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December 21, 2005

HuffPo Genius: "Less Democracy, Please"

Karol sent this to me, noting that she felt dumber for having read it. So, in a way, it's like a really cheap way to get drunk.

Could somebody please stop the spread of democracy in the Middle East? I do not like the way it's turning out. Iran for example has been having elections for almost thirty years, since the overthrow of the Shah, and look who wins them. Iran's election have produced presidents ranging from moderate right wingers like Abul Hassan Boni Sadr to full-tilt ultra-religious wingnuts like current president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad whose politics appear to only slightly to the left of Pat Robertson.

Uh, whatever. Iran is not having "democratic elections." It's not a democratic election when all moderate/secular/progressive candidates are simply struck off the ballot and not permitted to stand for elections.

It's not like we don't know how to put the brakes on Islamic democracy. Back in 1991 Algerian voters seemed on the brink of electing an Islamist government and the ruling party, supported by France and the US, just canceled the elections and outlawed the Islamist parties. But I'm sure there are less in your face, more artful ways of... not frustrating Middle Eastern democracy but calming it down. We got the the Deiboldt Corporation and Karl Rove could be looking for a new job any day now.
Again, I'm all over democracy, within reason. But full-frontal democratic governments, reflecting the will a majority are fine in theory but in practice it's scary as hell. I'm sure that's why we've done away with it here in the United States.

Note that his little joke doesn't really make sense. If we've done away with "scary" democracy, then he should be happy.

He's disguising his real complaint-- we have democracy in the US, the majority has spoken, and that's what he doesn't like. He'd prefer a system more like Iran's, with a Supreme Guardian Council disallowing "unacceptable" candidates, like pretty much any politician to the right of, say, Evan Bayh. And Evan Bayh would only be grudging allowed on the ballot.

posted by Ace at 10:24 AM

Comments

Holy hell, am I tired of the 'democracy is dead' argument on the left. I like what Lileks said on the subject back in 2003:

Oh, absolutely. That's why we need Clark: Enough of those big banners in the train stations telling us to SHUT UP AND OBEY, and the endless mandatory TV shows about our Glorious Leader and his plans to increase the radish crop by 170 percent for the next five-year plan. Don't you wish your TV came with an off switch, so you could avoid the propaganda? Don't you wish you could skip the Tuesday night book burnings? Don't you wonder if we crossed the line the night John Ashcroft personally executed Al Franken on "Saturday Night Live"? I miss America, too.

I guess losing elections = supression of TRUE democracy for these crapweasels.

Posted by: Slublog on December 21, 2005 10:31 AM

Liberal critics like to point to the Algerian "cancelled" election as an example of democratic hypocracy. In fact it saved democracy in Algeria. The Islamist party ran on a platform of ending democracy. Their slogan was "One vote, one time!". If they had been allowed to take power they would have scrapped the constitution, instituted Sharia Law, & banned further elections. This plan was plublicly declared by the Islamists.

If liberals believe it is good for democracy for any party with any policy to come to power, perhaps they should consider to the 1933 German elections.

Posted by: Kenneth on December 21, 2005 10:33 AM

couzshshomeonpuhleashtakeshishdemocrashyouduffmyhandshbeforeIhurstmyshelf. Shanku.

Posted by: Tongueboy on December 21, 2005 11:00 AM

I said: Coushsomeonepuhlease...ohforgedish!

Posted by: Tongueboy on December 21, 2005 11:02 AM

There is a good reason to feel dumber for having read it. He can't spell metastasize and he thinks Diebold is Deiboldt. Does HuffPo even run the old spellchecker?

Posted by: ts on December 21, 2005 11:08 AM

Well, you know, Democracy is bad because in Iraq, the recent elections effectively turned Iraq into Iran.

Its a fact, politician to politician, law by law, they are now Iran. They even have a former terrorist and American hostage taker as president. And a nuclear program. You can trust me because Miquel and his various other identities said so, and he is an expert on MidEastern politics. On the other hand, Iraq still has Kurds, but lets not dwell on the differences...

