20656: White: Fwd: Re: 20614: (Hermantin)... [what "Democratic counterpart?"] (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Randall White <raw@haitiaction.org>

what "Democratic counterpart?"

In response to: #20614

"Aristide spent millions to lobby"

BY FRANK DAVIES
fdavies@herald.com


HERE GOES THE SPIN-which has never stopped spinning-Mr Davies really
shows who he's working for.

Besides trying to extend the myths about President Aristide, he
returns to the well trodden path of misinformation, that somehow, the
constituency of the elite class deserves an equal voice to counter
70% of the Haitian People. When the supporters of The Coup of 2004
comprise less than 10% of the voting public, they should be content
with just being able to control the economy at will.

What is being inseminated here is the illusion of
"fairness"-countervailing the application of the Haitian
Constitution, and the will of the Haitian People by providing
legislative dominance for leaders who can't win an election. Even
though they own everything in sight, the Republicans were so greedy,
they made the US taxpayers pick up the tab for this injustice.

http://www.HaitiAction.net/News/gwpNor.html

Which brings up another point, Mr Davies makes no mention of "a
coup." Should I quibble? Back to the main point.

After a lengthy description of all the money the that the Haitian
Government spent in trying to recover some forward momentum, Mr.
Davies slips in this little tidbit:

"Like its Democratic counterpart..."

(WHAT DEMOCRATIC COUNTERPART GOT MONEY FROM USAID?)

"...the IRI is a nonprofit group that tries to promote democracy with
training sessions for political parties, labor unions and civic
groups."

Oh please...

IRI got money to prop up all those virulent Anti-Lavalas groups from
USAID under the pretense of promoting democracy. Why they needed any
financial assistance at all is beyond me. If they had enough
money-using helicopters to search the countryside and a well-armed
commando unit of over 200 that arrived about 3AM one morning, by
boat, when it looked as though the death-squad insurgents were losing
Cap Haitien-for this very well funded coup, it doesn't make sense
that the opposition or the Haitian elite couldn't bankroll their own
destabilization campaign.

That is, of course, unless all the money spent over the last 15 years
to outfit and train the death-squads didn't come from the Haitian
elite/drug traffickers.

Not trying to sound like Andy:

Why aren't all these investigative reporters asking where all this
money came from?

To try and say that the IRI, Jesse Helms or Robert Noriega was ever
interested in the "peoples choice" (aka: democracy) or labor unions
just stretches credibility too far. A Republican administration
raiding the public coffers to create a slave colony, does not balance
the attempts-of the popularly-elected government of Haiti-to lobby
for positive change, by spending less on that effort than what they
were spending in interest for a loan that they were already approved
to get.

To try and make the baffled US public to believe that this tragedy in
Haiti is nothing more than a Republican/Democrat squabble in an
election year is criminal...

  ...and a LIE.

RAW