For as Much as the GOP Talks About Venezuela, They Act a Lot Like Chavez and Maduro

One of the favorite talking points in the U.S. for anything even slightly left of center is that it is going in the direction of Venezuela. This is the bogeyman used to take down any movement for universal healthcare, taxes on the wealthy, or common-sense economic reforms. It was also a tactic used to get Venezuelan and Cuban voters in Florida to vote for Trump.

As many have correctly pointed out, the real problem in nations like Venezuela and Cuba is not socialism or universal healthcare, it is corruption, authoritarianism, and hostility towards democratic action. It is the persecution of dissidents and the lack of fair and free elections. It is the fact of governments just ignoring voting outcomes they don’t like.

For all the scary language of the Democrats being like Venezuela, it is ironically the GOP who seems to be taking a page from the playbook of nations like Venezuela. They want to undermine faith in the democratic process so that they can stay in power indefinitely. Though it seems that they may not be successful in doing so this time, it is not because they did not try. Unfortunately, about a third of the country was willing to go along with the scheme and could likely succeed in overturning the will of the people in a closer election.

I have a good friend from Venezuela who says that Trump reminds her so much of Chavez. They of course have different social visions and economic policies. Chavez may have at least initially believed in the ideals of socialism while Trump does not believe in anything but himself. However, the authoritarianism underlying both men are quite similar. Maybe it is time for the GOP to take a hard look in the mirror and ask if they are not playing the same game as the dictatorships that they claim to despise so much. Do they actually value the Constitution and our public over their political party winning? If they do not, there is not much that separates from the likes of Chavez, Maduro, Castro, or Putin. If you actually want to be different than Venezuela stand for an open democracy.