TOLD them so.

[caseymoz]

7. Nostalgic for the Cold War when Central America knew what justice was.

John hearkens back those old Cold War impeachments . The good ol' days when the CIA would have engineered this coup a year ago, the generals would be on salary to run the country right, and the commie ex-President would be as dead as he should be.

[Downwinder]

8. All of a sudden McCain is worrying about Constitutions.

Where has he been for the last eight years?

Is he speaking for the International Republican Institute (IRI)?

http://www.chavezcode.com/2009/07/role-of-international-republican.html

[MarjorieG]

9. Thought the referendum would affect elections most likely after him, but wanted more constituent

participation?

[Peace Patriot]

10. "proposed a const. ref. that would allow him to seek reelection"--totally false!

"Zelaya proposed a constitutional referendum that would allow him to seek reelection."--from the OP

This is total disinformation (no doubt written at the USAID office in Washington DC--the Bushwhacks were funneling $49 million to the rightwing groups in Honduras, through the USAID-NED and the International Republican Institute). The actual wording of the ADVISORY referendum that Zelaya was promoting:

"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

Zelaya wanted to start a DISCUSSION about re-writing the entire Constitution--as other Latin American countries have done--and potentially hold a plebescite on a new Constitution, long after he was out of office. (The current one was written during the Reagan "reign of terror" in Honduras, to entrench the power of the rich elite and the military.) And for THIS he got dragged from his bed at gunpoint and forced onto a plane with blackened windows to another country?!

That's it--proposing a Constitutional convention. The vote would not even have had the force of law. It was an ADVISORY vote--little more than an opinion poll.

This disinformation--that the referendum was about term limits--has been spread far and wide, by our corpo/fascist press. Please fight disinformation--both as to how it worms its way into your head subliminally, and how it gets trumpeted around, and repeated ad nauseum, when it serves the interests of the rich and powerful.

[C_U_L8R]

12. Did McCain call Obama with his advice? No.

He called a press conference.
We know what this about... it's all about McCain.
Whatta ham.

[Ian David]

13. Well, at least Zelaya doesn't plaster on the make up like a trollop. n/t

[zbdent]

15. a military coup is not a "blatant power grab"???

whoda thunkit ...

[No Elephants]

16. Public endorsement of a military coup from a US Senator AND fmr Presidential candidate?

This is monumental. And not in a good way.

Someone needs to smack him down, fast.

[Javaman]

17. so by his logic, he should have had no problem with us over throwing moron*.nt

[No Elephants]

19. If there is a military coup in this country, ouster of a Republican would not be my first guess.