Exposing the Farce of Chavez — and His Western Admirers
Troubled by the intellectuals and celebrities who support the dictator, an expat Venezuelan writes a book on the horrors of Hugo Chavez.
Author A.C. Clark grew up in Venezuela, so it pains him to watch his homeland suffer even though he now calls the U.S. home. Even worse for Clark is having to see the man responsible for the nation’s decline, President Hugo Chavez, trumpeted as a hero in intellectual circles and Hollywood instead of as a villain.
Clark’s new book — The Revolutionary Has No Clothes: Hugo Chavez’s Bolivarian Farce — dresses down Sean Penn’s friend, exploring the grand misstatements, poverty-inducing policies, and thuggish behavior:
Life in Venezuela has become extraordinarily difficult for ordinary Venezuelans. There‘s an exodus of people leaving the country.
He wrote the book to illustrate the collapse of his homeland, but also to show his shock at the “lack of seriousness and misinformation being spread about Chavez and his agenda.” Why are so many people on the left rushing to his defense?
“A major motivating factor was the shock that it produced in me to see all these academic and intellectuals who just love this guy,” Clark says. “They don’t know what they’re talking about.”
A case in point is director Oliver Stone’s upcoming documentary South of the Border, which slams the U.S. media for painting Chavez in an unflattering light. It’s almost as silly as the Obama administration speaking out against the media’s harsh treatment of its policies.
Clark can’t pin down why Chavez has so many defenders. He figures part of his appeal is the leader’s hatred for former President George W. Bush, something the left clearly appreciates. Still, it doesn’t explain the movement as a whole. One theory Clark offers is self-hatred in the West. He also suggests that Chavez is a symbol for some of a longed-for utopia — “even if,” Clark says, “there’s little of that in reality.”
Clark recalls a depressing chat he once had with a university professor and self-avowed Chavez backer. Clark asked him his thoughts on Chavez changing existing Venezuelan law to rule the country indefinitely. “He has long-term plans,“ the professor explained. Clark writes:
I couldn’t believe it. Had [George W.] Bush perpetuated himself in power they wouldn’t put up with it, but they put up with it if it’s happening far away.
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Christian Toto is a freelance writer and film critic for The Washington Times. His work has appeared in People magazine, MovieMaker Magazine, The Denver Post, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and Scripps Howard News Service. He also contributes movie radio commentary to three stations as well as the nationally syndicated Dennis Miller Show and runs the blog What Would Toto Watch?
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32 Comments
1. Larry:Let’s not forget Chavez’s Jew-hatred and his scapegoating Israel for the failings of his own regime, which goes hand in hand with his love-in with Ahmandinjehad and his fellow jihadists.
Chavez has said of the Jews, “the descendants of those who crucified Christ… have taken ownership of the riches of the world, a minority has taken ownership of the gold of the world, the silver, the minerals, water, the good lands, petrol, well, the riches, and they have concentrated the riches in a small number of hands.”
See http://www.tomgrossmedia.com/mideastdispatches/archives/000625.html
for the original 2005 Christmas speech.
Chavez has also praised Robert Mugabe to the skies, all on public record.
Nov 3, 2009 - 3:53 am 2. Highlander:“I couldn’t believe it. Had [George W.] Bush perpetuated himself in power they wouldn’t put up with it, but they put up with it if it’s happening far away.”
I think it is more accurate to say they would put up with it here too, if it’s origins were on the left. We already see Liberals in this country excusing, and even embracing, power-grabbing actions taken by the Obama administration, that they would be, in turn, in open revolt about comimg from a Conservative President.
Nov 3, 2009 - 4:07 am 3. cabeza de mierda:people are not exactly sheep but they do have some herd mentality predelictions.
in any society a strong man emerges, sometimes they are good but most of the time they are bad and sometimes very bad.
why he is popul;arized by the “stars” may be because the “stars” are f@#k!ng idiots
Nov 3, 2009 - 5:34 am 4. moron:No, it’s not because of the hatred og GWB. It’s because they themselves are Marxists, as is the dear leader here.
