You know, I don’t know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he [Venezuelan President Hugo Chvez] 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. . . .
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.
Rev. Marion (Pat”) Robertson
“700 Club” TV show
Christian Broadcast Network, Aug. 22, 2005
I don’t even know who that person [Pat Robertson] is.
Hugo Chavez, Venezuelan President
Associated Press, Aug. 23, 2005
I didn’t say “assassination.” I said our special forces should ‘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 [Associated Press], but that happens all the time.
Rev. Marion (“Pat”) Robertson
“700 Club” TV show
Christian Broadcast Network, Aug. 24, 2005
Is it right to call for assassination? No, and I apologize for that statement. I spoke in frustration that we should accommodate the man who thinks the U.S. is out to kill him.
[If a madman were] driving a car into a group of innocent bystanders, then I can’t, as a Christian, simply wait for the catastrophe and then comfort the wounded and bury the dead. I must try to wrestle the steering wheel out of the hands of the driver.
Rev. Marion (“Pat”) Robertson
Statement, CNN.com, Aug. 25, 2005
Will Robertson be investigated by federal authorities? Will he be called before Congress? Will the President, or the Secretary of State, publicly chastise Robertson? Are those three silly questions about a man who controls millions of Republican votes from Christian conservatives?
John W. Dean
Former White House counsel
Findlaw.com, Aug. 26, 2005
I announce that my government is going to take legal action in the United States . . . to call for the assassination of a head of state is an act of terrorism.
Hugo Chvez, Venezuelan President
Statement, Aug. 28, 2005
We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn’t do it, but God did.
U.S. Rep. Richard H. Baker
R-Baton Rouge
Wall Street Journal, Sept. 9, 2005
We must not forget that the citizens of New Orleans tolerated and welcomed the wickedness in their city for so long. May this act of God cause us all to think about what we tolerate in our city limits.
Michael Marcavage
Repent America director
Reuters, Sept. 2, 2005
This [Hurricane Katrina] happens in our country when we have taken God out of our schools and out of our society. We don’t have a moral standard.
Rev. Franklin Graham
Fox News Channel, Sept. 1, 2005
God is responsible for this, and in his own time he will reveal why.
Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Illinois
News conference
Reuters, Sept. 2, 2005
Maybe God’s going to cleanse us.
Oliver Thomas, President
New Orleans City Council
LifeSiteNews.com, Sept. 1, 2005
I think today a pluralistic society should have access to a broad range of fact, of science, including faith [intelligent design].
Bill Frist, R-Tenn.
Senate Majority Leader
Associated Press, Aug. 19, 2005
All points of view [should be given students studying the origins of life].
Arizona Sen. John McCain
Los Angeles Times, Aug. 27, 2005
It [winning $45,000 from a New Orleans slot machine] was a sign from God. I take it as a sign from God that if I could hit that progressive [jackpot], I will probably be elected governor.
Kinky Friedman
Texas gubernatorial candidate
Dallas Morning News, Aug. 17, 2005
