On Sat, 4 Nov 2000 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Al Gore voted for (I repeat FOR) Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. So there
> goes that theory.
He voted for Scalia but against Thomas.
> We need MORE political parties not less.
Agreed.
> Congress will temper any Supreme Court nominee.
Agreed here as well. The Supreme Court thing is a total red herring.
> Sandra day Occonnor and Souter were Reagan
> Nominees.
O'Connor has hardly been a friend of leftism (though ambiguously
pro-choice).
And many of your criticisms of Al Gore are valid. His steadfast support
of the environment has been anything but. I specifically remember during
my time in Washington Al leaving his former loyal staffer, EPA
Administrator Carol Browner, totally out in the cold with no
administration support as she pushed for tougher clean air standards. Not
only should he have been with her ideologically, but she also was a
longtime staffer and friend--an inner-circle Gore person during his Senate
tenure. That showed me just how contingent his environmental support can
be when the political pressure (namely, the pressure from corporate
donors) comes to bear.
I am reluctantly voting for Gore because a) we're on the brink of some
important queer civil rights victories that will literally be impossible
during a Bush presidency; b) I think Bush is an idiot, and I don't like
idiots as friends, much less as Presidents; and c) I've met Nader (as well
as Gore and Buchanan, incidentally; once had Buchanan's home phone number
in my rolodex--now that's a story) and I think he's an unmitigated asshole
in terms of relating to people, and I think he would be a bad President if
he stood a chance of winning, despite my agreement with him on most of the
issues. If I lived in a stronger Gore or Bush state, I would vote for him
because I think the Green Party winning matching funds would be a very
productive thing, but I don't, so I won't, and I'll just cross my fingers
that he gets 5%, but I don't think he will.
--Michael
