Rich Lowry on the illegitimaticy of the Iranian elections

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Rich Lowry on the illegitimaticy of the Iranian elections

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 | Middle East |

Rich Lowry: “A reminder: There is not a question about the legitimacy of the Iranian election. It was illegitimate from the beginning; the regime hand-picked the candidates.”

Absolutely correct. Even if the vote counting had been 100% legitimate (which it wasn’t) the election was illegitimate because the existing regime simply disqualified candidates it didn’t want on the ballot in the first place.

Disqualifying political challengers is a long-standing practice of Iran’s current regime. Follow that link to The Washington Post’s account of the 2005 elections. While you’re there contrast Obama’s timid response to the Iranian mullahs this past week with Bush’s forceful denunciation in 2005:

“Today, Iran is ruled by men who suppress liberty at home and spread terror across the world,” Bush said. “Power is in the hands of an unelected few who have retained power through an electoral process that ignores the basic requirements of democracy. The June 17th presidential elections are sadly consistent with this oppressive record.”

Addressing the Iranian people, Bush added: “As you stand for your own liberty, the people of America stand with you.”

Robert Kagan recently noted the contrasting approaches of Bush and Obama towards Iran:

One of the great innovations in the Obama administration’s approach to Iran, after all, was supposed to be its deliberate embrace of the Tehran rulers’ legitimacy. In his opening diplomatic gambit, his statement to Iran on the Persian new year in March, Obama went out of his way to speak directly to Iran’s rulers, a notable departure from George W. Bush’s habit of speaking to the Iranian people over their leaders’ heads. As former Clinton official Martin Indyk put it at the time, the wording was carefully designed “to demonstrate acceptance of the government of Iran.”

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