Hugo Chavez slips and falls…
…in the polls. The latest Venezuelan survey results show the thug-o-crat losing in his bid to revoke his term limit, expand his powers, and further his socialist fantasies under the guise of “constitutional reform:”
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has lost his lead eight days before a referendum on ending his term limit, an independent pollster said on Saturday, in a swing in voter sentiment against the Cuba ally.
Forty-nine percent of likely voters oppose Chavez’s proposed raft of constitutional changes to expand his powers, compared with 39 percent in favor, a survey by respected pollster Datanalisis showed.
Just weeks ago, Chavez had a 10-point lead for his proposed changes in the OPEC nation that must be approved in a referendum, the polling company said.
Despite the swing, company head Luis Vicente Leon said he did not rule out a comeback by the popular president.
Chavez has trounced the opposition at the polls on average once a year and can deploy a huge state-backed machinery to get out the vote, Leon said.
Still, the survey was the latest blow to Chavez. He has suffered a series of defections over his plan, including an ex-defense minister who had restored him to power after a brief 2002 putsch but who called Chavez’s reforms a new “coup.”
What does a thug-o-crat do when faced with increasing unpopularity? Threaten, threaten, threaten:
resident Hugo Chavez warned his supporters on Friday that anyone voting against his proposed constitutional changes would be a “traitor,” rallying his political base before a referendum that would let him seek unlimited re-election in 2012 and beyond.
Brandishing a little red book listing his desired 69 revisions to Venezuela’s charter, Chavez exhorted his backers to redouble their efforts toward a victorious “yes” vote in the Dec. 2 ballot.
“He who says he supports Chavez but votes ‘no’ is a traitor, a true traitor,” the president told an arena packed with red-clad supporters. “He’s against me, against the revolution and against the people.”
His speech followed the recent high-profile defection of his former Defense Minister Gen. Raul Baduel, a longtime ally who called the president’s proposed reforms a “coup.” Others have also broken with the Chavista movement in recent months, including politicians of the small left-leaning party Podemos.
Chavez’s opponents accuse him of concentrating power and seeking to be president-for-life like his close friend Fidel Castro of Cuba. Chavez insists he will only stay on as long as Venezuelans continue to vote for him.
“If you don’t approve (the referendum), maybe we’ll have time for a parachute jump in five years,” Chavez, a former paratrooper, told the crowd. “But if you wish—if you approve the referendum—I will stay as long as God wills! Until the last bone of my skeleton dries out!”
Ziva at Babablu Blog urges Venezuelans: “Go to the polls and vote Venezuela, say no to the dictator!”
Daniel at Venezuela News and Views also urges compatriots not to sit out the vote:
I do not know whether this serves to convince people to go to vote or not, but it seems to me that it makes a case that by going to vote NO, no matter how much cheating Chavez is already doing, we have a better chance to make our point that the new constitution is inviable. In fact we even have a chance to stop it! If we stay home we know that even with a 20% of Venezuelans Chavez will try to impose it anyway if he has enough spread, which he is sure to get if we stay home.
Besides, if you stay home you relinquish any right you have to say that your vote was stolen. It is that simple.
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and somewhere Sean Penn sheds a tear…
Paging Jimmy Carter … paging Jimmy Carter … paging all Hugonistas. Whitewash needed for inevitable vote fraud.
Every despot has their bad day. Hopefully for Hugo this is just the first step in his rebirth as a real human.
Five bucks says the Parrot on his shoulder has a bigger brain.
AJ, the parrot is insulted that you even bothered to point that out.
Why does that little red book sound familiar? Could it be Comrade Mao’s?
Do I have to put up more than 5¢ to get your $5?
This too is Bush’s fault!
!@#$! if only he had invoked the children!
Steveegg that was the first thing that went through my mind too. All I could think of was Chairman Mao’s little red book and the “Cultural Revolution” with the little Maobots running around. This may not bode well for the citizens of Venezuela, but it appears they are finally awakening to the threat.
If Jimmy Carter is there to certify the vote (again), Hugo will win if there’s just one ballot with his name on it.
I bet if we ask Jimmuhh right now, he’ll say Chavez is do’n a heckuva job.
Its amazing we even survived one term with him as
PresPremier.Michelle, I knew what you meant when you said that Hugo “slips and falls”. I had read an article about his slip in the polls on another blog. But, I was hoping you meant he physically slipped and fell ala Castro. I was all ready for the video. lol
=
“he who says he supports Chavez but votes ‘no’ will be silenced.”
Yeah, I was hoping he slipped and fell…off the face of the earth.
… and a long white streak down his back.
He will go nuts when he loses. He’ll blame Bush, close the courts, dissolve the parliament and seize power the old fashion way, with brute force.
Jimmy Carter smiles
I wonder what’s on his iPod?
Warren Zevon’s “Lawyers, Guns, and Money”
Let me stoke up the home fires a little bit here. Yes, it seems that the people in Venezuela are waking up! Thankfully! Will they be able to do anything about this leftist takeover now that they have seen the reality surrounding them? Only time will tell.
Meanwhile, here we sit at home while the same radical thought process (If you can call it thinking) is brought into our schools and forced onto our children. Unconstitutional laws are not only passed but praised by we the people who are relinquishing our rights.
I pray for the people of Venezuela. I pray more for We The People of the US of A. If we let everything continue down the same path where it has been started, this may very well be our future as well. Can we really expect to do the same thing and have different results? It all happens a single step at a time and each step we allow puts US that much closer to a similar scenario. Can you honestly sit there believing that a government who is already overturning the votes of the people would not be this brazen in a few short years? Say maybe eight years or so?
I guess Il Duce is having problems making the trains run on time.
Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.
Haqs anyone been searching the alleys for that pollster? I recommend looking under boxes, in cans and dumpsters…maybe in several plastic garbage bags…
Not often you see the words “respected” and “pollster” used in the same sentence. I guess as long as it is not an MSM pollster…
I wonder whether more of the army will be mobilized before the election or after?
Even if Chavez is eventually voted out of office, I doubt he will ever leave voluntarily.
If he can’t pass the current referendum by fraud, he’ll invalidate the results and accuse the opposition of stealing the election.
I fear a military coup may be the only way Venezuela will ever rid herself of Chavez.
Where’s the Venezuelan Pinochet when you need him?
Like the election won’t be rigged regardless.
As far as Chavez’ dried up skeleton bone, I’m too much of a gentleman to make the obvious remark.
Ohhhh, the hand wringing that must be going on in Hollyweird worrying if Hugo can pull it off, so they can see their buddy stay in office. Geez!
As a Christian, I thought a Christian I respected, Pat Robertson, went too far in calling for this man’s demise. However, in retrospect, Forgive me Pat.