Jesse Ventura: Coleman A "Hypocrite," I Would Waterboard Cheney (VIDEO)

Former Minnesota Governor and one-time professional wrestler Jesse Ventura went public on Larry King Live yesterday with some harsh criticisms of the Bush administration, as well as Senator Norm Coleman.

...Coleman's always been a hypocrite. He never does what he says. He said election night, when he won, that [Al] Franken should drop out, and he should be the senator. Well, then the same should hold true after the recount.

Ventura, who beat out Coleman in the 1998 Minnesota gubernatorial race, said that any federal appeal by the senator should be thrown out.

Ventura also came out against the Bush administration, calling George Bush the "worst president in my lifetime" and saying he has "no respect for Dick Cheney."

Claiming that he was water-boarded as part of Navy Seal training he received during the Vietnam War era, Ventura says:

[Water-boarding] is torture... It's drowning. It gives you the complete sensation that you are drowning. It is no good, because you -- I'll put it to you this way, you give me a water board, Dick Cheney and one hour, and I'll have him confess to the Sharon Tate murders.

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Comments

[Badfickle]

Let's play a game. I'll list seven American hero's who very publicly opposed the torture of prisoners. Ready?

George Washington,
John Adams,
Thomas Jefferson,
Abraham Lincoln,
George Patton,
Dwight D Eisenhower
and Ronald Wilson Reagan

(Notice I included 3 republicans and 3 of our greatest generals.) Now you come up with a list of world leaders (they can be Americans but they don't have to be) who support(ed) the torture of prisoners of war. Let's see who comes up with the better list.

Go.

[fredisfred]

Erm...

Adolph Hitler
George Bush, Dick Cheney, and the rest of their gang


I'll get back to ya...

[Pilate]

And three Founding Fathers. You win.

[Sandmanj]

Pol Pot

Emperor Hirohito

Hitler

Stalin

Dubya

Cheney

Rice

Rumsfeld

[sammyscout]

LMAO

[Sandmanj]

Oh, I forgot:

Idi Amin

[kiran1207]

thank you for the truth. I am tired of the right wing nuts telling us this country is less safe with a biracial democratic prez.

[Badfickle]

hmmm I win.

[colorperdaughter]

TONY BLAIR, DON'T FORGET THE POODLE!!!!!!!!!!!!

[flhu]

Ghengis Khan didn't approve of torture, either, but here's some that did: Hitler, Stalin, Vlad the Impaler, Ivan the Terrible, George Bush Jr, and Pol Pot.

[stepper]

Saddam Hussein

Idi Amin

The Shah of Iran

Kim Jong Ill

The Spanish Inquisition

The Puritans

The Romans (they used it on a guy named Jesus)

That Cardassian guy on Star Trek

[whohortonehears2]

and a partridge in a pear tree...

[timetorevolt]

The Catholic Church sponsored the Spanish Inquisition

[Badfickle]

I win.

[ConnieInCleveland]

Jesse Ventura would be an excellent Ambassador to Cuba. I hope President Obama takes him up on his offer. A former Navy Seal would be a good Ambassador for America.

[jerzegurl]

I like Jessie Ventura, however I must have watched a different interview... I found Jesse to be lagging in his usual wit and him constant reference to surfing and living in Mexico. I found his ambition to be an ambassador to Cuba outrageous.

[GhostNyc]

Ventura is a private citizen now, he was relaxed and having some fun. His views on many politically charged topics seemed very balanced and honorable.

[Mnemanth]

Jesse! Where have you been?!?!

[SPZig]

This is what a true patriot looks like. Not the constant snarl of Cheney, or Bush's smirk, or even Obama's trademark smile.

Jesse Ventura has the testicular fortitude to really speak out when it counts.

[gbrooks]

If our politicians were like Ventura, we'd have the country we want rather than the country that is force-fed to us.

I'm going to have to get that book.

[DaleR]

As a dem I appreciate what jesse stated about torture and coleman in the Larry King interview. That said, jesse thinks the world trade center builds that collapsed on 911 were brought down by controlled demolition; so you know..., he is kinda crazy pants.

[stargazer13]

B.Y.U . professor lost his job for saying same thing in Utah

guess what I believe the B.Y.U. professor and Jesse are right !!!!

sorry guess buy the time ( 9-11 ) came along my stomach for propaganda was full and I could swallow no more

professor had not ulterior motives for speaking truth of what he know to be true

and they then pushed him out Utah lost a great professor

[Kate Stoune]

Um, all THREE buildings (you do know about building 7 don't you?) came down via controlled demolition. Spend 10 minutes researching the facts that have come out and you will agree with Jesse. He is not crazy pants ... he is straight up on top of the game. Listen to this man - he knows what he is talking about.

