WSWS: Pat Robertson calls for assassination of Venezuelan president

[IndianaGreen]

Christian Coalition leader Pat Robertson calls for assassination of Venezuelan president
By John Levine and David Walsh
24 August 2005

Since Chavez was first elected in 1998, Washington has repeatedly sought to undermine and topple his government. A mass outpouring of popular support allowed the Venezuelan president to survive a US-backed coup attempt in 2002. After numerous attempts to unseat him through a presidential referendum, a vote was held in August 2004, with Chavez winning a landslide victory that was certified by international inspectors, including former US president Jimmy Carter.

According to polls, Chavez’s popularity has soared in recent months, buoyed in part by a rally in the price of oil that has allowed him to increase government spending. The percentage of Venezuelans saying they back Chavez rose to 71.2 percent in May from 67 percent in April, according to the latest poll by Caracas-based pollster Datanalisis.

Washington is hostile to the left-nationalist government of Chavez because it has become an obstacle to the drive to privatize Venezuela’s considerable oil resources as a step towards their takeover by American-based energy conglomerates.

In response to Robertson’s appeal, a US State Department spokesman, Sean McCormack, blandly told a press conference in Washington that the incendiary remarks “do not represent the policy of the United States.” He continued, “Any allegations that we are planning to take hostile action against the Venezuelan government are completely baseless and without fact.”

The White House remained silent, refusing to condemn Robertson. While certain evangelical groups criticized Robertson, noted the New York Times, “other conservative Christian organizations remained silent, with leaders at the Traditional Values Coalition, the Family Research Council and the Christian Coalition saying through spokesmen that they were too busy to comment.”

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/aug2005/prob-a24.shtml

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Interesting, isn't it,

that Chavez has a huge approval rating, mainly because he is helping his people, while Bush.....

[greekspeak]

2. Rabid religious nuts "too busy to comment” on Robertson's threat

I guess they were too busy gay bashing, poor-bashing, librul bashing to care about a "leader" of the flock of the Prince of Peace calls for an assasination of a legally elected world leader. Sick fucks. If I was a Christian, I would be infuriated at Robertson and his heinous crimes.

[IndianaGreen]

3. If Jesus were alive today...

He would be alongside Cindy Sheehan in Crawford calling for Bush to repent and bring the troops home, and he would be blasting TV evangelists as snakes.