Here's a question: If the U.S. is going to be giving out National Endowment for Democracy money, what happens when something goes horribly wrong and someone gets burned?

That's what's happened to Maria Corina Machado, the democracy campaigner in Venezuela whose only crime was to enable citizens to exercise their rights under the Chavista constitution and called for free fair elections. She used NED money to do it as a result, faces at least 16 years in prison.

Democracy—building, as our Founding Fathers knew, or the people of Iraq know today, is a risky business. It hardly comes with a warranty. But that doesn't excuse the silence of Congress and people like Jimmy Carter from washing their hands of this matter. Carter gave his blessing to a corrupt referendum won by Chavez. So his words would carry special weight in Venezuela. But he is silent.

Machado took our money and now faces an abysmal Venezuelan prison she is unlikely to survive 16 years in. Speaking out is the only thing that will move Chavez. It's about time we got serious and at least spoke out about this travesty of justice, instead of the current coddling and paying tribute to him that so many junketing congressmen and Jimmy Carter are now doing.

It's an outrage.

Investor's Business Daily has an editorial about the whole thing here.

A.M. Mora y Leon 02 10 06