Seems like the liberal/left vision of a pure bloodbath on this day has turned out to be not so true huh? Fools.
First the pictures of this great day:
Iraq?s deeply divided Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds voted in large numbers on a new constitution Saturday a referendum mostly free of insurgent violence and aimed at establishing democracy after decades of Saddam Hussein?s repressive rule. ?
AP:
Sunni Arabs voted in surprisingly high numbers on Iraq?s new constitution Saturday, many of them hoping to defeat it in an intense competition with Shiites and Kurds over the shape of the nation?s young democracy after decades of dictatorship. With little violence, turnout was more than 66 percent in the three most crucial provinces.
The constitution still seemed likely to pass, as expected. But the higher-than-forecast Sunni turnout made it possible the vote would be close – or even go the other way – and cast doubt on U.S. hopes that the charter would succeed in luring Sunnis away from the insurgency.
Washington hopes the constitution will be approved so Iraqis can form a permanent, representative government and the 150,000 U.S. troops can begin to withdraw.
But we know the MSM can’t go a day without trying to turn something good into something bad:
The mood on the streets of many Iraqi cities, even in Shiite areas, appeared markedly less enthusiastic than on Jan. 30, when millions of Iraqis braved an onslaught of violence to cast ballots and celebrate in a vast outpouring of pro-democratic sentiment.
On Saturday in Baghdad, streets were noticeably bare of pedestrians, polling centers were less busy, and voters exhibited little enthusiasm.
?I sense that the turnout will be lower this time,? said Zainab Kudir, the chief poll worker at the Marjayoun Primary School in a predominantly Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad. ?People feel their needs have not been met. There is no security. There are no jobs.?
Roger L. Simon makes some great comparisons:
Because the mainstream media has done its best to hypnotize the public into believing the “failure” of the American democracy project in Iraq, it is worth comparing some dates:
Operation Iraqi Freedom – began March 19, 2003
Election to ratify constitution for a democratic Iraq – October 14, 2005That’s two years and seven months.
US Declaration of Independence – July 4, 1776
Completion of US Constitution – September 17, 1787 (took effect 1789)That’s eleven years and two months. (I could have begun with the Boston Tea Party which would have added another three years.)
Anybody want to take a bet about how history will regard Operation Iraqi Freedom?
Whats interesting to note is that the Iraqi military did most of the security during today’s vote. The Coalition provided general security and were ready and waiting if something big happened…..nothing did, except Democracy.
Cliff May makes some comments about the MSM consistently negative view and their hyping the electricity story last night:
And it appears, Kath, that we were right and our good friends at CNN were wrong. Sabotaging the electrical power last night was not a brilliant strategic victory for the ?insurgents,? it didn?t demonstrate their astonishing ?sophistication,? it didn?t undermine the integrity of the Iraqi government, it didn?t keep people from going to the polls ? at considerable risk to their very lives.
All that happened was that some disgruntled vandals knocked out the lights and air conditioners for a few hours. That may impress the MSM but most Iraqis are smarter than that.
Do we all remember the left’s shrill crys about the turmoil the Iraqi war would cause?
The refugees, the famine and disease, all the oil wells going up in flames, the Middle East would revolt, the impending bloodshed of any election, and finally the “civil war”….
Let me see….not one of them came true. Surprise surprise.
I will leave you with some excellent thoughts from Varifrank on the MSM and the Iraqi vote:
I wake up today to hear news of the Iraqi election. I started watching it last night before I went to bed, I decided it was going to go pretty well so I went to bed. I was still interested in what the coverage would be on the following day so I turned on the ?TeeVee?, and what did I get instead of that story? Next to zip on the Iraqi vote, but ?Fascists in Ohio rioting? and a ?racist religious leader leading a protest in Washington DC?. The news, if there is such a thing is only where things are going bad, not where things are going well, so the news is no longer in Iraq. Ignorance on the part of the press is sometimes a complement. That?s a breakthrough I think.
Wait just a minute!; Iraqis who have been under siege for years by fascists and Islamic racists, still manage to vote in large numbers in public places and manage to accomplish the cornerstone of Democracy with virtually no violence ? Not News.
But here in the United States we have Nazis in the streets of Ohio and an Islamic racist leading protests in the nations capital ? News.
I?m almost embarrassed to say it, but the fact that it?s raining in the north-east is, yes that?s right ? News.
You understand that many Islamic countries can rarely expect to complete a religious holiday season without an outbreak of large scale public violence, yet Iraq and Afghanistan have just managed to show the world that they can handle western style democracy, with respect, with dignity and with honor and on a repeated basis. Iraqis didn?t just vote this weekend, Iraqis have stood in the front lines of the war on terror as targets to killers and they have answered them by saying;
?we believe in freedom?
?we believe in the rule of law?
?we are citizens of the nation not subjects of the Caliphate?They didn?t sit at home and say ?things were better under the Baath party, oh Saddam why did you have to go, oh when will Osama save us from these evil western temptresses”?
They voted. Women, religious minorities, ethnic minorities, political minorities, even Communists for Gods sake voted!; they all voted. Side by side, and with one goal in mind, they voted to speak their minds without fear in an equal way. They didn?t just cast a ballot for a constitution, the voted for the future. You understand just how racist and bigoted it was for the leftists to say that it could never happen, don?t you?
Where are your minutemen now Michael “fatass” Moore?
Today was a great day for Democracy, hats off to the brave Iraqi people and my neverending gratitude to the brave men and women in our Military.
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Really good opinion piece by Tim Hames of the Times Online:
Don’t talk to me about Suez
Your blog is resisting my efforts to trackback, so let me just say, Curt, that I did link to this uplifting post.
Definately agree William, you get a sense why it got so bad in the dark ages of the 70’s….no dissenting voices we’re heard thru the screeching of the left.
Great post, Curt. The normal MSM’s ignore most good news, especially if it has to do with Iraq. Heck, they ignore good news out of Afghanistan, an operation that they and the left proportedly support.
Just think what the national mood would be like without Fox News, blogs, and Conservative sources readily available.