By the way, I think Yakk's post in the other thread (quoted below) shows that Robertson does have influence, does use his power to create change (many would argue for the worse) in other nations. I guess the big difference is that Robertson's action took place in another country rather than the US.
I suppose Robertson's involvment with funding this particular coup isn't so bad because the US Administration at the time likely supported his actions (as I imagine many on this board from that side of the political spectrum would as well).
If I was a Guatamalan who followed politicalphile's I probably would probably see the upside of assassinating Robertson...
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http://www.holysmoke.org/wb/wb0239.htm
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These bright statistics don't obscure Robertson's notorious
involvement in Central America. It began with the March 1982 coup
in Guatemala which brought General Efrain Rios Montt to power.
Montt is a member of Gospel Outreach, a fundamentalist sect based
in Eureka, California. Within a week of the coup, Robertson flew
to Guatemala to meet with Montt.
Robertson told the New York Times (5/20/82) that CBN would
send missionaries and "more than a billion dollars" to Guatemala.
While this promise was not fully met, Montt used the pledges of
support from U.S. evangelicals to convince Congress that he would
not seek massive sums of U.S. aid.
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Pat doesn't just talk. He acts.
Quote:
In 1984 CBN donated $3 million to the contras through the
Nicaraguan Patriotic Association whose Vice President Juan Sacasa
is the Houston representative of the FDN. By the end of 1985 CBN
had supplied at least $7 million in aid to the contras, and to
the governments of El Salvador and Guatemala. These were not
secret contributions: Robertson solicited viewers' donations
through simulated mailgrams and a special May telethon for the
"freedom fighters."
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Political policy in the middle east, inspired by scripture!
What kind of people does Pat have influence over? He's a massive fund-raiser and volunteer-raiser for the Republican party. Obviously he has no influence with the government...
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http://www.rotten.com/library/bio/r.../pat-robertson/
In appreciation, the guerrillas named one of their units the Pat Robertson Brigade.
Quote:
As an aside, I've got a bridge to sell you.
Quote:
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In September 1986, Pat announced that he would be willing to seek the Republican party's nomination for President if and only if three million people would sign up as volunteers on his campaign over the next year. It worked, and the political donations flowed in. Pat had generated a heaping war chest by the time he officially announced his candidacy in September 1987.
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The acts of a man with no influence.
He lost the 1988 nomination because he lied and claimed he was a combat marine, when he never saw a day of combat during his tour in Korea. If not for that, he was viewed as a decent chance of becoming the Republican nominee.
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Whatever the answer, Pat realized that he could never run for office again. It was pointless. But that didn't mean he couldn't get somebody else elected. He immediately set to work building his own political organization. He called it the Christian Coalition. It was conceived as Pat's attempt to insinuate himself into the Republican party leadership.
The Christian Coalition became a huge force, almost overnight. In a fundraising letter from the Democratic National Committee, the chairman wrote: "Pat Robertson has the most powerful political organization in America."
Quote:
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A blaring neon example of the group's intentions to influence politics directly came on September 17th of 1997, when Pat Robertson addressed about 100 members of the Christian Coalition's state branches. He made a speech wherein he spoke admiringly of the Tammany Hall political machine and declared his desire to select the next President.
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In its heyday, the Christian Coalition campaigned hard for high-profile, Christian-minded candidates. They supported Oliver North's run for the Senate seat in Virginia. Likewise, John Ashcroft's Senate bid in Missouri. And, of course, they endorsed both George HW Bush (grudgingly) and George W Bush (enthusiastically) in their Presidential campaigns.
Then they got caught improperly using funds to promote specific candidates, and the FEC slapped them with fines. The membership dwindled, and Pat abandoned the organization in December 2001.
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Pat Robertson is dangerous. He encourages people, from sentators to members of your house of representatives, to voters, to volunteers, to support the use of the US military as an aggressive military force.
This makes him dangerous.
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