Sometimes on DU we have some pretty silly litmus tests for elected Dems... [View All]

[Skinner]

...but this Chavez thing has got to be the silliest--and most overblown--one I have heard yet.

So, Hugo Chavez called Bush the devil. I'll admit that when I heard about it, I thought it was kinda funny. I chuckled.

But I wasn't expecting elected Democrats to get on TV and pump their fists and yell, "FUCK YEAH! YOU GO, HUGO!" I wasn't even expecting them to go on TV and say, "Yes Wolf, thanks for asking. As a matter of fact, I agree that George W. Bush is actually Satan himself." There would have absolutely nothing to gain from doing so.

The anger at Rangel and Pelosi and other Democrats here on DU is much ado about nothing. The leader of a foreign country called the president of the United States the devil. I really don't think there is anything wrong with Democrats responding that we have legitimate disagreements with Bush, but calling him the devil isn't really appropriate. Sure, it's fine on Democratic Underground. But it's not really the type of rhetoric that we should expect from our leadership.

Don't like the Dem leadership's response to the Iraq war? Fine.

Don't like the way the Dem leadership is running the 2006 campaign? Fine.

Don't like it when Dems kiss Bush's ass? Fine.

But if you're ready to throw the bums out because they aren't making Hugo Chavez the honorary leader of the Democratic Party... That's just silly. On the one-to-ten scale of "things that actually matter" this Chavez thing rates a zero. Maybe a one.

So let's get back to arguing about stuff that matters. We've got an election in less than two months.