Jesse Jackson

Jesse Jackson has gone to Venezuela to lend his support to el Presidente Hugo Chavez:

Jesse Jackson offered support for President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela on Sunday, saying that a call for his assassination by a U.S. religious broadcaster was a criminal act and that the United States and Venezuela should work out their differences through diplomacy.

The American civil rights leader condemned last week's suggestion by the television evangelist Pat Robertson that U.S. operatives should kill the leftist Venezuelan leader, calling the statements "immoral" and "illegal."

Ok, first off, Robertson is an idiot, I'll grant Jesse that much. But what's funny to me is that Jesse Jackson took a leading role in stirring up anger over the 2000 presidential vote. In fact, here's a direct quote of his:

“In Third World countries, when democratically cast votes are not counted or the person who most likely lost wins in a highly questionable manner, we usually refer to that as a coup d’etat."

He hasn't calmed down since then either, stating the following in 2004:

"I was appalled that Republicans were so bold to steal the election, and astounded at the silence of Democrats."

Unsurprisingly he was back at in the wake of the 2004 election, claiming voting irregularities in Ohio:

"The irregularities in the Ohio vote and vote count are widespread and blatant. If the Ohio election were held in the Ukraine, it would not have been certified by the international community."

So you can imagine my surprise when Jesse headed down to Venezuela to back up a third world leader whose victory in a referendum was marred by allegations of voter fraud. Whether fraud occurred or not, it's a safe bet that Chavez is kept in power at least partially by gangs of thugs. Besides his reliance on brute force, Chavez has also been busy restricting free speech and wrecking the court system.

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Well, on the bright side, I guess if Jesse has enough time on his hands to go support a third world thug that things in the U.S. must be pretty peachy.