Democracy at Work in Egypt

As the Egyptian president, Mohammad Morsi, is told by the military that his rule is over, millions of Egyptians celebrate in the streets. This, my friends, is what democracy looks like. Since his election, Morsi has consolidated more power to himself and his Muslim Brotherhood. The result has been less, not more freedom, in Egypt. And today the people of Egypt have risen up and declared that they will not allow authoritarian rule.

I have been shocked by the reporting of this by the Western news channels. Most are painting this as an illegal military coup that has stripped Egypt of democracy. Shep Smith even said that democracy didn't last long in Egypt. A CNN reporter said Israel will be upset with this, as will many Western countries. (Yeah, I'm sure Israel prefers the man who "Amen'd" a prayer to destroy the Jews to be ruler of Egypt) Most are upset because Morsi was democratically elected, and believe that the people of Egypt should just live him for 4 more years. Well let me clue you in on to what the Egyptian people would have to deal with. Christians imprisoned. Muslim minorities beaten to death. Freedom repressed.

To Americans and other Western countries, deposing an elected president may seem extreme. But you need to remember that in Egypt, there is no set Constitution laying out the laws of the land no matter who is in charge. After Mubarak was deposed, the laws of Egypt were open to change. And Morsi changed them to reflect a more extreme Islamic belief. His Islamic Constitution was not what the people of Egypt voted for and it was not what they wanted. His refusal to meet with and listen to Minority Groups was not what the Egyptian people expected. So yes, Morsi may have been democratically elected, but he was so based on the promises he made to listen to all the voices in Egypt, not just the extreme Islamic ones. And he failed to live up to those promises, and to make Egypt a better place to live. And so democracy in action is playing out in front of our eyes...and Morsi's oppressive regime is gone. Democracy is messy, but it is far better than tyranny. I applaud the Egyptian people on their stand for liberty, for one and all. Let the world take note: this is democracy!

As Egypt erupts in violence, where is Obama?

As protests in Egypt turn violent, Barack Obama is strangely silent. Last year when protesters called for an end to Mubarak's reign as Egypt's dictator-president, Obama proudly proclaimed that we (or he, as he liked to put it in the debates) stood with the protesters. He said that the people of Egypt need to be able to live freely in a democratic system, and so Mubarak needed to step down.

Well now, as Mubarak has been deposed, Mohamed Morsi has been democratically elected and promptly drafted a new constitution that basically declares himself unlimited power. In other words, he wants to be a dictator.

Now as the people in Egypt are, once again, protesting a dictator ruling over them with an iron fist, Obama has remained silent. No speeches about how the Egyptian people need to be able to live freely in a democratic system this time. Maybe he thinks he made a mess last time and doesn't want to repeat that mistake? Maybe he just thinks one kind of dictator is better than another kind? Who knows? But you'd think the President of the United States would have something to say about it. After all, we do give them over a billion dollars of aid a year.

And where is Hillary Clinton? She was just hanging out with Morsi in order to try and work out a Hamas/Israel cease fire...but now, she's nowhere to be found. She took such pleasure cackling about the death of Gaddafi, but as another man seeks to stamp on the neck of his people, she has suddenly grown mute. Guess that 2016 presidential run needs all of her attention. Apparently, people being murdered in Egypt by a would-be dictator that they helped get into power isn't important enough to distract Obama and Hillary from their vacation plans. Glad we (they) have such a good foreign policy and are helping spread democracy around the world.