On the 700 Club Monday, Pat Robertson appeared to be advocating the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who has become known as one of President Bush's harshest critics. AP STORY
Among other things, Chavez has been known to accuse the US of trying assassinate him or topple his government. This led Rev Robertson to speculate:
"You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it," Robertson said. "It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war."
On the one hand, Pat Robertson's out of his tree- which is why you have to love him. I mean, this is riDONKulous, m'kay? A big important prominent leader like Pat Robertson can't be going on tv to call for the assassination of foreign leaders. He's going to create like, ya know, an international incident or something here.
On the other hand, might there not be merit in the idea? The US government might not want to be out just openly whacking any schmuck that crosses our path. At least, though, we've got John Bolton at the UN now to smooth things over if such a scenario becomes necessary.
All I'm saying is that Chavez does appear to be pretty much of an all round dickweed, and there have been worse wastes of ammo.
"We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability," Robertson said.
"We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator. It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with."
It scares me when Pat Robertson starts to sound even half reasonable. Perhaps I need to up my meds.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Rich
Jesus will be resurected again and strangle that basturd on his TV show.
2 - Al Barger
Hopefully Jebus will do this during sweeps. I'm sure it'll be a big buzz generating ratings booster.
3 - Namaste
OK - you have got to be kidding to even entertain agreeing with Mr. Robertson who is out of his mind. Obviously you have not done your research about what has been transpiring in Venezuela over the past five years. Long and short - we want their oil. Sound familar? You have heard about CAFTA??? Well that little trade agreement was pushed through so fast by Bush our heads were spinning - and you wanna know why? So Rummie and his sidekick could go to Peru and Paraguay and blackmail these countries into shutting out their neighbor Venezuela. The sidekick refered to the democratically elected Chavez as an "irritating cartoon character." I hope that you look into what is going on in South America as the events transpiring there will soon be in the news - or maybe not.
4 - Eric Berlin
Jack them meds, Al.
5 - LMarie
Robertson's comment sounds a little too close to comments made by Islamic "radical extremist clerics" who call for death to the infidels (aka, those who dare to disagree with my religion).
6 - Eric Berlin
Yes you're right -- fundamentalist extremism is fundamentalist extremism.
7 - Dave Nalle
Now that Chavez has rounded up and locked away all the journalists in Venezuela you won't find anyone there criticizing him the way that Robertson has from the safety of the US.
And Namaste, you need to read up a bit on the current activities of the Chavez regime. Contrary to all the praise the left was heaping on his Fidel-light ass when he was elected, he's now trying to fulfill every negative prophecy the right had about him being just another neo-marxist dictator.
Dave
8 - Eric Berlin
That doesn't give a televangelist the right to advocate his assassination...
9 - Dave Nalle
True. As I recall the Constitution gives him that right. A right they don't have in Venezuela, btw.
None of which makes Robertson any less of a nut for saying it.
Dave
10 - Eric Berlin
Yes, yes... he has the "right" but it's not right, right?
Especially from someone who is a self-appointed moral leader.
11 - Boris Barloff
Does/should freedom of speech cover incitement of violence? This is clearly hate speech.
Also, why does the religious right seem to get away with "treasuring every human life" when it comes to unwanted pregnancies or brain-dead retards in Florida, but then 25,000 dead Iraqi civilians, or elected leaders of sovereign countries who stand up for themselves, those lives aren't worth two bits??
I really want to know - when they say every human life, who are they counting as humans? Arabs and gays and blacks and, and,, are all those people really being counted as equals?
12 - Dave Nalle
I'm not sure that a 'maybe we should' comment counts as inciting anyone to violence.
And trying to apply logic to Pat Robertson and who he does and doesn't want to see dead is liable to drive you mad.
Dave
13 - Brian
There are too many misinformed people in the U.S. -- a product of our "free" press. Just to keep the record straight: (1) Chavez is a democratically elected president (not a dictator); (2) Venezuela has a very open and "free" press, which criticizes Chavez far more than the U.S. press criticizes Bush.
14 - Dave Nalle
No one said Chavez was a dictator. Perhaps you need to read what you're responding to more carefully.
