The trouble with exporting democracy is that its inherent underpinning is the free choice aspect. Unfortunately for the shortsightedness of the Bush administration, they didn't really get all they'd hoped for with the Palestinians. On MTP Sunday, Bill Frist made some very interesting statements that required multiple Tivo rewinds.
Could Bill be using a Hamas as a parallel reference to Democrats in 2006? Bush has already begun the 'ferus againus' rhetoric in preparation for November, can they really be trying to subtly associate change with terrorism?
MR. RUSSERT: Let me show you something from The Washington Post. “Elections in Iran, Iraq, Egypt and now the Palestinian territories have resulted in the defeat of secular and moderate parties and the rise of Islamic parties hostile to U.S. interests.” The president says democracy’s sweeping the world. And yet, when you look at the result of that democracy, those free votes, we are sometimes very unhappy with the results. What does that mean to you?SEN. FRIST: We are very unhappy with the results, very disappointed in the results. But the beauty of democracy is that it reflects the reality of what is on the ground. It reflects the reality of those grassroots, of what people are feeling. Now the Hamas election, was it more a vote for or against cronyism and corruption in the existing government in the Palestinian authority or was it to promote terrorism? We don’t know that yet. But what democracy allows is, you like to be shown, transparency. And that’s the reality. That’s the reality that we, as a free people, who export freedom and opportunity need to recognize that there is this rise of radical Islamic terrorism around the world. And it is being reflected in elections. We may not like the results, but it’s the reality that we’ve got to address. We can shift, and that shift, I think, is going to be a shift to require an investment in support of civil structure and civil institutions and people who believe like we believe.
MR. RUSSERT: Do you believe that the U.S. occupation in Iraq may have been a factor in radicalizing the Palestinians and bringing about their vote for Hamas?
SEN. FRIST: No. Well, I don’t believe that. I believe that election as I implied a few seconds ago was more about the corruption and cronyism that the Palestinian people saw in their existing government and were voting for an alternative. I don’t believe it’s because they want to promote terrorism or destroy Israel. I don’t know that for a fact, but we’ll wait and see as the analysis comes forward over the next several days.
Maybe Senator Frist is just talking off the top of his head and wouldn't think of comparing those on the Left in the US to Hamas... that's Dennis Prager's job.
It is a sad day for humanity when a people choose to elect terrorists as their leaders.(...)
So the Palestinian vote reveals the falsity of the worldwide Left's view of the Palestinians as committed to peace. It likewise reveals the falsity of the Left's belief that Palestinian terror is supported by a small minority of the Palestinian population.
(...)
On just about every issue, the Left lives in a childlike fantasy realm. Their views are expressions of what they wish for, not what actually is.
Here is a small sample:
-- Support for terror represents a tiny sliver of the Muslim world.
-- All cultures are essentially morally equivalent.
-- The United Nations is a wonderful institution and the best hope of mankind.
-- Men and women are basically the same.
-- It makes no difference whether children are raised by a loving man and woman or by two loving parents of the same sex.
-- Violent criminals in our society are pushed into crime by socioeconomic circumstances, not because of their own flawed characters and values.
-- War is not the answer.The list of leftist positions based on a rejection of reality is as long as a list of leftist positions.
Speaking only for one of us over here on the left, the choice of Hamas as the ruling party in the Palestinian Parliament was a surprise and very disconcerting. However, a.) that was their choice b.) that is what democracy is all about c.) I (unfortunately) don't expect immediate ideological change and d.) it's hard to maintain "radical" status when you've become the ones in charge. Just ask any baby-boomer.
Right now, in support of true democracy, the Bush administration should send envoys to meet with PA leaders as soon as is humanly possible and lay out the terms by which we would be willing to work with them as a recognized international government. Stop ignoring countries and governments you don't like... you wind up with North Korea, remember?
Oh, and Dennis... Hamas, Israel, abortions, women's right to make their own decisions, and monogamous gay couples are not intrisically tied issues simply because you have a difference of opinion on one or more of them.