Univision’s Republican Debate Proves “Why Don’t You Shut Up?” Will Never Shut Up

Univision’s Spanish-language Republican debate this past weekend touched upon two of our favorite, most touchable world leaders: Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro. After all, with the debates being held in Miami, it was inevitable that the two would come up at some point. The Republican presidential candidates who attended called Chavez a dictator and vowed to maintain the U.S. embargo on Cuba:

“I … would like to echo the words of (King) Juan Carlos, ‘Por que no te callas?’ ‘Why don’t you shut up?,’” Arizona Senator John McCain said about Chavez and the reprimand he received during a recent summit from Spain’s King Juan Carlos.
Most of the candidates were critical of the leftist, anti-American Chavez, and praised the Venezuelan people for defeating his referendum a week ago on constitutional reform that would have expanded his powers.

Is “Por que no te callas?” the new “Is Wayne Brady going to have to choke a bitch?” Because some of us still say that, years later. We mean, some people that we know. Who are not us. Because we are cool:

“Chavez is acting like a dictator,” former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani said in the debate that was simultaneously interpreted into Spanish for the audience.

“I think Chavez is going in actually the opposite direction” of where the Latin American people are headed, he said, adding that Chavez was repeating in Venezuela what ailing communist leader Fidel Castro had done in Cuba.

The only dissenting voice was Texan Ron Paul, who braved a chorus of boos to opine that Chavez was essentially the result of the United States’ foreign policy:

“We create the Chavezes of the world, we create the Castros of the world by interfering and creating chaos in their countries,” he said.

He drew more disapproval when he suggested Chavez be treated “with friendship.”

“We … talked to Stalin, we talked to Khrushchev, we’ve talked to Mao, and we’ve talked to the world, and we get along with people,” Paul said as the audience booed. He was referring to late Soviet leaders Joseph Stalin and Nikita Khrushchev and late Chinese leader Mao Zedong.

Frankly, we’re surprised he wasn’t attacked by a horde of Elian-rescuing mutant dolphins. Miami’s tough.

Republican hopefuls get tough with Chavez, Cuba [AFP]