-Caveat Lector- Animal rights activists vow to dog Gore campaign Updated 1:02 PM ET July 27, 1999 By Alan Elsner, Political Correspondent WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As if he did not have enough troubles, Vice President Al Gore has gained a new opponent -- animal rights activists who say he is condemning millions of animals to die in cruel and unnecessary tests. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the largest animal rights group in the United States, launched a television campaign against Gore Tuesday, accusing him of sponsoring a program to test the toxicity of some 2,000 chemicals on animals. "Approximately one million animals are to be killed in this program, which is based on sloppy science," said Jessica Sandler, a former government safety official who works for PETA. The group already has purchased advertisements in the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, as well as newspapers in Gore's home state of Tennessee and in New Hampshire, which next February will stage the first primary of the presidential campaign. It also unveiled a television spot featuring actress Bea Arthur, ridiculing Gore for past missteps and accusing him of condemning millions of innocent creatures to death. "He actually wants to poison and kill millions of them, just to prove things like turpentine and rat poison are dangerous. Didn't we already know that?" Arthur says in the commercial. The group also has taken to following Gore around on the campaign trail with an activist dressed up as a six-foot tall "Gorey bunny." Gore spokesman Chris Lehane said Gore was supporting a program devised by the Environmental Protection Agency that aimed to discover the effect that some 2,000 different chemicals had on humans, especially children. "We just don't know how dangerous these chemicals are and we need to find out so that we can protect our citizens and our children," Lehane said. "We respect the activists for their beliefs but we think we are acting for the greater good," he said. The PETA campaign is the latest example of how even a relatively small group of activists devoted to a single cause can embarrass political candidates and impact campaigns. In June Gore's formal speech announcing his presidential candidacy was marred by a small group of heckling AIDS activists who accused him of conspiring with the pharmaceutical industry to deny affordable drugs to South Africans infected with HIV. Gore, seeking the 2000 Democratic nomination, trails George W. Bush, the front-runner for the Republican nomination, by 15-20 percentage points in polls. Gore also faces a serious challenge for the Democratic nomination from former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley. His campaign has been dogged by a series of minor missteps, not all of them his responsibility, such as his paddling expedition last week on the Connecticut River. It turned into an embarrassment after it was revealed that authorities had released thousands of gallons of water to ensure that the vice presidential canoe did not run aground. In the 1996 campaign, Republican candidate Bob Dole was followed for months by "Butt Man," who appeared at his rallies dressed as a giant cigarette. "Butt Man," sponsored by the Democratic Party, was supposed to highlight Dole's alleged opposition to anti-smoking legislation. It proved a major embarrassment to Dole and kept the smoking issue in the forefront of the campaign. PETA said many of the chemicals on the list of those to be tested had been identified as toxic for decades and did not require further animal testing. The group also argued that animal tests cannot predict what would happen to humans exposed to the chemicals and that the tests even may enable chemical companies to manipulate the data in order to keep highly toxic materials in the marketplace. http://news.excite.com/news/r/990727/13/politics-gore To not vote means, to me, that your satisfied with the status quo of our continued insidious enslavement. Woe be to you! Bard Patrick J. Buchanan http://www.gopatgo.org/ Tax Plan: http://www.gopatgo.org/000-c-taxes.html Immigration: http://www.gopatgo.org/000-c-immigration.html ------------------------------- "I will use the 'Bully Pulpit' to fight the Culture of Death and appoint only pro-life judges to the Supreme Court." --- Pat Buchanan Make sure you pay a Visit to "Alex Jones Presents" InfoWars http://www.infowars.com Visit me at: The Center for Exposing Corruption in the Federal Government http://www.xld.com/public/center/center.htm Federal Government defined: ....a benefit/subsidy protection racket! DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. 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