"Khomeini would be a reformist" talking point

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

A talking point frequently invoked by the Iranian reformists, likely fueled by two factors. First, two of Khomeini's grandchildren being particularly prominent in reformist circles, second all major reformist leaders were once at the very center of Khomeini's revolutionary regime: Mousavi was Prime Minister and one of Ayatollah's personal favorites, Khatami Minister of Culture and "Islamic Guidance" (obviously an important post in ideological indoctrination), Aref (the latter's VP) held some key positions etc. Similarly, leading "moderates" like now deceased Rafsanjani and Rouhani were inside Khomeini's inner circle. Present-day reformists and "moderates" were on the very same team during the 80s and partially 90s as the "principalists". The only accutal dissender was Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, who openly questioned mass executions of Mujahedins in 1988 and other repressions, leading him to be removed as Khomeini's designated successor.

Yet, I have really hard time envisioning Khomeini embracing reformist positions if he were alive. After all in the end he ensured conservatives will rule after him. Talk about him now opposing compulsory hijab (as actually suggested) is just silly.

[they don't love you like i love you]

Sounds like another variation of that "Nixon would be a liberal today", "Bernie would be center-right in Europe" type garbage. And just as true.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Sounds like another variation of that "Nixon would be a liberal today", "Bernie would be center-right in Europe" type garbage. And just as true.

Pretty much. Same as with online morons writing Rouhani is a "liberal".

[ApatheticAustrian]

Sounds like another variation of that "Nixon would be a liberal today", "Bernie would be center-right in Europe" type garbage. And just as true.

Pretty much. Same as with online morons writing Rouhani is a "liberal".

imho you need to make these definitions not in absolute words but in relative ones.

nixon was - be your current standards - much more leftish as they current GOP...maybe he would have been a different man today but even at nixon's time there was a wing of the GOP more in the shape of the modern GOP.

rohani is not a western liberal but his centrism is soooo alien to the hardliners in power, he seems like a liberal and he even picks his little fights with the real deciders.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Sounds like another variation of that "Nixon would be a liberal today", "Bernie would be center-right in Europe" type garbage. And just as true.

Pretty much. Same as with online morons writing Rouhani is a "liberal".

imho you need to make these definitions not in absolute words but in relative ones.

nixon was - be your current standards - much more leftish as they current GOP...maybe he would have been a different man today but even at nixon's time there was a wing of the GOP more in the shape of the modern GOP.

rohani is not a western liberal but his centrism is soooo alien to the hardliners in power, he seems like a liberal and he even picks his little fights with the real deciders.

Actually, Rouhani is in between Iranian hardliners and Iran-style "liberals", like Khatami.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Sounds like another variation of that "Nixon would be a liberal today", "Bernie would be center-right in Europe" type garbage. And just as true.

Pretty much. Same as with online morons writing Rouhani is a "liberal".

imho you need to make these definitions not in absolute words but in relative ones.

nixon was - be your current standards - much more leftish as they current GOP...maybe he would have been a different man today but even at nixon's time there was a wing of the GOP more in the shape of the modern GOP.

rohani is not a western liberal but his centrism is soooo alien to the hardliners in power, he seems like a liberal and he even picks his little fights with the real deciders.

Actually, Rouhani is making appeal to "liberals", but he himself is somewhere in between old-line Principalist and liberal leaders (in context) as Khatami. "Moderate" would fit better.

[ApatheticAustrian]

Sounds like another variation of that "Nixon would be a liberal today", "Bernie would be center-right in Europe" type garbage. And just as true.

Pretty much. Same as with online morons writing Rouhani is a "liberal".

imho you need to make these definitions not in absolute words but in relative ones.

nixon was - be your current standards - much more leftish as they current GOP...maybe he would have been a different man today but even at nixon's time there was a wing of the GOP more in the shape of the modern GOP.

rohani is not a western liberal but his centrism is soooo alien to the hardliners in power, he seems like a liberal and he even picks his little fights with the real deciders.

Actually, Rouhani is in between Iranian hardliners and Iran-style "liberals", like Khatami.

he is ofc between the illegal opposition and the hardliners.

but khatami wasn't much more liberal when in power.

the other big name of the eh "more reformist" faction whom you also depict in your signature was even worse.

if you cross-check iranian elections, it's been a long time that the hardliners outright won any election on their own.

even ahmadi-nejad was more of a mistake, first crushing the more conservatice candidate and then only getting faked into his second term through prevent some real liberals from winning.

[Frozen Sky Ever Why]

The guy who put a bounty on a foreigner that wrote a book he didn't like?

[ApatheticAustrian]

The guy who put a bounty on a foreigner that wrote a book he didn't like?

?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/9546513/Iran-resurrects-Salman-Rushdie-threat.html