[DaleR]

Have you heard of Occam's razor. If not, Google it. While possible that the port authority security details, NYPD, private security firms guarding the WTC sites took a few months off to allow the US gov or terrorists to wire the WTC buildings with explosives, that is a lot of explosives to carry into the building, place in holes drilled into the steel infrastructure, in holes drilled into the support columns and walls beneath the buildings.

My thinking is that if not security, at least one of the thousands of people working in the WTC should have brought the activities of prepping WTC1, WTC2, WTC7 for demo but I guess there is some precentage of change, of a number that is approching infinity, that you could be right.

Or .. maybe a few motivated religious zealot learned how to stear already airborn planes into the largest targets in NY and DC.

Occam's razor.

[gbrooks]

I'm a scientist, though not a structural engineer or physicist (I'm a chemist), and there's some seriously fishy stuff about the WTC's collapses (1,2, and 7) that makes me think that there really has to be more to the story.

Not to mention the fact that bin Laden's family was allowed to fly out of the US on 9/12/01 and that nothing was ever pursued in regards to the Israeli's who knew what was coming and filmed it.

[thepoyote]

I too have always admired Ventura's straight talk. Can any Minnesotans expalin why he was ultimately not a popular Governor?

[dssmn]

He was an independent and no one would cooperate with him. The media didn't like him cause he wouldn't put up with their s h i t, his win blindsided them. Ventura not only shocked the world, he shocked the Minnesota media and they didn't like it.

[NoBlinky]

As an Independent he had very little support from the legislature. He was very much in favor of making it a unicameral body (like Nebraska's), thereby drastically reducing the legislative headcount, along with the state budget. This was hardly popular with the legislature so he was off to a rocky start when he took office, and they only became more uncooperative over the course of his term so it was very difficult for him to get his initiatives through.

I've seen people on this site use Ventura as a case in point as to how ridiculous Minnesota politics is. I have to give it to those folks that Michele Bachman is an enormous embarassment, but I disagree about Ventura, and I think most of us feel that way. I think he did a surprisingly good job as Governor, but was in a nearly impossible situation.

LOVE how he pronounces the word "Minnesota", by the way. Now, THAT's a genuine Minnesota accent!!

[thepoyote]

Thanks for the insight!

[lejman]

jesse ventura is the poster child for why we are stuck with asses and elephants as the only viable choices to represent us. independent third parties can't break thru the vested interests. in 2006, 10.5% of the illinois electorate voted green because that percentage of the electorate realized that former repub gov george ryan was awaiting sentencing, and incumbent blago was following close behind. the green candidate was pro life and pro guns, but 10.5% didn't care in the face of the corruption entrenched in springfield and chicago.

[american-dolt]

Jesse is a Great man, If you ever in Mass, look me up, I'll show you some good breaks.

[FZliveson]

Cheney's poor ol' heart would give up the GHOST the second he sensed that any kind of accountability were nigh. He believes his own bullshit and is amazed everyone else does not. If there were to be another Nuremberg-type trial, Cheney would be one of the few to go down flat and cold.

[powerlift2201]

What is one glowing difference between Bush, Cheney and Ventura? Ventura actually served in Viet Nam. Jesse Ventura understands the horrors of war and does not advocate it. Cheney and Bush never fought so they act like they are playing some type of chess game wth expendible pieces - both US and foreign.

I'm not inferring that people who fought in any war are more or less patriotic but those who have served have witnessed things we could barely imagine. War changes a person and those who don't understand that seem to be all too willing to but American soldiers and innocent civilians in harms way. To paraphrase Jack Nickolson: Cheney and all those supporting torture should grab a gun and go fight in Iraq and Afghanistan.

[mjtaylor22]

thanks jessie for that huge chunk of truth.
why has the media avoided having professional not just ideologues comment on their experience witht hese tactics, you know an honest opinion,
cheney being waterboarded, ha his heart would not make it,
not even gonna comment on hannity

[Badfickle]

I couldn't stand Coleman when he was a democrat. i can't stand him now.

[bronncohowie]

Incredible interview !! Cheney & Limbaugh both "cowards" for evading military service !!!! How come Olbermann & Maddow don't bring those points up ? Legalize Marijuana, recognize Cuba !!! This guy ought to run for President. I would vote for him right now !!! We need a "decider" like Jesse !!!

[fredisfred]

"How come Olbermann & Maddow don't bring those points up ?"

Probably because they never served in the military either. Besides, it sounds better coming from Jesse.

[jeffp26]

I was sorely disappointed when Jesse did not take on Bush and Gore in 2000. Think of how much better off we'd be if we had had a president with the kind of guts and intelligence Ventura has!!!

[arspar183]

talking tough does not a good president make.
i bet u said the same thing about bush after 9-11 and his bring em on
and we'll hunt em down BS.