by Bob Quasius

It sure looks that way!

Accuracy in Media reports:

America is losing Nicaragua to the communists—again. The blatant stealing of the election in this Central American country has been ignored by headlines in the press proclaiming that Daniel Ortega won re-election in a landslide. The Obama Administration, which has encouraged the “Arab Spring” process that has resulted in Islamists making gains in the Middle East, has refused so far to condemn the theft of democracy in Nicaragua.

Ortega, an accused sexual child abuser, and his communist comrades in the Sandinista movement took power in 1979 with the help of Democratic U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who said Americans had an inordinate fear of communism. Carter cut aid to the pro-American Somoza regime in Nicaragua and then proposed foreign aid for the Sandinistas. Carter also lost Iran to the fanatical Mullahs on the verge of acquiring nuclear weapons.

In 1990 the Sandinistas were forced to cede power and hold free elections, which they lost, in the face of a military insurgency led by the Contras, Nicaraguan freedom fighters supported by Carter’s successor, Republican President Ronald Reagan. But Ortega and his backers never went away, subverting the democratic process through infiltration, fraud and theft. They have been aided and abetted by foreign aid from Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.

This time, with no visible opposition from the Obama Administration, Ortega has stolen the presidential election in violation of the Nicaraguan constitution limiting a president to two terms. It is the Hugo Chavez method of seizing and maintaining power. Ortega’s cronies on the Nicaraguan Supreme Court violated the constitution and ruled that he could run for the presidency again.

I have many friends and family in Honduras, where Hugo Chavez ally Mel Zelaya made a similar power grab attempt. Mel Zelaya was elected to office on a populist platform, not at all unusual in a Latin American or any other democracy.

Soon after Zelaya was elected, he became pals with Hugo Chavez, and with massive support from Chavez sought to transform himself from a democratically elected president into a dictator for life. The constitution of Honduras provides for separation of powers between the presidency, Congress, and the Supreme Court. Zelaya sought a referendum on the constitution, to bolster his power including removal of term limits. The Honduran constitution does not permit the president to conduct a referendum and the Supreme Court issued an injunction against the referendum and ordered the military to impound the ballots, which had been printed in Venezuela and had arrived in Honduras.

Zelaya decided to ignore the Supreme Court anyway, and Venezuelan intelligence agents saturated Honduras to intimidate Zelaya opponents. Following a huge rally, Chavez led a huge mob to the airport where the ballots were impounded, and the mob overpowered the guards and seized the ballots. The morning of the referendum, the Supreme Court ordered Zelaya’s arrest and the referendum never took place. Inside the presidential palace was found an enormous mountain of cash to buy votes, along with election computers already rigged with election results in favor of Zelaya, for a referendum that never took place!
The Wall Street Journal reported:

Hugo Chávez’s coalition-building efforts suffered a setback yesterday when the Honduran military sent its president packing for abusing the nation’s constitution.

It seems that President Mel Zelaya miscalculated when he tried to emulate the success of his good friend Hugo in reshaping the Honduran Constitution to his liking.

Obama promptly labeled Zelaya’s removal a “military coup”, but in a military coup the military seizes power and puts a general in charge. The Honduran military was ordered to arrest Zelaya by the Supreme Court and Congress, and the next in the line of succession was installed as president. Now that’s hardly a military coup? Obama’s actions were particularly disgraceful, as the U.S. for decades had prodded Honduras to become a Democratic nation of laws, and the system of checks and balances inspired by our own constitution worked as designed.

When one branch of government sought to become all powerful and overpower the other branches, the checks and balances insured that didn’t happen. Honduras continues to have a robust two party Democracy with elected legislators and president, no thanks to Obama! The Obama administration even “punished” Honduras for following the ‘rule of law’ and it’s constitution which was inspired by our own by not issuing visas to anyone at the embassy and consulate, inconveniencing many Honduras who wanted to visit the U.S.