{"id":1839762,"date":"2023-02-08T10:34:58","date_gmt":"2023-02-08T15:34:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1839762"},"modified":"2023-02-08T10:37:30","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T15:37:30","slug":"volodymyr-zelensky-not-exactly-a-champion-of-democracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/volodymyr-zelensky-not-exactly-a-champion-of-democracy\/","title":{"rendered":"Volodymyr Zelensky: Not Exactly a Champion of Democracy"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fvolodymyr-zelensky-not-exactly-a-champion-of-democracy%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1839762&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47-->\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Zelensky.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\"   style=\"display:none\"><\/div>\n<p>American supporters of Washington\u2019s Ukraine policy often <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/12\/volodymyr-zelensky-is-unstoppable\/\">The portrayal<\/a> Volodymyr Zelesky, the Ukrainian leader, is a noble champion of democracy and deserves to be honored even more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2023\/01\/ukraine-needs-leopard-2-and-m1-abrams-tanks-fast\/\">U.S. Military Assistance<\/a> He has not received more than he already has. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/12\/volodymyr-zelenskyys-big-speech-what-it-means-for-the-ukraine-war\/\">political and media love-fest<\/a> accompanying Zelensky\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/12\/21\/us\/politics\/zelensky-speech-transcript.html\">address<\/a> to a joint session of Congress in late December 2022 was a recent example of such <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/03\/ukraine-crisis-could-putin-really-make-peace-with-volodymyr-zelenskyy\/\">hero worship<\/a>.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<h2>Volodymyr Zelensky: A Misguided Love Affair?\u00a0<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.voanews.com\/a\/zelensky-follows-in-churchill-s-footsteps-to-a-point\/6886940.html\">Voice of America<\/a> published an article comparing Zelensky\u2019s appearance to Winston\u2019s Churchill\u2019s address to Congress in December 1941. David Frum, writing in the Atlantic, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/ideas\/archive\/2022\/12\/volodymyr-zelensky-us-congress-address-ukraine\/672546\/\">asserted<\/a> that Zelensky recalled us to ourselves and our democratic values. Frum added that the Ukrainian president \u201ccame to the United States to thank us for supporting Ukraine. It is Americans who should thank him.\u201d An earlier New York Times <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/04\/19\/opinion\/why-we-admire-zelensky.html?referringSource=articleShare\">column by Bret Stephens<\/a> contended that Americans \u201cadmire Zelensky because he has restored the idea of the free world to its proper place.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p>Such fawning ignores the mounting evidence of Zelensky\u2019s flagrant <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cato.org\/commentary\/false-democracy\">abridgment<\/a> of civil liberties and democratic norms. The blind attitude of Americans is reminiscent of the sanitized treatment given to an earlier bogus champion of democracy, Angolan rebel leader Jonas Savimbi. Between the mid-1970s and the early 1990s (especially during Ronald Reagan\u2019s administration), numerous political and media figures in the United States pushed for greater support for Savimbi\u2019s National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and its insurgency against Angola\u2019s leftist government. They also were willing to overlook their \u201cdemocratic\u201d client\u2019s massive flaws.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p>The enthusiasm of American movement conservatives\u201dfor Savimbi was especially pronounced. Prominent supporters included such organizations as the Heritage Foundation, Freedom House, the American Conservative Union, the Young Americans for Freedom, and the American Security Council. Various publications, including Human Events, National Review, American Spectator, and the Wall Street Journal amplified the pro-Savimbi case. Savimbi\u2019s backers arranged a major speaking tour for the Angolan leader in 1979 and facilitated his meetings in Washington with congressional leaders and administration officials in 1981, 1986, and 1989.\n<\/p>\n<p>Their admiration for Savimbi remained intact, even though there were troubling indications early on of UNITA\u2019s harsh, autocratic internal practices. Johns Hopkins University Professor Piero Gleijeses observes that despite such disagreeable details, Savimbi\u2019s American allies \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Visions-Freedom-Washington-Pretoria-1976-1991\/dp\/1469628325\/ref=sr_1_2?crid=Q7SQP3XNYXH5&#038;keywords=Gleijesus%2C+Visions+of+Freedom&#038;qid=1675626685&#038;s=books&#038;sprefix=gleijesus%2C+visions+of+freedom%2Cstripbooks%2C108&#038;sr=1-2\">seized the high ground<\/a>; they argued in terms of both U.S. interests and morality.\u201d The ongoing campaign for enhanced U.S. support for Zelensky exhibits the same features.