Some Americans have a funny definition of "democracy"...

[OBenario4]

Angela Merkel ruling Germany for 4 consecutive mandates?

Democracy.

Trump becoming president, even though Hillary Clinton had an advantage of 3 million votes?

Democracy.

Opposition in Venezuela does not win majority?

DICTATORSHIP.

Basically, for some Americans, it's only a dictatorship when the left wing wins.

And by "some Americans", unfortunatelly, I'm including DUers.

[Judi Lynn]

1. So true, so true.

It's just fine with bogus democrats if Angela Merkel remains in office until she's 90 years old. She is, after all, not a leftist.

Even U.S. Democratic President Franklin Delano Roosevelt died in office during his FOURTH term. Had he not gotten really, really ill, he would have been re-elected more times, because U.S. citizens loved him and his important work for the masses of people in need.

Of course, right-wingers are unwilling, the ones of them who actually KNOW about it, that the right-wing then, the Republicans attempted a coup against him, to get him outta there.

As soon as he was gone, the dipshits got busy and rammed through a law in Congress which limited ALL Presidents in the future to two terms. They know, because of their dirty acts of abuse against the population, they will NEVER have a Republican President who could EVER be re-elected multiple times.

The DU'ers we see at times are without a doubt at odds with actual democratic values, principles, and ethics. They don't have any.

Sad, but true. Imposters.

Your point about how someone be elected by the majority of voters and still not win an election is a question no one can really answer without drawing hysterical laughter from onlookers. It's all so very sick.

[OBenario4]

2. We would think progressives worldwide...

... would know better.

But they seem to fall for the false narratives that any person with two functional neurons is able to see.

It seems they will believe anything the corporatocracy whore known as "mainstream press" says. To the point of saying that Venezuela holding elections is a proof of "dictatorship".

Such a shallow understanding of the things of the world...

Good to know there are still real Democrats and progressives such as you and some others here, Judi. But it really makes me feel a bit hopeless about the future.

[Judi Lynn]

4. The people who involve themselves in destroying leftist Presidents do the same things every time.

All the same things happen. It's been done by US covert operations every time since Guatemala, in 1954, when they used the services of mass manipulation through media propaganda Edward Bernays, who was the nephew of Sigmund Freud. All in the family, jerking people around! He has explained that he found ways to appeal to the tribal sense in crowds of people, hitting on their lowest, most retarded impulses, like fear and rage, and racism.

The US entered coups and mass propaganda campaigns with Guatemala and Iran, destroying two progressive leaders who were working making real advancements on behalf of their citizens, bringing desperately needed services to alleviate their struggling, suffering.

All ANY person has to do to find out how these things work is simply leaving the troll farm and starting to grow up, becoming awakened through research, and learning to think. Once that has happened, there is NO way to deny the truth one will inevitably discover.

Don't you dare give up, OBenario. The troll brigades make so much more noise, they go wild trying to tear real people down, but their cause is bogus, their goals are laughable, and they will all fade away, while the good people of this planet will still keep working toward a better day, and freedom for EVERYONE, instead of just those who are greedy and vicious and plan to destroy everything they cannot steal.

[Bacchus4.0]

3. No question whether or not it was a fair election. Just look at what the socialists have done there

Its quite amazing. 1st in poverty, 1st in violent crime, 1st in corruption, 1st in inflation. The accomplishments of Chavistas simply cannot be denied.

[EX500rider]

5. Since 2013 Venezuelan GDP has dropped 35 percent and per capita GDP has dropped 40 percent....

.....who wouldn't vote for that awesome success story?

Venezuela’s future darkens
AUG 7, 2017
Venezuela continues to slide deeper and deeper into crisis. Rather than take constructive action to remedy a worsening humanitarian situation, President Nicolas Maduro has instead instituted a power grab, convening a constitutional assembly to eliminate the vestiges of opposition to his rule. This is the last desperate act of a dictator and will plunge a troubled country further into chaos and dysfunction.

The Venezuelan economy has imploded in recent years, with the International Monetary Fund reporting that GDP this year will be 35 percent below that of 2013, a drop of 40 percent in per capita terms. This is a greater contraction than that experienced by Russia at the end of the Cold War and the United States during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Only countries ravaged by war, such as Libya, Rwanda and South Sudan, have fared worse.

According to one study, 74 percent of Venezuelans have involuntarily lost an average of 8.6 kg in weight. Infant and maternal health is worsening: The number of women who died in childbirth last year rose 76 percent over 2015 and infant mortality increased 30 percent over the year before. There was also a 76 percent jump in reported cases of malaria. Two million Venezuelans — out of a population of 30 million — have left the country since 1999. The situation will surely worsen. The country has just $9.9 billion in foreign currency reserves and must make nearly $5 billion in bond payment for the remainder of this year.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2017/08/07/editorials/venezuelas-future-darkens/#.Wef2DWhSxEY