[Onkel Neal]

Take that, you wannabe Hitler.


Editorial: Chavez defeat a win for democracy

Score one for democracy. In oil-rich Venezuela, Hugo Chávez has narrowly lost a referendum that would have made him president for life.

Had Chávez won the raft of constitutional changes he was seeking, Venezuela would have become a dictatorship. Chávez would have been granted the power to declare martial law at will and suspend civil liberties, expropriate private property without legal recourse, shut down the news media without justification, rescind the independence of the central bank and control all foreign currency reserves, do away with regional and local elections, and handpick local leaders.

Hoping to rely on the support of the poor and the young, Chávez threw in some sweeteners: reducing the workweek from 40 to 30 hours, boosting pension payments and bringing the voting age down to 16. It didn't work. Even loyal supporters balked at granting Chávez's toxic dream.


It was a rare defeat for Chávez, the first he's suffered since he was voted into office in 1998. But the White House was right not to rub it in, even as much as Chávez irks it. Instead, Washington simply praised Venezuelans for their support of democracy. That was enough. Trying to make the best of the stinging rejection, Chávez said the ballot taught him that "Venezuela is maturing." With luck, it will continue to mature without him after his term expires in 2012

Venezuelans Bring Chavez to His Knees