And an election did this! At least under Saddam, Iraq wasn't Iran. In fact, under Saddam, Iraq was so secular that Iraq was the only country in which Al Qaeda deemed it not worthwhile to operate or to have contacts with. Thus, proving that Bush's invasion into Iraq was a costly sidestep in the war on terror, keeping us from, uh, (I actually never took the time to figure out what we were doing in the war on terror, but I bet it has something to do with torture)winning(that sounds good)...

Finally, under Saddam, the citizens of this progressive, secular, liberal community, there were children who regularly played with kites. Until the Americans killed 100,000 children.

*ok, sarcasm over*

Posted by: joeindc44 on December 21, 2005 11:19 AM

Democracy is dead because my guy didn't win.

*sigh*

Liberals out of power are funny.

Posted by: fugazi on December 21, 2005 11:34 AM

Note that his little joke doesn't really make sense.

I don't think there's supposed to be any sense there, just sneering in all directions. ("...whose politics appear to only slightly to the left of Pat Robertson." Hahahahaha! D'you get it?)

By the way, who the hell is Aaron Freeman? How come I've never heard of any of these Huffomegacelebrities on that site?

Posted by: on December 21, 2005 11:54 AM

Liberalise translation of "democracy": When leftists are in power. Hence the "Democratic People's Republics" of Communist dictatorships.

Posted by: on December 21, 2005 11:59 AM

How come I've never heard of any of these Huffomegacelebrities on that site?

I suspect because you have a life?

Posted by: Brian B on December 21, 2005 12:01 PM

Oh, shit.

This guy is serious.

It read like so many of the award-winning Deep Thoughts from the previous post, I just assumed ace posted it in the wrong spot.

Posted by: kelly on December 21, 2005 12:27 PM

Really more of a side comment, Evan Bayh isnt all that moderate. He plays the centrist because he wants to be elected president, and for no other reason. He will take whatever position necessary to get the most people to like him in his next election. Currently he is trying to get his liberal cred better intact for the Dem. presidential primary. On an even more side note if he can beat hillary in the primary he will in all likelihood swing indiana blue in the general election, more than enough swing for any democrat to win. Unless say we find a republican that can swing a blue state red. Say New York perhaps?

Posted by: Jones on December 21, 2005 01:48 PM

You know, as an aside, I thik this guy unwittingly brings up a point against moral equivalence--even the bad guys tacitly admit our way is tje good way, otherwise why would they try to fake it for the sake of appearances. It's not like we have to stage phony military takeovers to justify who we elect.

Posted by: Tom on December 21, 2005 03:17 PM

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Funniest thing I've read about the Virginia mess. Back when they were hustling the referendum through the assembly both Senators, Warner and Kaine, advised them to go slow and play by the rules. Louise Lucas said she respected them but didn't need advice from the "cuck chair" in the corner. The gerrymandering was overturned and Louise is heading for the big house. Edward G. Robinson voice "where's your cuck now?"
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Chris
@chriswithans

"Ahhhhh ahh I put my career on the line for Louise Lucas and Jay Jones thinking they'd vault me into presidential contention and we ended up costing Democrats 20 House seats and unleashing a Reverse Dobbs ahhhhh ahhh"

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Somebody else holds your heart, yeah
You turn to me with your icy tears
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"It's f**king f**ked."
-- reportedly a genuine comment offered by a "senior Labour source"
Correction: I wrote that Labour is losing 88% (now 87%) of the seats it is "defending." I think that's wrong. The right way to say it is the seats they are contesting -- that is, they don't necessarily already hold these seats, but they have put up a candidate to run for the seat. It's still very bad but not as bad as losing 87% of the seats they already held.

