Josef Stalin complained that the problem with democratic elections is that you didn't know who was going to win. Last weekend, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez lost his first referendum since he was elected in 1998. Had this referendum passed, it would've abolished presidential term limits (giving Chavez an opportunity to rule for life), given him control of the central bank, allowed him to appoint regional administrators and further eroded property rights.
In testament to their democratic maturity, the majority of Venezuelan voters chose to preserve their inalienable rights rather than be bought off with Chavez's thinly-veiled material bribery (it's yet to see next year whether American voters will trade their inalienable rights for "free" health care and other government entitlements). But make no mistake, Chavez didn't hold this referendum because he believes in the principle of democracy. He held this referendum because he was convinced it would pass without question.
A few weeks ago, it did look like it would easily pass. Then Chavez, as usual, began to run his mouth. He turned up the volume of his usual critique of any world leader who disagreed with him as a "fascist" and of any Venezuelan who didn't support his blatant power grab as a "traitor". He began to alienate key domestic support groups who not only haven't been feeling the benefits of his "21st Century Socialism" but are just plain tired of his arrogant, bellicose rhetoric. And perhaps they don't think it consistent that their "democratic" leader has allied politically with Iran's Ahmadinejad and Zimbabwe's Mugabe, both of whom he's described as his "brother."
Now, I realize that Chavez has support among our so-called intelligentsia. Ivy League professors, Hollywood celebrities and the dime-a-dozen "activist" muppets applaud his vicious anti-Americanism (even though they themselves will never leave America). They simultaneously deny that Chavez is engaged in gradually consolidating power into a dictatorship, instead referring to his recent confiscations of private property, his silencing of dissenting media and his attempt to abolish his own term limits as a series of "reforms."
Really? Let's think about what would happen if President George W. Bush attempted to pass the same "reforms." If Bush tried to abolish his own term limits, silence media outlets which criticized him (pretty much every major one), give himself the power to appoint each state's governor, take control of the Federal Reserve, place all oil production under a single government-run company and hysterically accuse everyone who opposed him as a "traitor" and a "communist," would he been seen as a "reforming" president?
But getting back to Chavez, let's not think that this single democratic defeat is going to slow down Chavez's power grab. The only reason he accepted the defeat of his referendum is because he had no choice. For months, he's been framing his referendum in democratic terms, that the voters would support his socialist revolution. Now that the voters have instead chosen otherwise, Chavez won't make the same mistake twice. He will still push forward with his "reforms," but through means other than democratic referendums. In other words, he'll learn from Stalin's advice.
Chavez's term ends in 2012, meaning he has over four more years in which to find a way to stay in office. Sadly, I'm willing to bet he finds a way. A non-democratic way, mind you, but a way nonetheless. As with all totalitarian politics, the ends justify the means.
One of my favorite bumper stickers is the one that says "01.20.08," which is the date of President Bush's last day in office. I like this bumper sticker not because I agree or disagree with anything in particular that Bush has done, but that it conveys the message of the sticker's owner that despite all their blather about the Bushitlerburton war juggernaut steering us straight into the swamp of corporate fascism, deep down they know that on Jan. 21, 2008, Bush will no longer be president. I like that bumper sticker because it unintentionally concedes that America is still a democracy, there are still checks and balances and our Constitution will not be altered to keep Bush in office.
Meanwhile, we should support the Venezuelan voters in their choice of freedom over handouts. Chavez will undoubtedly attempt to seize power before his term expires, but at least now he cannot do it under the guise of democracy.
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