“They say they are the resistance against the enemy,” said Umm Mohammed, 26, bouncing a baby on her knee. “Where is the resistance?”
The militant Islamist movement surged to a surprise victory in Palestinian elections in 2006 with promises of clean governance and a reputation for terrorist tactics against Israel, which had withdrawn from Gaza the year before. But after five years of Hamas administration, many in this besieged strip say it has lived up to neither. Hamas is fast losing popularity, and recent surveys indicate that it would not win if elections were held in Gaza today.
This is why I didn't believe the Hamas victory in Gaza's elections was a disaster and why I believe our response to the Arab Spring should be to ensure rule of law and continued free elections rather than trying to engineer who wins the first and possibly only election.
If Moslems want to elect nuts, they will. The nuts will screw up. As long as the people can ponder their choices and feel the results of having nuts run their lives, in time fewer voters will respond to the "Vote Nuts! It Feels Good!" campaigns. Eventually, nuts might even be marginalized rather than lionized for their nuttiness.
Unfortunately, Hamas is unlikely to volunteer an election today. Not when European "peace" activists think Hamas is the greatest thing since
And on a more depressing note, the residents of Gaza haven't gotten to the post-nut stage. In part, they just aren't satisfied with trying to kill Jews. Hamas would do better in local polling if they managed to kill more Jews despite the failure to govern effectively.
But hey, I guess you don't shake off the dose of stupid you live with all at once.
NOTE: Scheduled posting still out of whack.
UPDATE: Ah, a Judenfrei story so soon. Not Gaza, but close.
