Pat Robertson's Call to Kill Chavez Catches Hell
Televangelist lambasted for urging US government to murder Venezuelan president
August 25, 2005
Leif Utne Utne.com
Pat Robertson, the televangelist who famously blamed gays and
abortions for the September 11 terrorist attacks, is suffering
another bout with foot-in-mouth disease. On Monday, the founder of
the Christian Coalition encouraged the Bush administration to
assassinate President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, calling the leader
a 'terrific danger' to the United States, who would turn his
country into 'a launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim
extremism all over the continent.' 'It's a whole lot cheaper than
starting a war,' he said on his show The 700 Club. 'We
don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, ya know,
strong-arm dictator.'
Watch video of
Robertson's statement, thanks to MediaMatters.org
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On Tuesday, August 23, Robertson's comments drew a hail of
criticism, reports the progressive news site
Venezuela
Analysis, as the US human rights group Global Exchange and
the National Council of Churches issued statements condemning the
preacher. The Rev. Jesse Jackson called the statements
'morally
reprehensible and dangerously suggestive,' and Venezuelan Vice
President Jos? Vicente Rangel described them as 'terrorist remarks'
and noted that
'religious
fundamentalism is one of the greatest problems facing the world
today.' Even the Pentagon and State Department distanced
themselves from Robertson. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said
Robertson is
'a
private citizen. Private citizens say all kinds of things all the
time.'
Paradoxically, or perhaps not, some other conservative Christian
organizations - including the Traditional Values Coalition, the
Family Research Council, and the Christian Coalition -- told news
organizations such as The New York Times that they were
too busy to comment.