White House, Religious Right Fail to Condemn Robertson

[JABBS]

Religious Right leader and former Republican presidential candidate Pat Robertson declared a fatwa on Aug. 22, calling for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Surprisingly, the Bush Administration and major Religious Right organizations have failed to condemn the comments.

"If he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it," Robertson said of Chávez on his show, The 700 Club. "It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war. And I don't think any oil shipments will stop."

Robertson, on his show today, backtracked, claiming he was misinterpreted:

ROBERTSON: Wait a minute, I didn't say 'assassination.' I said our special forces should, quote, "take him out," and "take him out" can be a number of things including kidnapping. There are a number of ways to take out a dictator from power besides killing him. I was misinterpreted by the AP, but that happens all the time.

Maybe those who should be condemning Robertston choose to live in the alternate universe that allows Robertson's lie to replace the truth. How else can you explain the lack of an appropriate response from Republican and Religious Right leaders?

***

The tame response from the administration focused on the idea that assassination was not administration policy.

"Certainly, it's against the law. Our department doesn't do that type of thing," said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the top administration official to remark. "Private citizens say all kinds of things all the time."

Of course, most private citizens don't have their own nationally broadcast television shows, reaching about 1 million people per broadcast. Most private citizens don't have a voice in national politics, either.

Sean McCormack, a State Department spokesman, called Robertson's comments "inappropriate." He said the U.S. government "does not share his view" and is not plotting to kill Chavez.

And that was about it. No strong words. No condemnation. Please ignore the crazy man on television, and oh by the way, make sure his viewers continue to vote for the GOP.

Robertson has often used his show and the political advocacy group he founded, the Christian Coalition, to support President Bush.)

When has the administration used the word "condemn"? Following terrorist attacks worldwide and suicide bombings in Iraq, for sure. But it also has condemned assassinations, such as the 2001 assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi, or the 2002 assassination of Haji Abdul Qadir, a vice president of the Afghan Transitional Administration. Just this month, the administration condemned the assassination of Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar.

So, does that mean the world has to wait for a Chavez assassination before the Bush Administration will condemn it? Or is it just that the administration only uses the word condemnation when the victim is a friend of the U.S.? (Something Chavez, officially, is not.)

***

Also silent were many conservative Christian organizations. Leaders at the Traditional Values Coalition, the Family Research Council and the Christian Coalition saying through spokesmen that they were too busy to comment.

It's ironic. They have so much time to comment on other things, such as embryonic stem cell research or what videos are shown at the Lincoln Memorial.

***

In a separate reaction, liberal watchdog group Media Matters for America sent a letter urging the ABC Family network to stop carrying Robertson's program. The network broadcasts The 700 Club three times each weekday.

In an Aug. 23 statement, ABC Family said the company was "contractually obligated to air The 700 Club and has no editorial control over views expressed by the hosts or guests."

But that's a bogus statement -- in 2003, MSNBC fired controversial conservative talk show host Michael Savage after he referred to an unidentified caller as a "sodomite" and said he should "get AIDS and die."

"His comments were extremely inappropriate and the decision was an easy one," MSNBC spokesman Jeremy Gaines said at the time.

And certainly declaring a fatwa is as serious as anything Savage has to say.

***

This article first appeared at Journalists Against Bush's B.S.

[wurzel]

1. The "silence" is echoing all around the world!

[dargondogon]

2. Citgo sells Venezuelan gasoline

Guardian Unlimited Special Report

Hugo Chávez, the president of Venezuela, is a genial fellow with a good sense of humour and a steely political purpose. As a former military officer, he is accustomed to the language of battle and he thrives under attack. He will laugh off this week's suggestion by Pat Robertson, the US televangelist, that he should be assassinated, but he will also seize on it to ratchet up the verbal conflict with the United States that has lasted throughout his presidency.

snip

Venezuela has deployed more than 20,000 Cuban doctors in its shanty-towns, and Cuba is the grateful recipient of cheap Venezuelan oil, replacing the subsidised oil it once used to receive from the Soviet Union. This, in the eyes of the US government, would itself be a heinous crime that would put Chávez at the top of its list for removal.

snip

The Americans would have dealt with Chávez long ago had they not been faced by two crucial obstacles. First, they have been notably preoccupied in recent years in other parts of the world, and have hardly had the time, the personnel, or the attention span to deal with the charismatic colonel. Second, Venezuela is one of the principal suppliers of oil to the US market (literally so in that 13,000 US petrol stations are owned by Citgo, an extension of Venezuela's state oil company). Any hasty attempt to overthrow the Venezuelan government would undoubtedly threaten this oil lifeline, and Chávez himself has long warned that his assassination would close down the pumps. With his popularity topping 70% in the polls, he would be a difficult figure to dislodge.

snip

Locate a filling station near you

[sunnystarr]

3. I heard that Chavez was considering having Citgo

sell gas real cheap in the US to poor people. Wonder if I'm poor enough and if it would sell for the 12 cents a gallon it sells for in Venezuela.

[Cha]

5. I put $34.00 of Citgo in

car today..about 3/4 of a tank. I saw two other Citgos on my to the Salvation Army to buy clothes :)

I think I would qualify..what an ingenous thing to do..help the poor of the USA when the current sob spits on them.

[Cha]

4. bush didn't condemn the swiftboat liars

either..they are all just like him..I guess bush didn't want to seem like a hypocrite.