According to Congress.org, U.S. Senator John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, has just introduced S.3008, a bill that “establishes a government program to support a transition to a freely elected and open democracy in Iran.”
My reaction is to chuckle at the irony, and to feel shocked and awed at the hypocrisy and cynicism of this proposal. Does Cornyn really believe that an American-imposed program can accomplish that goal? I fear that Cornyn’s transition “program” is actually code for military action to depose the current government in Iran. That’s our tried-and-true way of “supporting change” in countries we don’t like. And the attitude reflected by this bill sounds eerily like the run-up to “regime change” that we heard before we invaded Iraq.
And even if I’m way off base with that notion, I can’t imagine how the U.S. could show Iran how to run a democracy. With the tsunami of money pouring into American election campaigns–and with more to come as a result of the recent, floodgate-opening Supreme Court decision allowing virtually unlimited corporate spending in elections–we’re having enough trouble maintaining “freely elected” and “open” democracy here at home.