Nov 3, 2009 - 5:41 am 5. cabeza de mierda:4. moron:
No, it’s not because of the hatred og GWB. It’s because they themselves are Marxists, as is the dear leader here.
that does about cover it
Nov 3, 2009 - 6:16 am 6. Dave K.:Yes, let’s complain about Venezuela while ignoring the People’s Republic of China, since Hugo Chavez is obviously the bigger threat with his 350 million strong army and nuclear missiles aimed at US cities and use of financial manipulation of his manufacturing base to weaken the US economy…
Nov 3, 2009 - 6:32 am 7. Dave K.:Also, Hugo Chavez is Venezuela’s problem, not ours.
All of my life I’ve heard nothing but complaints from Central and South America about interference from Yanqui Imperialists.
Well, guess what?
Your wish came true.
Obama is right:
They can clean up your own drug-fueled, corrupt nations.
No Habla Español.
Nov 3, 2009 - 6:47 am 8. the cleaner:6. Dave K.:
you must be a liberal sh!t. this piece was about venezuela. the author is from venezuela not china.
go tell geroge soros to get you better material.
Nov 3, 2009 - 6:55 am 9. David W. Lincoln:In “Hitler’s dream come true” by George Jonas, the writer made reference to a conference in Oslo. One
participant came from Venezuela.
It’s good to see Mr. Clark carrying on the very honourable tradition of “Dr. Zhivago” by Pasternak,
Nov 3, 2009 - 7:34 am 10. Dave K.:and “The Black Book of Communism” by various people, in removing the mask from the hideous, indeed venal, attributes of the tools of government
subverted to inflict man’s inhumanity to man.
the cleaner@8:
“you must be a liberal sh!t. this piece was about venezuela. the author is from venezuela not china.
go tell geroge soros to get you better material.”
Yes, Hugo Chavez is the biggest threat to the US and we must fight so that Venezuela’s oil resources can be free to be sold by US companies.
Isn’t that what freedom is all about?
Nov 3, 2009 - 7:43 am 11. TK75:DaveK – classic liberal misdirection.
When was it ever said in the article or comments that Chavez was the #1 threat? Or that we should take direct action against him? Are we only allowed to talk about the #1 threat facing the US, if we could even agree on what that would be? A wise strategy is to assess ALL threats, then focus the appropriate level of resources to each one based on immediacy and severity.
The author was merely trying to expose one particular threat and the ignorant worship of him by many leftists here.
Nov 3, 2009 - 8:00 am 12. deguello:The CLEANER#8 David K doesn’t need better material from Soros;he needs penicillin to deal with with material he alreasdy got from Soros’- shall we say- appendage?
Nov 3, 2009 - 8:34 am 13. deguello:TK 75 Dave is just another Stalinist defending a fellow stalinist,who is trying to communize other Latin American countries.To a dave K, that’s not a threat, it’s an opportunity.
Nov 3, 2009 - 8:37 am 14. Gary from the Praire:It is not common knowledge but Chavez is persecuting the Masonic Lodge. People are disappearing. The Masonic Lodge is under attack there.
Nov 3, 2009 - 8:39 am 15. Dave K.:TK75@11:
“The author was merely trying to expose one particular threat and the ignorant worship of him by many leftists here.”
It’s a matter of resource management.
In my opinion, China is the biggest threat and Hugo “Brainless Monkey” Chavez is not even a fraction of a problem in comparison.
But all Republicans love China, because slave labor equals cheaper iPhones.
And Hugo Chavez is a monster who must be stopped, because he nationalized the oil industry.
Latin America has complained about US interference forever, so let them vote whatever nut-cases they want and let them sort out their own problems.
If they want our help, they know where to come and humbly beg for it.
