Hugo Chavez
This letter from Florida Republican Congressman Connie Mack to Joe Kennedy III has been floating around for a few weeks but I haven’t seen much discussion about it outside of this item from the National Journal. Is it a legitimate issue for Joe Kennedy III’s congressional campaign?
Dear Mr. Kennedy:
I am deeply concerned you have formed an exploratory committee as a prelude to a run for Congress in Massachusetts. Normally I would not be concerned about your entry into this race, except your father, Joseph P. Kennedy II, has been a paid apologist for the repressive dictatorship of Hugo Chavez.
As Chairman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, I have been vigilant in exposing the dictatorial aspects of the Chavez-led government of Venezuela and have been demanding action of the Obama Administration to stop the threat he poses for our American way of life.
This weekend’s visit by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is the latest example of why freedom-loving people must stand up and speak out loudly against Chavez and his corrupt enterprises like CITGO.
I realize the sins of the father should not be borne by the son. But your father’s outrageous and vivacious support of the ugly, dangerous despot, Hugo Chavez, is beyond the pale.
I have a simple question for you Mr. Kennedy – Do you support your father’s positions or denounce them?
All Americans await your timely response.
Sincerely,
CONNIE MACK
Member of Congress (FL-14)Chairman
Western Hemisphere Subcommittee
PS – I am giving you a platform to condemn Hugo Chavez, not perpetuate using our nation’s less fortunate as props for your father’s pro-Chavez campaign.
I would see it as legitimate to ask “What is your position on Chavez?” I don’t think it’s right to phrase it as “do you support your father’s positions or denounce them” – that’s a false dichotomy, with the legitimate 3rd option being “disagree with them.”
Connie Mack is a scumbag, and he’s a POS for writing that letter to Joe. Let me just get that out of the way first.
Mack’s ultra-conservative positions are far more of a threat to American’s freedom than Hugo Chavez is a threat to the freedoms of Venezuelans. And if were up to Florida’s Connie Mack, we’d have people freezing to death here in Massachusetts over his petty political differences with President Chavez.
Hugo Chavez has his detractors. That’s obvious. I’ve never been to Venezuela and although I pay attention to it, I’m far from an expert on Venezuelan politics. But the fact is, Hugo Chavez and CITGO offered help to people in Massachusetts who could not otherwise afford home heating fuel. Since I’m from Massachusetts, and Chavez’s generosity and compassion has helped families I personally know, I’m very grateful to the President, CITGO, and the people of Venezuela.
This is all very reminiscent of how our country dealt with Fidel Castro for years, and how we deal with his brother now. It’s been a complete failure of policy in every possible way. We should be reaching out to both Venezuela and Cuba in the spirit of friendship. That is a far better approach if our objective is to stimulate policy changes within those governments.
What Mike said
Exactly what US friendly source does Connie Mack get his fuel? PDVSA (the current parent of Citco) is, I believe, the third largest oil producing entity in the world. Citizens Energy is almost as old as Connie Mack and certainly older than Joe 3 and predates Chavez’s power by decades. This is nonsense.
Would Joe still have gotten the fuel if he did not do the ads?
I just liked his phrase “vivacious support” – not two words that often go together.