Venezuelans Not Too Keen About Uncle Chavez Anymore

You think the Thug-O-Crat (as Michelle Malkin calls him) is on the phone to Jimmy Carter this evening?  “Jimmah, Jimmah….I need help, come down here and help me win this thing.  By the way, can you pick up Sean at the airport?”

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has lost his lead eight
days before a referendum on ending his term limit, an independent
pollster said on Saturday, in a swing in voter sentiment against the
Cuba ally.

Forty-nine percent of likely voters oppose Chavez’s proposed raft of
constitutional changes to expand his powers, compared with 39 percent
in favor, a survey by respected pollster Datanalisis showed.

Just weeks ago, Chavez had a 10-point lead for his proposed changes
in the OPEC nation that must be approved in a referendum, the polling
company said.

Despite the swing, company head Luis Vicente Leon said he did not rule out a comeback by the popular president.

Chavez has trounced the opposition at the polls on average once a
year and can deploy a huge state-backed machinery to get out the vote,
Leon said.

Still, the survey was the latest blow to Chavez. He has suffered a
series of defections over his plan, including an ex-defense minister
who had restored him to power after a brief 2002 putsch but who called
Chavez’s reforms a new “coup.”

Alas, I think none of this matters.  We’re not talking about a Democracy down there and Chavez will get the yes vote he wants by a large margin, just as Saddam did during his reign.  His latest speech tells us that he will hold nothing back, even deeming his citizens “traitors” for not allowing him to become dictator:

President Hugo Chavez warned his supporters
on Friday that anyone voting against his proposed constitutional
changes would be a “traitor,” rallying his political base before a
referendum that would let him seek unlimited re-election in 2012 and
beyond.

Brandishing a little red book listing his desired 69
revisions to Venezuela’s charter, Chavez exhorted his backers to
redouble their efforts toward a victorious “yes” vote in the Dec. 2
ballot.

“He who says he supports Chavez but votes ‘no’ is a
traitor, a true traitor,” the president told an arena packed with
red-clad supporters. “He’s against me, against the revolution and
against the people.”

And get this excellent vision of what a Socialist paradise looks like:

But this year, Chavez has hurt his standing by shutting an opposition TV station and failing to end some food shortages.

Amanda Aguilar, 17, was in line at 5:30 a.m. waiting for a food store to open to buy her single, rationed carton of milk.

Now WHO wouldn’t want to live like that huh?

What a paradise.