Feel the Bern: Venezuela Is No Longer a Democracy. It's Time to Act

Andres Oppenheimer

Maduro’s latest move to effectively kill the opposition’s constitutional right to gather signatures to demand a recall referendum that could force him out of office has closed all paths to a legal resolution of the crisis.   Now, OAS member countries should follow the steps of South America’s MERCOSUR common market — made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela — which recently suspended Venezuela’s chairmanship for not abiding by the group’s democracy clauses. MERCOSUR is now considering suspending Venezuela’s membership.   Skeptics argue that Maduro’s regime couldn’t care less about being suspended from the OAS, but they are wrong.....To Read More....

My Take - Venezuela is no longer a Democracy!  Really?  And when did they come to that conclusion?  Venezuela is a typical leftist abyss of disaster going back to the election of Hugo Chavez.  As for what outsiders do?  It mostly doesn't matter.  What matters is what Venezuelans do! And they're starting a civil war that will only end when Chavez's crowd are finished, and it's started. 

• Massive Demonstrations Demand President's Ouster in Venezuela
• NYT: Venezuelan Socialism Has Pretty Much Shut Down All Aspects
• Venezuela Drifts Into New Territory: Hunger, Blackouts

And then there's the usual leftist delusions and finger pointing for the failure of socialism

• Venezuela Is Collapsing and the Left Is Afraid to Admit Why - CNS News
• Socialism Crumbles In Venezuela, But Democrats Think It's a Great Idea

"That’s socialism: poverty, tyranny, social decay, devolution. And yet…as Ted Kennedy said, the dream will never die. Unfortunately."  An open socialist, Bernie Sanders, was all the rage running against Hillary. "A recent poll found that 56% of Democrats would be “enthusiastic or satisfied” if Sanders is their party’s nominee, while fewer than 25% see that as a problem."  "Are people really that dumb?"

Socialism has been an abject failure all over the world, and it brought so much suffering and death to so many hundreds of millions of people you would think it would have been consigned to the ash heap of history long before now. 

I'm afraid people really are that dumb, especially when the media, prominent politicians and celebrities promote it.  But let's not ignore personal responsibility. 

The groups most enamored with the Bernies of the world are among the best educated, or at least have access to the best information available.  That leaves only one conclusion.  They choose to ignore the reality of leftism embracing the emotion of leftism.  That can only mean one of two things or both.  Leftists have made leftism a secular religion that must be accepted with blind faith, or their supporters  are insane. I'm inclined to think both!