\n<\/p>\n<p>Presenting Savimbi with an award from the American Conservative Union and the Young Americans for Freedom, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Jeane Kirkpatrick <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/archive\/lifestyle\/1986\/02\/01\/the-salute-to-savimbi\/b37b8411-a9fe-4cf3-8040-bb189e936d4a\/?utm_term=.0ff9e414e5b7\">lauded him<\/a> as \u201cone of the few authentic heroes of our time.\u201d Kirkpatrick\u2019s idealized portrait of Savimbi was typical of the right-wing perspective in the United States. President Ronlad Reagan <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Reagan-Diaries-January-1981-October-1985-ebook\/dp\/B003LL2YFO\/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1A4P4N0MT0XC0&#038;keywords=Brinkley%2C+The+Reagan+Diaries&#038;qid=1675626828&#038;s=books&#038;sprefix=brinkley%2C+the+reagan+diaries%2Cstripbooks%2C109&#038;sr=1-1\">shared that view<\/a>, at one point succinctly describing Savimbi in a diary entry as \u201ca good man.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Orrin Hatch at the time said that \u201cI have had the privilege of meeting Mr. Savimbi and have been extremely impressed by his honesty, integrity, religious commitment.\u201d The conflict in Angola was not a civil war, the Utah senator <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Gullible-Superpower-Support-Democratic-Movements\/dp\/194442492X\/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&#038;qid=1675627510&#038;sr=1-4\">insisted<\/a>. \u201cIt is a battle over ideologies: Soviet totalitarianism vs. freedom, self-determination, and democracy.\u201d U.S. aid to Savimbi would \u201csend a strong signal to the world that we are determined to help freedom fighters resist Communist hegemony.\u201d If one substitutes \u201cauthoritarianism\u201d for \u201cSoviet totalitarianism,\u201d and \u201cRussian aggression\u201d for \u201cCommunist hegemony,\u201d today\u2019s dominant and thoroughly simplistic message about needing to support Zelensky and his cause is virtually the same.\n<\/p>\n<p>The enthusiasm for UNITA and its leader became increasingly strident and uncritical. In retrospect, one of the more embarrassing episodes in the campaign to lionize Savimbi was the appearance in 1986 in the Wall Street Journal of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Gullible-Superpower-Support-Democratic-Movements\/dp\/194442492X\/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&#038;qid=1675627510&#038;sr=1-4\">an op-ed under his byline<\/a>, but with major portions apparently written by a ghost writer. It hailed the virtues of capitalism and democracy and pledged to make Angola a model of both values if the United States helped UNITA oust the pro-Communist government in Luanda. In <a href=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/thf_media\/1989\/pdf\/hl217.pdf\">a 1989 lecture<\/a> to the Heritage Foundation, Savimbi was selling the same message.<\/p>\n<p>Savimbi\u2019s article and subsequent lecture told American proponents of democracy (especially conservatives) exactly what they wanted to hear. UNITA\u2019s ultimate goal, he insisted, was not just to overthrow the pro-Communist regime and its Cuban military backers, but to build a new, democratic country. Nor was that all. \u201cIn addition to UNITA\u2019s commitment to a democratic, multiparty Angola with religious tolerance and freedom of speech, it is vital that we recognize the importance of economic liberties,\u201d Savimbi insisted. National Review gushed about his \u201castonishing defense of freedom.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p>What is so striking about the success of the pro-Savimbi camp\u2019s propaganda was that UNITA did not practice any of those political or economic principles in the portion of Angola that it controlled. There was certainly no evidence of democracy, multiparty or otherwise; UNITA maintained a ruthless monopoly of power. Abuses included <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/archive\/politics\/1986\/07\/29\/massacre-charges-taint-freedom-fighters\/76b6478b-1ee8-4ef4-92e9-7be65b4aa1a6\/?utm_term=.73959c3c28b1\">war crimes against civilians<\/a> and the systematic imprisoning or killing of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/archive\/opinions\/1992\/03\/29\/angolas-secret-bloodbath\/c2bf6ed2-7dc2-4568-8ba5-23bc15165fc2\/?utm_term=.aaaf3259ea77\">political opponents<\/a> or potential leadership competitors. The latter category eventually included some of his closest associates, such as Tito Chingunji and Wilson dos Santos. Even some of Savimbi\u2019s American supporters grudgingly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Jonas-Savimbi-Africa-Fred-Bridgland\/dp\/0913729337\/ref=sr_1_1?crid=32ABG377ZVAZQ&#038;keywords=Fred+Bridgland%2C+Jonas+Savimbi%3A+A+Key+to+Africa&#038;qid=1675637269&#038;s=books&#038;sprefix=fred+bridgland%2C+jonas+savimbi+a+key+to+africa%2Cstripbooks%2C105&#038;sr=1-1\">had to admit<\/a> that UNITA resorted to torture and coercive \u201cre-education\u201d measures.