Honduras - Democracy in Latin America
When the country of Honduras, the tiny Democracy in Latin America decided to uphold their own constitution and follow their own legal precedents by removing Manuel Zelaya as President they committed a mortal sin in the eyes of the far left. It doesn’t matter that he was attempting to flout his own country’s constitution and trying to institute a constitutional amendment in an effort to remain in office. This would have made him a defacto dictator in the style of Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. However our President, Barack Hussein Obama sees it differently. He views it as a military coup and refuses to recognize the new President of Honduras that was put in place by their National Congress; even though Roberto Micheletti is from the same party as Zelaya! Coup de’tat indeed!
Now Obama has taken steps to punish the Hondurans. He has imposed financial sanctions on the tiny country, withholding $30 million in aid and threatening to withhold another $215 million. Also, Obama directed our embassy in Honduras to stop issuing visas for travel to the United States.
All this was done without sending an envoy, a diplomat, or anyone to see first hand what happened. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton supports Obama’s stance on this. She even goes so far as to sanction members of Honduras’ judiciary. The U.S. already had pulled the visa of the 15th member of the Honduran court, the one who signed the arrest warrant for Mr. Zelaya. It appears that this action completed Sec. of State Clinton’s assault on the independence of a sovereign, foreign democracy’s highest court. Evidently our Sec. of State is angry at the court because it ruled that restoring Zelaya to power is unconstitutional under a proposal drafted by the Costa Rican President Oscar Arias. So, our State Department decided that in defense of the rule of law, America would penalize the Honduran Supreme Court for the way they interpreted their very own constitution. Fourteen justices had their U.S. visas pulled. What does this say? Maybe that judges in small foreign nations have to acquiesce to America’s interpretation of their own laws? So, one of our outstanding Senators, Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) has planned a fact-finding trip to Honduras to collect information for the White House to better make decisions regarding this whole mess.
Enter our dear friend John Kerry (D-Mass.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He has chosen NOT to approve Senator DeMint’s trip to Honduras. Why? Does he want to prevent Americans from knowing first hand what went on in that tiny country? Well, maybe. But the really bad thing about this is that Kerry is using it to blackmail (legally) DeMint. It seems that Jim DeMint has refused to vote yes on two of Obama’s nominations. The two nominations in question are Auturo Valenzuela, Obama’s nominee to be assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs, and Tom Shannon, the current assistant secretary and nominee for ambassador to Brazil. Kerry’s office stated, “The Foreign Relations Committee always prefers to operate in a bi-partisan and collegial fashion, and it did so when it approved these two nominees by votes of 14 to 4 for Mr. Shannon and 15 to 4 for Mr. Valenzuela,” Jones told The Hill in a statement. “But now Sen. DeMint refuses to let the nominations of two distinguished public servants even be considered on the floor of the Senate.”
So we have on one hand, the administration and Senator John Kerry blocking the trip to Honduras, but then being opportunists, trying to use it to force two more of Obama’s nominations through. This is, of course apples and oranges, one thing has nothing to do with the other. But it is also politics and I am not so naïve that I think that this doesn’t go on in Washington every day; but to me wrong is wrong.
From all reports and indications, the Hondurans acted legally and prudently within the parameters of their laws. But our President and most other countries around the world view this as a coup de’tat. When Iran was brutalizing their citizens for protesting a stolen election, Obama sat idly by and finally said we shouldn’t interfere in the business of other sovereign nations. Evidently Honduras and Israel don’t count as sovereign nations because he is constantly attempting to impose his will on them.
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Matt
I believe that future generations should have the same opportunities that myself, and those that came before me, had. My parents taught me that I could do anything I wanted to do. I don’t want to have to tell my daughter, “You can do whatever the government tells you to do.” We are at a crossroads in this country; are we going to be free, or are we going to be slaves to the nanny state. I choose freedom.
Petty politics interfering with finding the truth. Inexcusable, but then again, Kerry has never allowed the truth to interfere with his actions, even when he returned from Vietnam with a pack of lies.
Great article Don, very well written.
Is Barry telegraphing his own desires, or he is just stupid enough to jump into the deep-end with precisely no prior knowledge of the situation?
And now that he so rashly staked out his position, he’s unwilling, of course, to change directions.
Idiot.
An interesting post Matt, I knew the Obama administration was opposed to the existing government in Honduras, but I had no idea about all the restrictions being imposed. Democrats always seem to have a love affair with countries in Latin American and a problem with those that lean right, they have a long, long history here. Obama is probably the worst however.
@ Ron, for accuracy. Don posted this.
It’s sad, a few decades ago, both major parties could get behind a small country resisting a dictatorship. Now, our left sides with the would-be dictators. It pretty much shows their intentions for our country.