How Obtuse Are Our Leaders?

Submitted by Dave (United States), Jul 19, 2016 at 20:26

When Obama, Kerry et al. talk about opposing the coup because they support the democratically elected government of Turkey, one might wonder if they understand what democracy is. Even when the electoral fraud factor is excluded, Erdogan's autocratic abuses are more than enough to disqualify Turkey from being considered a credible democracy.

Aa any competent high school student can attest, democracy involves much more than just an election; said student should be able to rattle off a few lines from the Bill of Rights, including the part about certain rights being "inalienable", not by any majority.

It's terrible, but true, that a military coup could actually lead Turkey closer to democracy by crushing the greater tyranny of an elected Islamist regime.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".