some historians think the most decisive moment in the creation of the United States wasn't Valley Forge or the Declaration of Independence but was the moment when John Adams quietly left the Presidency after losing to Jefferson. Chavez still has until 2012 to do what he wants to do. In the long run, he is in a stronger position. He now has democratic legitamcy which will likely fragment his opposition and make it easier to pass some of his reforms, even if they will be now watered down.
> From: srobin21 at comcast.net> To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org> Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2007 20:20:06 +0000> Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] NYT: Chavez loses, 51% to 49%; Chavez does concede on TV> > Although I DO NOT AGREE with the badmouthing of Chavez, I think Doug is mistaken. Going back to the American Revolution, there was no single paramount leader of the relative stature we saw in revolutionary Cuba or China. Even in the Bolshevik Revolution, the Stalin inspired Lenin cult notwithstanding, there was a real collective leadership in the party that went beyond Lenin or even Trotsky. (Democratic Centralism and all that it implied, for good or ill). SR> > -------------- Original message -------------- > From: Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> > > > > > On Dec 3, 2007, at 2:33 PM, Charles Brown wrote: > > > > > No aya contradiciion in supporting Chavez as the main leader of the > > > popular revolution. The popular revolution in Venezuela wouldn't have > > > had the successes it has had without a popular and progressive leader. > > > > It's funny how this is one thing that anarchists and the ISO agree on > > - Chavez, like Castro, is a power-mad despot, a classic Latin > > caudillo. The authentic revolution would rise from the grassroots. > > Problem is, there's really no precedent for that sort of thing. > > > > Doug > > ___________________________________ > > http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk > ___________________________________> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
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