Right Not Left Behind?

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Chavez to Take Legal Action?

A week after televangelist Pat Robertson called for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and then apologized, Chavez is now threatening to take legal action against not only Robertson, but also the United States. Chavez says he might seek to extradite Robertson under international treaties, calling Robertson, "crazy [and a] ... public menace."

What's more, he says his government will file suit in U.S. court to demand that the Bush administration call Robertson's comments "an act of terrorism," insisting, "If the U.S. government does not take the action it must take, we will go to the United Nations and the Organization of American States to denounce the U.S. government."

Charlie on Cheney

New York Democratic Congressman Charlie Rangel says he hopes Dick Cheney never becomes president, insisting, "Sometimes I don't think Cheney is awake enough to know what's going on. He's a sick man ... He's got heart disease but the disease is not restricted to that part of his body. He grunts a lot so you never really know what he's thinking."

Rangel, in an interview with NY1 News, added, "Why do you think people are spending so much time praying for Bush's health? ... If he ever leaves and Cheney's in charge there's not very much else to pull together our nation."

Right Not Left Behind?

Reagan era documents from Supreme Court Nominee John Roberts show that his barbed comments were not only for administration critics on the left. In 1984, Bob Jones III, then the president of Bob Jones University in South Carolina, wrote to the White House accusing immigration authorities of harassing a minister, and complaining that the White House was being insensitive by refusing to get involved.

Roberts, an assistant White House counsel at the time, told his boss in a memo, "The audacity of Jones' reply is truly remarkable, given the political costs this administration has incurred in promoting the interests of fundamental Christians ... A restrained reply to his petulant paranoia is attached for your review, telling Jones, in essence, to go soak his head."

Proceedings Put on Hold

Iraq's National Assembly was set to vote on a new law today that would punish members of the parliament who don't show up to vote, but that didn't happen because not enough people showed up to vote. Only 145 of the 275 members of parliament came to work. Of those that did, 74 voted in favor of the legislation, and 71 voted against it. The deputy speaker put the proceedings on hold after those opposed to the law insisted the absentees had a right to vote. No word on when a new vote will take place.

— FOX News' Michael Levine contributed to this report