Let me just ask you this one question

What the fuck business is it of Barney Frank's?



And pardon my French.

In a press release issued from Washington D.C. today, US congressman Barney Frank (D-Ma) writes that "I am very disappointed at the Venezuelan National Elections Council's use of hyper-technical points and controversial procedural rulings to repress what appears to be the clear will of a sufficient number of Venezuelan citizens to move the country to a constitutional referendum on President Chavez." ...Frank does not accept that the CNE has constitutional obligations to operate within the Venezuelan law and says "I don't accept their neutrality in this case" ... he says it is rather naive to simply accept the credentials of those who have been appointed and sworn in ... "all kinds of people get appointed and get into office ... let me put it this way ... the fact that I have been sworn in to office ought not to be a bar to doubting my integrity!"

  VHeadline article

Well, I guess.

Venezuela's ambassador in Washington tries to explain the situation to a bunch of dumbshit, arrogant, ignorant asswipes:

The referendum is a constitutional right intended to ensure a new kind of participatory democracy in Venezuela. This constitutional provision was instituted and supported by our Government when it assumed office a little over four years ago. There would be no referendum process were it not for this Government. ...By its very nature, the signature process for referendum petitions is not susceptible to effective monitoring and controls. Fraud and coercion are definite threats to the integrity of the process. There are no private voting booths. There cannot be effective observation of the entire signing procedure. Strict observance of minimum procedural requirements is necessary in order to ensure the integrity of the process. This is the first referendum process under the new constitution. The manner in which the process is conducted will serve as precedent for all future proceedings. If we do not guarantee the process’s integrity this time, it will be even more difficult to ensure integrity in the future. To assure this integrity, the constitutional provision provides for an independent CNE, much like your US Federal Election Commission, charged with assuring transparency and full fairness of the process. Unlike your FEC, the CNE acts during ... rather than after ... the process to provide assurance of integrity before ... rather than after ... the fact.

And I might have added, unlike your FEC, the CNE intends to see that the process is legal and representative of actual REALITY.

In this particular process, all acknowledge that a very large number of the submitted signatures are invalid because they are signatures of dead persons, foreigners, minors or other non-voters. There is evidence calling into question the validity of many, many additional signatures which appear to have been obtained under circumstances where fraud or coercion was a definite threat. The CNE, in a transparent process and in active consultation with independent observers -- which it invited to attend the process -- is working to resolve the questions concerning the validity of these signatures. ...The CNE will resolve questions concerning the validity of questionable signatures by providing an opportunity, from March 18 through March 22, for the alleged signers to come forward and confirm or deny their signatures. This approach seems superior to the approach of simply confirming thumbprints, as it does provide some measure of protection against coercive activity and offers the signer an opportunity to say, in private, "yes I signed" or "no I didn't" or, in the alternative, to quietly represent his or her conscience by simply declining to reaffirm. The CNE’s determination in this regard was predicated on the belief that it is more transparent and democratic to allow this open, fully protected validation process than to make a decision for the signatories without offering them the opportunity to clarify their intent.

Unlike, say in FLORIDA.

The international observers have time and again reaffirmed their commitment to see this process through to its conclusion, have made recommendations, many of which were accepted, and, though with reservations regarding certain criteria and conditions, have expressed support for the process now underway. The Government has confirmed repeatedly that it will act in conformity with the CNE’s determination when it becomes final. There are some in my country, including some in control of media, that have lost patience with the CNE’s painstaking verification process, and have called for these matters to be resolved in the streets. A few of our citizens have heard that call and we have had disorder. I will assure you that this disorder will be controlled and the constitutional process will be concluded in full conformity with our laws and our constitution. The great majority of Venezuelans flatly rejects the use of any form of violence. ...I would like for your (US) Government to assure me that it will condemn violence from every source, and that it will in no way support or condone what has become a violent effort to overthrow a democratic and duly constituted government. As recent events in Haiti have shown, mere "neutrality" or non-participation is not enough: the United States must condemn violence if it is to avoid the implication of complicity in it. It must support elected governments if it is not, by implication, to be thought to support those who would tear them down. I hope that you will all keep a watchful eye to the South. I stand ready to provide additional information as needed. You may be assured of my continued highest consideration. Respectfully, Bernardo Alvarez Herrera

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