Nov 3, 2009 - 8:50 am 16. Et.:This megalomaniac iliterate dictatorjust surrounds himself with only cuban G-2; thugs,
ex convicts; he has armed the criminals in our slums(who by the way act on their own)- I am talking about AK 47s,Granades,C-4 Explosives..So on) Has Iranians Techs only minning our raw Uranium at the Bolivar state, and in term shiping it to Teheran in our oficial and diplomatic vesels,has changed the catholic misionaries for the most dangerous brain washing Iranians (muslim extremist)plainly teaching our natives (Children)to become Jihadists,and never the less
He is the # 1 partner of the Colombian FARC and the cocaine drug lords(Distributing and washing their dirty moneys)To keep it as short as I can;let me tell you that there are at least 2 Al Queida training camps presently in Venezuela(Guajira & Margarita Island).He factually sponsors terrorism around the world by infiltrating with so called students,Diplomatic corps,etc. – His best(Only) friends are the African Dictators(THUGS) and all the Latin American countries where he buys and places with our petro $s THEIR GOVERMENTS(Argentina,Paraguay,Ecuador,Bolivia,Uruguay,
Nicaragua,Honduras,El Salvador,Costa Rica
He is also infiltrating Mexico,The US,Canada.Europe,etc.
HE IS A WORLD CLASS MOST DANGEROUS TRASH BAG (A plain Monkey) WITH A VERY SHARP SHAVING BLADE IN HIS HAND (All his actions are about plain power, EGO, there is not a bit of any social or communist tendencies in his policies.Just the plain destruction and caos in order to acvhive NOTHING GOOD) Et.
Nov 3, 2009 - 9:12 am 17. the Cleaner:Dave K.
you are way too funny. and way too stupid to breath, you have slipped by Darwin this time.
China has nothing to do with this piece. I know you just don’t have any other Saul Alinsky pre-programed reply. don’t worry George Soros will still give you a pay check forever, even after marxists are in control. NOT !
Nov 3, 2009 - 11:48 am 18. the Cleaner:Dave “el segundo culo” k.
Latin America has complained about US interference
not all of latin america …just the marxist types. did you ever see the lines in front of the US embassy?? do you think they are lining up to voice a complaint ?? nacio con uno no quiero segundo. cuidate
Nov 3, 2009 - 11:52 am 19. Tristan Yates:Good article. What’s happened in Latin America is such a shame – the region has so much potential. Thomas Sowell in one of his recent articles mentions that Argentina used to be as wealthy as Germany or France at the turn of the century and now its a basket case. The people deserve far better.
Nov 3, 2009 - 12:26 pm 20. Dave K.:the Cleaner@18:
“Dave “el segundo culo” k.
Latin America has complained about US interference
not all of latin america …just the marxist types. did you ever see the lines in front of the US embassy?? do you think they are lining up to voice a complaint ?? nacio con uno no quiero segundo. cuidate”
And I don’t care about Latin America.
Nov 3, 2009 - 1:02 pm 21. the Cleaner:Solve your own problems and stop whining.
20. Dave K.:
the Cleaner@18:
“Dave “el segundo culo” k.
Latin America has complained about US interference
not all of latin america …just the marxist types. did you ever see the lines in front of the US embassy?? do you think they are lining up to voice a complaint ?? nacio con uno no quiero segundo. cuidate”
And I don’t care about Latin America.
Solve your own problems and stop whining.
you are the one whining …go ask the one to kiss your booboo
Nov 3, 2009 - 1:17 pm 22. Chileno:Dave K says: ” I don’t care about Latin America.”
45 million Americans -15% of the population- are of Hispanic origin. And we DO care about Latin America. Keep your isolationist, quasi-racist comments to yourself.
DK: “Yes, Hugo Chavez is the biggest threat to the US…”
The piece was NOT about which threat was greatest to America. It was written to expose the human catastrophe developing within Venezuela, produced by a man lauded by the Left. If the Left can decry the oppression of the Tibetans or the Palestinians, why is it so wrong to decry the misery of people living in Venezuela?