As for the 'free press' in Venezuela, wave bye bye as you read these articles:
VOA News
VCRISIS
Committee to Protect Journalists
Chavez has as his role model Fidel Castro. How much of a free press is there in Cuba? Need I say more?
Dave
15 - Hahnemann
Dave, the links you are giving are just propaganda. If you read Spanish I invite you to read any newspaper in Venezuela and you will notice right away that your links are not reliable.
16 - ClubhouseCancer
If only the Ten Commandments were posted more places, perhaps Pat would remember that "shalt not kill" one.
I personally love when Robertson and his scumbag ilk get publicity for their asinine violent statements. Is there anything more hateful than advocating the death of another human being?
Of course, many people won't make the connection, and will continue to believe that Robertson is a moral person, because he mentions Jesus in between his wishes for the deaths of others.
But I say he's a fucking immoral hateful asshole.
He said this, too, in 1998: "Many of those people involved in Adolph Hitler were Satanists. Many of them were homosexuals. The two things seem to go together.”
What an appalling excuse for a man.
17 - Nancy
Mmmm...seems like Robertson is just being a good Christian. Who would Jesus assassinate...?
18 - Eric Berlin
WWJA
19 - Taloran
"We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability," Robertson said.
What do you think would have happened to good old Pat if he had said that about Blair or Bush?
20 - Capn Ken
Wow, Pat's upping the ante. He's only praying for the deaths of Supreme Court justices.
21 - Silas Kain
It's obvious that Hugo Chavez is falling victim to the temptations offered by that Satanic Fidel Castro. Not to mention the fact that this petroleum seems to be the handmaiden of evil. Every country which depends on this black gold for its economic spine becomes disenfranchised with Christ and the forces of good. Rev. Robertson only wants to see to it that Christ is accepted by all humanity as the King of Kings. We should be rewarding his efforts instead of criticizing everything he says. Rev. Robertson's proselytizing has failed to get Hugo Chavez to see the Light and accept Christ as his personal Savior. As a result the good Reverend knows the only alternative is to dispatch Hugo's soul to the lake of fire and brimstone. That is what Jesus would do, isn't it?
22 - gonzo marx
heh..Silas...sarcasm coming from you?
oh my gooses!!
i guess Pat just doesn't like catholics
we know that Mr Nalle (who i just can't believe is playing apologist for Robertson), hates anyone to the Left of Gordon Liddy...and the team up here just makes me nauseous...
when did it become OK for a "minister of christ", you know somebody that supposedly "talks to God" on a regular basis, to not only advocate assasination...but also pray for the demise of Judges here in the states?
somebody get Pat a turban
Excelsior!
23 - Al Barger
Granted that Robertson's pretty much of a nutjob, but in fairness advocating the assassination of a thug dictator is nothing like calling for the deaths of infidels, as LMarie in comment 2 compared this.
And don't get too heated up over "Thou shalt not kill." As my hero Harry Powell noted in a conversation with God at the beginning of Night of the Hunter, "There's plenty of killing in your book." There were in fact plenty of capital crimes in the Old Testament.
I understand how it sets people on edge to hear him talk like this, but maybe it's in fact a good thing. He's not calling for a lynch mob to get him, but advocating public policy. Maybe the US government should send someone in and whack him. It's a perhaps not 100% crazy public policy debate.
Perhaps we should have had such discussions a couple of years ago over Saddam. Maybe whacking a handful of Iranian clerics might save us having a big war or nuclear armed jihadists. Or maybe that's all completely untenable.
But cutting off debate and saying that you can't publicly express such ideas does not seem our best bet either.
24 - gonzo marx
first..it is against american Law to assasinate folks...go and look it up Al
second..do you really think it is a good idea for a christian fundamentalist minister with his own fucking TV station to be publicly advocating such a law-breaking policy?
if so, you are even crazier than he is
third, this is a duly elected official in his own country, is he invading anyone?
what's next...someone going to start saying Venezuela has WMDs?
please fucking spare me, he doesn't like the Shrub, and runs his nation to the Left of center
for this it should be American policy to "whack" him?
i see how it is, big Al Barger, Mr Nalle and Pat Robertson advocate Tony Soprano for the 2008 election
i can't make this shit up , kiddies
Excelsior!
25 - Namaste
You are joking - right?