Democrats begin to change stance on Ousted Honduran President Zelaya

When Honduran President and Chavez ally Manual Zelaya was first removed from power, Democrats were outraged and called for his immediate reinstatement. A hasty meeting with Secretary of State Clinton was arranged. Now, some democrats have gone from demanding he be reinstated to pointing out he was ignoring his country’s own Supreme Court, legislature and political party.

From The Hill:

There are tentative signs from Democrats in Congress of support for the forces that removed Honduras President Manuel Zelaya from power at the end of June.

Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), chairman of a key House subcommittee with jurisdiction over Honduras, roundly criticized both factions at a Friday hearing. But he also stopped short of calling for Zelaya’s immediate reinstatement, which he’d done in previous statements.

While Engel said the United States and its allies in the Western Hemisphere could not tolerate what appeared to be a military coup, he said Zelaya had ignored his country’s own Supreme Court, legislature and even members of his political party when he sought to change the constitution by seeking a second term as president.

“When the entire political establishment speaks and expresses dire concerns, the President needed to listen. From everything I can see, he did not,” Engel said during the hearing of his House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere.

In a statement on June 29, a day after Zelaya was removed, Engel called for Zelaya’s immediate reinstatement.

“I strongly condemn the removal of President Zelaya and believe that he should be reinstated without delay,” Engel said in the statement.

Obama Quickly Condemns Ouster of Chavez Crony in Honduras

President Obama was very slow to criticize Iran when they were shooting democracy protesters in the streets. However, when it comes to a crony of Obama's friend Hugo Chavez getting ousted, President Obama does not hesitate to speak out.

From the WSJ:

The U.S. and other countries condemned the coup. President Barack Obama said he was "deeply concerned" and called on all political actors in Honduras to "respect democratic norms." Venezuela President Hugo Chávez, a close ally of Mr. Zelaya and nemesis of the U.S., said he would consider it an ''act of war" if there were hostilities against his diplomats. "I have put the armed forces of Venezuela on alert," Mr. Chávez said.

President Obama actually tried to prevent Honduran president Manuel Zelaya from being removed from power.

From HotAir:

The Obama administration worked in recent days to prevent President Zelaya’s ouster, a senior U.S. official said. The State Department, in particular, communicated to Honduran officials on the ground that President Obama wouldn’t support any non-democratic transfer of power in the Central American country.

“We had some indication” that a move against Mr. Zelaya was a foot, said a U.S. official briefed on the diplomacy. “We made it clear it was something we didn’t support.”

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton joined Mr. Obama Sunday in criticizing the Honduran coup and calling for the restoration of the democratic process.

The latest information is that this wasn't really a military coup. Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was detained by the military in compliance with a court order. Zelaya was trying to illegally change the Constitution of Honduras so he could be 'President for Life' like his buddy Chavez.