DK: ” all Republicans love China, because slave labor equals cheaper iPhones…”
It was Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who last February stated that Chinese human rights cannot “interfere” with dealing “with the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis…” ( http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/21/clinton.china.asia/ )Because apparently economics and even the environment are far more important to this Democrat government than pressing China on human rights…
And while Bush joined Congress in presenting the Dalai Lama with the Congressional Gold Medal in 2007, Obama snubbed him this year, refusing to even meet him so as not to upset the Chinese. I guess Democrats have developed a soft spot for China, eh?
China would not attack us -we owe them too much money! And with Obama’s massive projected deficit increase, that will only get worse. True, China may be pointing missiles in our direction, which makes it all the more strange that Obama has pledged to reduce our nuclear deterrent and or missile defense systems…
Chavez is a loon. If he’d kept to himself, he’d be another Mugabe: a heinous, yet self-contained creature. But this is not the case. He has continued to spread his Cuban-style “Bolivarian revolution” to other states, like Bolivia, Nicaragua, Ecuador, and very nearly into Honduras, Peru, and Mexico. Many of us who know the horrors of Cuba worry other Latinos could suffer this same fate, and are upset about how the Hollywood crew actually defend the idiot.
Chavez may not pose a security threat for America. (That is, if you discount his Iranian ties… And why is there such a large Iranian push into Nicaragua?? ) But Chavez and his cronies across the continent can produce massive economic upheavals, which could lead to more US illegal immigration, and changes in US-Latin America trade relations, both of which could cause greater strain on our economy.
You could try to understand all this, or you could keep your head stuck in the sand while whining away about how you don’t care about Latin America. Comprende? Ah, perdon, tu no hablas Español. Gringo ignorante.
Nov 3, 2009 - 6:35 pm 23. Chileno:Just some facts to keep in mind:
A) Not all Latin American governments are populist, Communist, or Peronist. There are several relatively successful democratic Latin American nations, including Costa Rica, Chile, Brazil, Peru, and yes, even Colombia. Many of these nations, though with ostensibly socialist governments, have maintained a business-friendly atmosphere, which has promoted economic growth, and raised thousands above the poverty line.
B) Chavez & Co. have NOT raised many out of poverty. In fact, in Venezuela today there are shortages of some of the most basic food produces (such as milk), there’s rampant inflation, and rampant crime. The state oil company has become terribly inefficient, because no foreign company wants to invest in new infrastructure, and Chavez uses much of the company’s profits as his personal piggy bank.
C) It’s true that many Latinn American countries were ruled by inept or corrupt political elites for decades. Many of the impoverished masses were repressed by these elites, and the poor are now rebelling against them, in countries like Ecuador and Bolivia. But what they’re getting is often worse than what they had before.
D)For all the socialists out there, let me state, as one born and raised in Latin America, I have seen how inefficient, bloated Latin “socialist” governments wasted what little capital a country had, and scared off investors who could bring in income and jobs. Tell me, if socialism is so good, why do people live so awfully in Cuba and Venezuela? Why do they live so much better in countries with stable, free market economies like Chile and Costa Rica? Why is it that, after decades of impoverished Communist rule, countries like China or Poland are finally revving up their economies after embracing free market policies? The secret to lifting up the poor is not finding new means of income redistribution, it’s finding new means of income generation: jobs, small and large businesses, etc. That’s something socialism can’t create.
I’m not advocating a purely laissez-faire government mentality. Government is necessary to regulate businesses, make sure they’re honest, and up to par in terms of safety or environmental standards. But there’s a difference between regulating a market, and thinking you can control it. When Chavez, like many socialists before him, thought he could beat inflation by enacting price controls, he created the food shortages seen in Venezuela. Why would any business sell milk for $1 when it costs $1.50 to produce? Or why sell it in Venezuela for $1 if you can sell it in Colombia for $2? Would you?
Nov 3, 2009 - 6:48 pm 24. Chileno:@ #2 Highlander
“’I couldn’t believe it. Had [George W.] Bush perpetuated himself in power they wouldn’t put up with it, but they put up with it if it’s happening far away.’ …I think it is more accurate to say they would put up with it here too, if it’s origins were on the left.”
