GOP, Dems Find Common Ground on Chavez

Despite all their spats in this election season, Democrats and Republicans in Congress have found something they can agree on – working against Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez. The Democratic chairman and the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Western Hemisphere subcommittee agree that the White House should reach out to the re-energized opposition movement to Chavez, The Hill reports.

Chavez lost his supermajority in Venezuela's National Assembly in September parliamentary elections.

"Washington ought to let the Venezuelan people know that we care about their freedoms, that we're monitoring it," subcommittee chairman Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., says. We should "keep spirits up," as Venezuelans are "tired of a lack of freedom."

Engel's Republican colleague Rep. Connie Mack of Florida says, "There's not going to be a free and fair election in Venezuela as long as Chavez is at the helm.”