Jared Malsin Quotes
Instead of providing a model for democracy, Turkey's leader represents a throwback: an elected autocrat, tolerated by the West for maintaining a certain stability within and without, overseeing a procedural democracy with a pliant press and a dominent political party that serves only his wishes.
Description of Turkey's President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. See 644169 for a quote about his popularity.
Jared Malsin "Recep Tayyip Erdogan" Time Magazine, December 19, 2016
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
He was referring to Recep Tayyip Erdogan, teh President of Turkey, While had had a number of very good and successful policies, as he served in the role, he became les and less democratic until at the time of this quotation, many of the dictatorial practices common in most of he Middle Eastern nations were also operational in Turkey. At the same time Erdogan becan rolling back the nation's comittment to being a secular state, implmented of Kalal Attaturk, thich allowed Turkey to develop much mor-so than any other Muslim majority state in the world. The religious, uneducated, and rural people loved him, while the educated, secular and urban population feard Turkey was regressing to the Islamic domination that had kept all the other Muslim Nations backward while Turkey had after its secular revolution European style modernization joined the modern successful nations with a strong, developed economy, an excellent educational system, very competent in science and Engineering, a modern health system.
When he became president himself, he not only served 10 years but changed the constitution so that he could serve forever and was still President over 20 years later. See {620732} for another similar statement.
Lippmann was the most influential pundit of the time. Roosevelt had just been elected but had not yet assumed office. The country was in the midst of the Great Depression and many communities had 80% unemployment. Banks had failed, people were starving, and many people thought that democracy was just not suited to deal with such severe problems. Roosevelt, however rejected the advice and always worked through the Congress and in so doing saved democracy in America.
Porfirio Diaz - the longtime dictator of Mexico stole the election of 1910 and had his opponent Francisco Madero arrested and imprisoned. Madero got out, crossed the border to San Antonio, and issued this declaration which started the Mexican Revolution. See {613620} for the statement that declared the Revolution.
Advocating the presidential term limitation of the 22nd Amendment:
See {592811} for Adams response.
The example that is often given is Singapore of the late 20th century.
There are still remnants of Fascism throughout right wing and conservative circles in Europe.
The dictator that he thought Russia needed, Stalin, turned on him in 1937 for not agreeing with Stalin enthusiastically enough, had a 1 day trial for treason, and executed the best military man in the country despite the fact that Russia would need its military to fight the German invasion.
This quotation is a great demonstration of how much wiser and the better politician of all the crowned heads of Europe that Queen Victoria was. There were stirrings of freedom and desire for parliamentary government throughout Europe. Queen Victoria, even though and perhaps because she was a young woman, had a great feel for fairness and reasonableness and had read a great deal of history. There were some radical red socialists calling for complete radical revolution scaring European Royalty profoundly. They reacted very conservatively and with reaction, reverting to more tyrannical practices of the past urged in that path by very conservative, right wing advisors. Victoria also had little respect for some of the monarchs who had little interest in their people and much with their personal power and wealth. In the end, it was England which was the only nation which never had a serious radical socialist / communist threat, and that had much to do with Victoria’s political acumen and wisdom.
His views are a mix of modernism and fundamentalism. He favors democracy and elections but also favored the Taliban destroying the great ancient Buddha statues when he was called an idol worshipper for urging the preservation of art.
Jared Malsin is Middle East bureau chief for TIME Magazine.