Indeed! Just days after Obama’s inauguration, a “grass roots” organization sprung up, calling for the abolishment of the 22nd amendment that set Presidential term limits, specifically to allow Obama to run for a third term.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Obamas-Third-Term-END22com/50340334653
Obama has barely begun, and some already want to give him Roosevelt-like powers to be President for Life. What would the Lefties say if some conservative were to suggest the same about a brand-new Republican President??
…And they have the gall to say the Tea Partiers are crazy???
Nov 3, 2009 - 7:05 pm 25. vivo:Chavez may be a bad president and may be killing his country, but his popularity in some circles stems from the fact that he exposed the sad truth about GW Bush. He may have used undiplomatic terms, but his distaste for this puppet of a president was shared by many millions around the world.
Nov 4, 2009 - 5:26 am 26. Alek Boyd:So who is this A.C. Clark, who has to hide under a pen name in order to “protect” his family?
Nov 4, 2009 - 1:43 pm 27. deguello:VIVO#25 So what’s your point,exposing Bush excuses dictatorial brutality,economic ruin,and threatening other countries?
Nov 4, 2009 - 2:33 pm 28. m_astera:I wonder if that is really Alek Boyd, the London based blogger and journalist known for being critical of Chavez, who asked someone to reveal A.C. Clark’s real name above?
I would think the real Alek Boyd would know better than to look to stir up trouble for the writer’s family.
Nov 4, 2009 - 3:07 pm 29. Gringo:25. vivo wannabe:
Chavez may be a bad president and may be killing his country, but his popularity in some circles stems from the fact that he exposed the sad truth about GW Bush. He may have used undiplomatic terms, but his distaste for this puppet of a president was shared by many millions around the world.
Yes, Chávez was speaking truth to power. When no one else was denouncing Dubya, Thugo stood against the crowd and spoke against Dubya . Yeah, right. Seemed to me that there was a rather steady drumbeat against Dubya. If you believe that Thugo exposed the sad truth about GW Bush (your words not mine), you haven’t been reading the papers for the last 8 years. Herta Däubler-Gmelin , then Germany’s Minister of Justice, compared Dubya to Adolf Nazi back in 2002, without any prompting whatsoever from Thugo.
Chávez speaks:
Here Chávez has shown his distaste for the puppet of a president named Barack Obama .
Here is Chávez again:
The popularity of Thugo “in some circles” stems from the old saw, “ the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Because Thugo called Dubya Mr. Danger ( see video below with English subtitles), some thought Thugo was hunky-dory. They didn’t have to live in Venezuela, where the murder rate has more than doubled in Thugo’s decade in power.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mwka2ytMjLY Mr. Danger w english subtitles. From Venezuela.
Nov 4, 2009 - 6:00 pm 30. vivo:His Yanqui de Mierda is another hit.
I’m not defending or opposing Chavez, I just answered the question why he’s popular in some circles.
Nov 5, 2009 - 5:09 am 31. Gringo:30. vivo wannabe:
I’m not defending or opposing Chavez, I just answered the question why he’s popular in some circles.
You previously stated the following:
When you stated that he exposed the sad truth about GW Bush, you implied that Thugo stated the truth about Dubya. Assuming that you support the truth, that means that you supported what Thugo said about Dubya.
If you truly thought that you were neither defending nor opposing Chavez, you need to make your writing much more precise. Which is why I call you “wannabe.”
Nov 5, 2009 - 4:26 pm 32. vivo:31. Gringo:
“Assuming that you support the truth, that means that you supported what Thugo said about Dubya.”
Saying that Chavez told the truth is not supporting Chavez. He just told the truth. He was not the only one knowing that Bush was a lousy president, millions knew that but didn’t have the platform that Chavez had at the UN.
Right now, I don’t give a fig what Chavez thinks or says.
Nov 5, 2009 - 10:35 pm