Tim Rollins Photo courtesy of Beth Rollins

You have to wonder who Al Gore really is – after all, it’s doubtful he knows who HE really is. Let’s take into consideration the ways Gore has in his own words ‘evolved’ over the years. Some of these changes in opinion he has explained; many he hasn’t.

In 1981, Gore decried homosexuality as an abnormal lifestyle and vowed not to accept money from any gay groups. He repeatedly stated on the record that he viewed homosexuality as being wrong, even going so far as telling a reporter from the Nashville Tennessean in 1984, "I do not believe it is simply an acceptable alternative that society should affirm."

At the 1988 Democratic Presidential Debate, Al Gore made this statement: "I’m going to lay it on the line. The next president of the United States has to be someone who the American people can believe will stay with his convictions." (2/18/88)

Oh, how times change. If you remember, Al Gore was out in Hollywood a couple of years ago saying that we as Americans need to take another look at those with what he called ‘alternative lifestyles’. He was referring to gays and lesbians as he was kowtowing, pandering or rather in an effort to seek their vote. In addition, given that gays almost always don’t have families of their own, they almost always have a much lager disposable income than those who choose to make the efforts to have and raise families of their own. This makes gays a money-rich target market for the solicitation of campaign donations, and while both parties are making an effort to reach out to the gay vote, Al Gore’s efforts are all the more insidious. While gays and lesbians have as much of a right to vote and participate in the political process, the pandering on the part of Gore is a complete 180 from what Gore once said back in the 1980’s.

Another example of Gore pandering for the gay vote was when he did his MTV interview at Michigan State University. In that interview, he said he believed that homosexual foreigners who enter a "civic union" with U.S. citizens should have the same immigration rights as heterosexual married couples. Gore then explained his position by saying, "I favor legally recognized civic unions that have the legal protection of marriage." This, despite the fact that the public overwhelmingly opposes gay marriage and has voted it down every chance they could, even in the generally more liberal state of California. It also went down in flames in Hawaii and Alaska as well, due in large part to the efforts of several churches. Can you imagine what havoc Gore’s judicial appointments would wreak on the nation if he tried to force try to force gay marriage on the country through appointing activists to the bench? This is all the more reason why it is important that the Republicans (although not perfect) retain the control of the Senate and the House of Representatives as well.

Gore has also flip-flopped on the subject of abortion. In a letter to a constituent in 1983, he reaffirmed his support for what he called "the sanctity of human life". Yet when he became Bill Clinton’s running mate in 1992, he prostituted himself by changing that long-standing position in the name of political expediency. When Gore became the Democratic nominee for President earlier this summer, you would have thought that with the selection of Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) as his running mate, that he would have been able to set himself straight on his original course. However, that was not to be. Not only did Gore stay on the Clinton train, but he got Lieberman, one of the most respected members of the Senate, to prostitute his positions as well, especially when it came to privatization of Social Security as well as the use of vouchers.

Another example of Gore’s hypocrisy is that he remains adamantly opposed to vouchers. He says he believes that public schools are far superior and that vouchers are unnecessary. Yet the man remains unwilling to put his money where his mouth is. What would he know about that? He himself is a child of privilege, having been raised in the St. Albans Hotel in Washington DC while his father was a Senator. He went to private schools himself, and his children themselves have known only private schools. He talks about giving to and supporting charities. Yet during one of the years of his Vice Presidency, he had an adjusted gross income of over $170,000, of which he gave less than $400 to charities. When he was pilloried in the press for it, he made it a point to make much larger donations the next year and issued a press release blowing his horn about what a wonderful and generous guy he was.

This is clearly a man who cannot and should not be entrusted with the security and well being of the nation. How can Gore be expected to adhere to a course of action for the nation if he is unable to maintain his own course? Clearly, the Vice-President who wants to be President does not have his agenda sufficiently outlined in a manner that the American people can logically and coherently follow. Reagan may have forgotten names along the way during his Presidency, but he never forgot his agenda and he stayed true to his course. Gore seems to lack the agenda that America needs to get back on track to achieving not only the greatness of years past, but the greatness that lies ahead as well.

• Photo of Al Gore courtesy of The Associated Press

Copyright © 2000 by Timothy Rollins.
All Rights Reserved.

-Published with permission