Pat Robertson Flips, Chavez Chuckles

The blogosphere is abuzz with yesterday's news that 700 Club host and Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson issued a veritable fatwa on his TV program yesterday against Venezuela President Hugo Chavez:

ROBERTSON: 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.

What most haven't noted, though is that Hugo Chavez is, of course, chuckling in his red beret. Nothing does more to boost a Latin American revolutionary leader's support at home than threats of assassination from the Yanqui imperialists.

When news broke of several bungled attempts by U.S. intelligence to off Fidel Castro in the 1960s, it stoked anti-American sentiment and proved critical in cementing Castro's popularity in Cuba for standin up to U.S. meddling. (The antics of far-right exiles and the hapless TV Marti have a similar effect today.)

So Chavez hasn't been this happy since the U.S. left discovered they could support the Venezuela's anti-Bush politics by buying Citgo gas. Chavez to Robertson: Bring it On!

UPDATE: Thanks to commenter zaimokoya for noting I had originally tagged the wrong radical right figure -- Jerry Falwell, who's had a few lapses of his own recently.