Chavez to rule by decree

By Joseph Smith

The Venezuelan parliament has granted their dear leader Hugo Chavez power to "rule by decree" for the next eighteen months.

Never letting a crisis go to waste, the self-styled "leader of the Bolivarian Revolution" claims he needs such powers to deal with the emergency situation arising from widespread flooding which "drove nearly 140,000 people from their homes," according to Reuters.

Coincidentally, the rule by decree extends into the Chavez reelection campaign for the December 2012 vote.

The opposition party had won a third of Parliament's seats earlier this year, after boycotting the previous election and losing all seats, and claimed "It's a clear message -- we don't want the government's radical path."

The majority party, however had other plans, and they have now undermined any opposition power by granting the Chavez request, as the New York Times describes:

Mr. Chávez, left, has argued that he needs decree powers to fast-track financing to help the victims of recent floods and landslides, and to hasten the transition to socialism.

Back in the USA, President Obama plans to rule by executive orders and regulatory fiat, at least for as long as he can dodge the new Republican House majority.

Birds of a feather....