The 700 Club looks like a current event / news show, but in reality, it’s Pat Robertson. He’s the show. He’s the one who comments after each little news segment. He’s the one who has the most camera time. Make no mistake about it. This is Pat’s gig.
What happens when you have a TV show that is really just about you and your comments? Well, sometimes you actually say on TV what you think. That can lead to controversy, like it did tonight.
Robertson was doing his little commentary thingy during a discussion that included the mention of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Everyone knows that Chavez has been in a funk lately over the policies of the Bush administration. Recently, he accused the U.S. government of conspiring to topple his government and back plots to assassinate him. U.S. officials have denied this.
Well, Pat started on his rant, filling the air with his audible ponderings, when this came out of his mouth:
There was a popular coup that overthrew him [Chavez]. And what did the United States State Department do about it? Virtually nothing. And as a result, within about 48 hours that coup was broken; Chavez was back in power, but we had a chance to move in. He has destroyed the Venezuelan economy, and he’s going to make that a launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism all over the continent.
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. It’s a whole lot cheaper than starting a war. And I don’t think any oil shipments will stop. But this man is a terrific danger and the United … This is in our sphere of influence, so we can’t let this happen. We have the Monroe Doctrine, we have other doctrines that we have announced. And without question, this is a dangerous enemy to our south, controlling a huge pool of oil, that could hurt us very badly. We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability. 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.
Isn’t that priceless? Can’t believe it, right? Well, believe it. Watch the video here.
I can only imagine what the Left is going to say about this. The MSM has already had a cow, with more birthings expected.
Note to Pat: Many of us would (in a private setting) agree with what you’re saying about Chavez. He’s a loose cannon for sure. But when you get on television and say these things, it only ends up making you look a little wacko. And while you might be used to accusations of wackiness, it hurts the Republican party, it hurts Conservatism, and it sure doesn’t help non-Christians understand Christians any better (it’s that whole ‘Love Thy Neighbor’ thing that trips ’em up).
UPDATE: Backpeddle, backpeddle. Pat, just stop. It’s better to shut up than to deny what you said.
