The ‘C’ Word, Part 2: Yu Gi Joon Is a Vicarious Thug
[Update: Great minds think alike Oh, and did I forget to mention that Yu is spokesman for his party? Shoulda mentioned that.]
I’ve previously stated — and will now restate — that it’s time for the United States government to condemn, in some appropriate but unambigous manner, any suggestion of a coup in South Korea. I yield to no one in my distaste for Roh Moo Hyun, who I believe will eventually share culpability for the needless deaths of many innocent North Koreans. But I have no tolerance for a Grand National Party lawmaker vicariously threatening a coup (link is in Korean) with comparisons between Roh Moo Hyun’s style and Thaksin’s, or saying (hint, hint …) that “it is good to learn from the mistakes of others.”
The GNP should summarily dismiss Mr. Yu from its ranks. His views are incompatible with how democratic societies operate. They’re also atrocious politics. We’re just over a year from national and presidential elections, and Uri’s approval rating is in the low teens. The GNP’s lawmakers should be — and some are — out talking about what better alternatives the people should vote for just a year from now. Instead, this fool is talking about the one thing that could possibly position Uri to win that election: a coup.
(HT: Mrs. Joshua)
I disagree that the U.S. should condemn, in an unambiguous manner, Yu’s shot from the hip. Why should they lend any dignity to his statements at all. A more appropriate response might be, in response to any specific questions from the press, to simply dismiss the statement as typical of the hyperbole the one occasionally hears from politicians of all stripes, and thus not worthy of serious comment.
How brilliant of the GNP to identify themselves with the military coup in Thailand.
The GNP has always had an authoritarian streak which turns off young voters.