No one - certainly not the Obama administration, but also no incoming Republicans - seems to care about human rights abuses around the world

Ryan Streeter

Given the hype surrounding the debt ceiling, spending cuts, and the RNC debate, it's no surprise that Jackson Diehl's column has received little attention today. 

But that's a shame. It may be the most interesting and important opinion piece of the day.

When it comes to human rights around the world, Diehl writes, "the U.S. voice remains positively timid - or not heard at all." Regarding abuses in Latin America, "friends of the United States marvel at its passivity as Hugo Chavez and Daniel Ortega systematically crush civil society organizations and independent media."

Diehl writes of how the U.S. is equally as passive on Egypt's recent electoral abuses and how President Obama and Secretary Clinton seem more intent on not offending the countries they're visiting or working through worthless bodies such as the U.N. Human Rights Council rather than using their own words to condemn the condemnable.  

Diehl ends his piece thus: "Has the Obama administration spoken up for [Nabeel Rajab, one of Bahrain's leading human rights advocates who is being harassed by his government]? Of course not."

Have any Republicans in Washington spoken up either? Of course not. 

Our national fiscal situation and our out-of-control spending require out attention. I get that. But we can't just leave these issues to Frank Wolf. As I mentioned this morning, Republicans need to build a broad coalition of human rights supporters - from those who advocate for the rights of the unborn to the rights of those sitting in prisons in other countries because they dared to speak their minds.

Who among the incoming House GOP members is willing to take up this cause?

Comments

[Matt]

Shame the GOP don't care about the Human Rights of the victims of terrorism in Northern Ireland.

If they did, they wouldn't put the Terrorists' Friend, Rep Peter King, in charge of the "Homeland Security" committee. King likes to talk about terrorism, after all, it's a subject he knows all about, having supported and raised money for the IRA in the 1970s and 80s.

[Drake]

As a first step, step away from the horrible institutionally leftist phrase "human rights". It is irredeemably tainted and thus prevents those issues from gaining much support on the right.