The Constitutional Alamo

While the U.S. continues to put pressure on a Honduran government that has merely enforced its constitution, the president comes out with stern words about an African president who has removed his own supreme court.

by Michael Naragon

“These decisions undermine Niger’s efforts over the last ten years to advance good governance and the rule of law,” said Robert Gibbs in a statement Thursday.  The “decisions” he was referring to have been made by Niger president Mamadou Tandja in an effort to extend his rule over that nation.

When Niger’s high court ruled against Tandja’s attempt to rule for three more years, the president removed the entire court, then named an entirely new cabinet.

“We are encouraged that the African Union has sent a delegation to Niger to attempt to find resolution to this political crisis,” Gibbs said in his statement. “We will continue to consult with our partners in the region and monitor the situation in Niger closely.”

Gibbs statement raises a red flag: Why is the would-be dictator in Niger criticized for actually seizing power while Manuel Zelaya of Honduras, another would-be dictator, is defended and nearly canonized by the Obama administration?  Zelaya was intending to unconstitutionally extend his rule, just as Tandja has done.

Could part of the reason for the disparity in reaction be the philosophies of the two dictators?  Zelaya, like Obama and Hugo Chavez, is an avowed Marxist, seeking to nationalize his country’s institutions.  Tandja has been soundly criticized by Marxists, including a scathing report in a Marxist website that blames Tandja and capitalism for the famine in his country.

“Mamadou Tandja, the President, greeted the poor people of Niger last December with 19% VAT, which led to skyrocketing increases in the price of goods and services in Niger,” wrote Ola Kazeem in 2004.  “The tax was imposed despite the fact that the price of basic foods has risen between 75 and 89 percent over the last five years. At the same time, the sale price of livestock ‑ the main income of the country’s nomadic herders ‑ has fallen by 25 percent.”

Our federal government has worked very hard in the past few months to strip as many freedoms from us in the shortest possible time.  Cap-and-trade, nationalized health care, and the ineffective-yet-wildly-expensive stimuli look to turn our economy into one more similar to Niger’s.  They’re even discussing VATs in Washington.  Given those facts, one would think President Obama would be shaking Tandja’s hand, not shaking his head in mock concern.