The situation in Venezuela continues to deteriorate, with the Socialist Maduro government holding on to its precarious grip on power, in the face of a challenge from former presidential candidate Juan Gaido, and a popular revolt, which has brought thousands of desperate Venezuelans into the streets.  The benefits of Socialism are on full display in Venezuela.  In light of the U.S. Socialists, led by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, AOC (Apparently On-Crack), supporter of the Green New Deal, there are lessons to be learned.  Once, not so very long ago, Venezuela was a rich country, the richest in South America.  Venezuela has the largest known oil reserves in the world.   Because of the oil wealth, Venezuelan workers enjoyed the highest wages in Latin America.  Venezuela was one of the world’s leading oil exporters.  The country once had the world’s 4th highest GDP, rivaling that of Germany.  Venezuela was prosperous, until self-avowed Marxist Hugo Chavez came to power, promising to bring about revolutionary reforms to improve the lives of the poor.  Sound familiar?  Chavez went to work nationalizing the oil industry, for the good of the people, of course.  Rampant Socialism gave Venezuelans 1 million percent inflation, over 90% of the people are in poverty. Venezuela ranks number 1 on the misery index, the most dangerous place in the world with rampant crime, the population is starving, eating zoo animals and raiding garbage trucks for food.  They owe it all to Socialism, the system that Democrats have promised us with their Green New Deal.  This result is not unfamiliar in South America.  Argentina suffered a similar fate.  Argentina was once the richest country in South America.  She had vast gold reserves, and a thriving export economy.  Argentines enjoyed a high standard of living, fed on marvelous Argentine beef.  All that ended after Socialist Juan Peron’s “Peronista Revolution” stripped the country of its wealth.  The result was a series of military juntas, hyper-inflation, and repeated devaluation of the peso, including government confiscations of bank accounts and private pensions, which cause Argentines to store cash in safe deposit boxes to protect it from the government.  The last Socialist mastermind, Christina Kirchner, hastened Argentina’s descent into bankruptcy.  To be fair though, it wasn’t just Socialism, as Kirchner has been charged with stealing $160 million from the government.  And so, Argentina went the way that all Socialist States have gone, transitioning from wealth to despair, and leaving human wreckage in its wake.  Kirchner’s brand of Socialism operated much like the U.S. variety of “Democratic Socialism”- Socialism for foes, capitalism for friends.  The little guy must suffer, for the good of “the people,” while the billionaire Bolsheviks who fund the Democrat Party live a much different life. The lesson of Venezuela is that, once again, Socialism has been proven to be a bankrupt political system, which comes to power with the promise of utopia, and always ends in abject poverty and humanitarian tragedy.  The Green New Deal is just the latest utopian promise.  The Dems are using the fantasy of free everything to regain power.  Should they do so, they would surely try to expand their giveaway programs, but even I don’t think the Dems actually mean to enact all the nutty provisions of the Green New Deal. The Democrat way is to promise the Moon to gain power. When you have a media that permits Dems not only to lie with impunity, but aids and abets the lies, then there is no need ever to deliver on your promises.
That’s a good thing for Democrats too, because even the Dem leaders have to understand that the American people will put up with only so much before they take matters into their own hands.  Donald Trump’s election was just a mild expression of American’s conclusion that “enough is enough.” In Venezuela, it took 1 million per cent inflation, near universal poverty, and the masses robbing garbage trucks for their next meal to lead the people into the streets to topple their government.  Americans are neither that patient, nor that tolerant.  We’ve lived high on the hog for too long.  Just a minor drop in the standard of living will light the fuse.  The Green New Deal guarantees economic disruptions, nationalized industries, high unemployment, and even more crippling taxes.  Restraints on personal liberty, trying to power 20 watt light bulbs with windmills and pond scum, no cars, airplanes or hamburgers?  I don’t think so. Thomas Jefferson said, “A little rebellion now and then is a good thing.” Now, I’m certainly not advocating violence, and I hope it never comes to that, but implementing the Green New Deal would spark a big rebellion.  And this is not Venezuela, where the people are defenseless.  In America, there are more than 300 million guns in private hands, and most of those hands belong to conservative capitalists.  Again, I hope that day never comes, but I’m just sayin’.  Even the Democrat leadership must be smart enough to understand they are playing with fire.  The Dems are walking a tightrope between their crazy Socialist base and the reality that Americans will not put up with Socialism.  In the meantime, the Democrats will continue to blather about their Green New Deal, and will continue to wallow in hypocrisy.  Yesterday, AOC (Admired Only by-Cuckoos), declared she would search out and punish any Democrat who voted with a Republican.  So much for the Party that likes to preach about bipartisanship.  The Democrats clearly don’t get it.  Only we can change it.