Basil the Great
@BasilTheGreat

🚨ED MILIBAND [a Minister in Starmer's government] SAYS KEIR STARMER WILL RESIGN AS PRIME MINISTER

He has reportedly reassured Labour MP's that Starmer will be resigning following the disastrous results tonight

It's over

"The end of the two party system in the UK" as first the Fake Conservatives and now Labour chooses political suicide rather than simply STOPPING THE INVASION
Incidentally, the only reason this didn't already happen in the US is because of the Very Bad Orange Man (who is right on 85% of all policy calls and extremely, existentially right on 15% of them)

No political party that is NOT also a doomsday religious cult would EVER choose a cataclysmic loss -- and possible extinction as a party -- to support a toxically unpopular favoritism of NON-CITIZEN ILLEGAL MIGRANTS over actual citizen voters.

Only a cult does this.

Now they've lost 84%.

Annunziata Rees-Mogg
@zatzi
If this continues Labour loses 2,148 seats tonight.

That is much worse than the worst case predictions I’ve seen.

Cataclysmic

Update: They've now lost 88% of the seats they're defending. As I mentioned earlier, I think I heard that London will not bail them out, as many of those Labour seats will probably flip to "Muslim Independent" or Green. Detroit's 5am vote will not save them.

Yup, Labour is losing 80% of its seats...

The British Patriot
@TheBritLad

🚨 BREAKING: Labour have lost 80% of all seats contested as of 2:25 AM.<
br> If this continues, Keir Starmer will be out of office next week.

Reform has surged and projected to pick up between 1700-2100 seats.

Wow, up to 1700-2100 seats. It's not incredible that this is happening. It's incredible that the Davos crowd is so absolutely determined to privilege Muslim "migrants" over the actual native population who elects them, no matter how loudly the natives scream that they want to be prioritized, that they will gladly self-extinguish as a party rather than simply representing the interests of their own voters. Astonishing.
Remember, when they call other people "cultists" -- they are the ones so imprisoned in their social reinforcement and discipline bubbles that they will choose political death rather than dare upset the Karen Enforcement Officers of their cult.
Update: Now they've lost 83% of the seats they were defending.

(((Dan Hodges)))
@DPJHodges

Reform are basically wiping Labour out in the North. It's not a defeat. It's not even a rout. Labour are simply ceasing to exist.

Nick Lowles
@lowles_nick

Tonight’s results are calamitous for Labour. Not just for Keir Starmer's leadership, but for the very future of the party

STARMERGEDDON: In early returns, Reform gains 135 seats, Labour loses 90, the Fake Conservatives lose 36 (and I didn't even know they could fall any further), the Lib Dems lose 4, and the Greens gain 6. Note that the only other party gaining seats is the Greens and they're only gaining a handful of seats.
Update: Reform now up 145, Labour down 98.
Labour projected to lose Wales -- where they've ruled for 27 years.
Fulton County Georgia just discovered 400 boxes of ballots for Labour
Update: REF +156, LAB -107, CON -45
Brutal: In four out of five council seats where Labour is defending, they've lost. 80%.
I'm sure it's not this simple, but Reform is straight taking Labour's and the "Conservatives'" seats. They've lost almost exactly what Reform gained. If understand this right (and warning, I probably don't), all of London's council seats are up for election, and Labour might lose hugely there, as their old voters abandon them for Reform, Muslim Indenpendents, and the Greens.
REF +190, LAB -134, CON -56.

Updates on the Labour collapse in council elections -- which wags are calling #Starmergeddon -- from Beege Welborne. There are about 5000 seats up for grabs, Labour is expected to lose 1,800, Reform will probably gain 1,580, up from... zero. So this would be more than that.
People claim that while Labour has adopted the Sharia Agenda to appeal to the million Muslims it allowed to migrate to the country, those voters are ditching Labour to vote for the Muslim Independent Party or the Greens. Delicious. This shadenfreude is going straight to my thighs.
Oh, and if Starmer loses about as badly as expected, Labour will toss him out of a window Braveheart style and replace him. He will announce he is resigning to spend more time with his Gay Ukrainian Male Prostitutes.

Media bias and senationalism are as old as, well, the media:

That was written by Denny O'Neill and illustrated by, get this, Frank Miller. Editor to the Stars Jim Shooter was in charge at the time.
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