\n<\/p>\n<h2>Zelensky Damages Ukraine\u2019s Democracy:\u00a0\u00a0<\/h2>\n<p>Likewise, the Ukraine government\u2019s repression is becoming increasingly flagrant and alarming. Since the Russian invasion, Zelensky has used the war as a justification for <a href=\"https:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/zelensky-nationalizes-tv-news-restricts-173820471.html?fr=yhssrp_catchall\">outlawing 11 opposition parties<\/a>. He also invoked martial law to issue a <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/AiRqL\">presidential decree<\/a> that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/news\/world\/zelenskyy-combines-state-ukraine-tv-stations-into-one-platform-cites-effort-to-combat-russian-misinformation\/ar-AAVl3Mt\">combined all national television stations into one platform<\/a>. On Dec. 29, 2022, Zelensky signed <a href=\"https:\/\/libertarianinstitute.org\/news\/zelensky-expands-crack-down-on-news-media-in-ukraine\/\">a new law<\/a> that his party had pushed through parliament \u2014 a measure that further curbed an independent press. Other presidential actions <a href=\"https:\/\/thepostmillennial.com\/zelensky-blasts-russian-orthodox-church-call-for-christmas-truce-as-putin-orders-cease-fire\">sought to ban<\/a> the Russian Orthodox Church and <a href=\"https:\/\/libertarianinstitute.org\/news\/kiev-seizes-assets-of-russian-orthodox-clerics\/\">imposed severe sanctions<\/a> on its top clerics. A growing number of people are being jailed without due process.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Zelensky and his closest colleagues have no tolerance for even the most peaceful opponents, domestic or foreign. In the summer of 2022, the Ukraine government\u2019s Center for Countering Disinformation <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign\/ukraine-labels-russian-propagandist\">published a blacklist<\/a> of critics that included numerous prominent Americans. The implicitly threatening nature of that list became even more evident in late September, when the CCD issued a revised roster (including addresses) of the top 35 targets and smeared those individuals as <a href=\"https:\/\/covertactionmagazine.com\/2022\/09\/19\/ukrainian-hit-list-publishes-names-and-addresses-of-alleged-russian-propagandists-turns-out-to-be-based-not-in-ukraine-but-in-langley-va-where-cia-headquarters-is\/\">\u201cdisinformation terrorists\u201d and \u201cwar criminals.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p>One key difference between the misguided support for Savimbi and the equally misguided support for Zelensky is that the earlier episode was heavily partisan in nature. Conservatives were much more inclined to back the Angolan conman; liberals ranged from tepidly favorable to overtly hostile. Unfortunately, the portrayal of Zelensky as a champion of democracy and freedom is depressingly bipartisan. His American admirers simply refuse to acknowledge their client\u2019s alarming ideological and behavioral warts. In retrospect, that allegiance may prove to be as embarrassing to Zelensky\u2019s fans as it ultimately did to Savimbi\u2019s advocates.\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>MORE:<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2023\/01\/could-donald-trump-be-disqualified-from-becoming-president-again\/\"> Could Donald Trump Be Disqualified from Becoming President Again?<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>MORE:<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2023\/01\/the-one-thing-that-could-destroy-donald-trump\/\"> The 1 Way Donald Trump Gets Crushed in 2024<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>MORE:<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2023\/01\/joe-biden-is-in-trouble-fbi-searched-his-think-tank\/\"> Joe Biden\u2019s \u2018Think Tank\u2019 Was Raided by the FBI<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>MORE:<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/12\/gops-worst-nightmare-donald-trump-as-a-third-party-candidate-in-2024\/\"> Could Donald Trump Quit the GOP?<\/a><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Author Expertise and Experience:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cato.org\/people\/ted-galen-carpenter\">Ted Galen Carpenter<\/a>, a senior fellow in defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute and a contributing editor to 19FortyFive, is the author of 13 books and more than 1,100 articles on international affairs. His latest book is Unreliable Watchdog: The News Media and U.S. Foreign Policy (2022).<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>American supporters of Washington\u2019s Ukraine policy often The portrayal Volodymyr Zelesky, the Ukrainian leader, is a noble champion of democracy and deserves to be honored even more U.S. Military Assistance He has not received more than he already has. The political and media love-fest accompanying Zelensky\u2019s address to a joint session of Congress in late &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1671460,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[8491,5521,11325,8630],"class_list":["post-1839762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report","tag-champion","tag-democracy","tag-volodymyr","tag-zelensky"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1839762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1839762"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1839762\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1671460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1839762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1839762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1839762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}