Letting it Rip!
Southern
Style
by Rebecca Knight
* * *
GORE: Well, I personally have the energy and the drive and the ambition to make another campaign. But I don't think it's the right thing for me to do. I think that a campaign that would be a rematch between myself and President Bush would inevitably involve a focus on the past that would in some measure distract from the focus on the future that I think all campaigns have to be about.
Q: You say you had the ambition. You still have it even you said. Still have the dream?
GORE: Well, you know never say never. But I make this decision in the full knowledge and awareness that if I don't run this time, which I'm not going to run in 2004, that that's probably the last opportunity I'll ever have to run for president. Don't know that for sure, but probably it is.
* * *
Oh! Say it ain't so Al, say it ain't so! Let us awaken from the nightmare of your withdrawal from the race for the Democratic candidacy for President in 2004!
Al, millions of us were counting on you. We watched in heartbroken astonishment as you spoke with Leslie Stahl on Sixty Minutes. Then you held a press conference, answering questions with your usual graceful aplomb. What dignity you displayed. What integrity and consideration for America were in your words, inflection, and demeanor!
Yet, we, your supporters, are left with a feeling that something is just not quite right. Something does not pass the smell test. Did you do it because you wanted to or because you felt you had no choice?
* * *
GORE: The last campaign was an extremely difficult one. And while I have the energy and drive to go out there and do it again, I think that there are a lot of people within the Democratic Party who felt exhausted by that. Who felt like, OK, I don't want to go through that again. And I'm frankly sensitive to that feeling.
* * *
There! That's the relevant statement, Al. That is the statement that leads us to strongly suspect that powerful people within the Democratic Party forced your decision upon you. If so, we can understand the pressures you must have been under. But, Al, what about us? What about the people?
We, the people, were ready to fight for you. We felt you were ready to fight for us. You showed it in word and deed over the past several months. You had promised to "let it rip" and you were keeping your word. You were saying all the right things and making all the right appearances. You were saying what we had been longing to hear. You were pointing out the failures of current policies that are taking America down a treacherous path. You were the only Democrat taking a stand in opposition to the Bush administration. All other contenders have been acquiescing, giving their votes in Congress to bills rammed through by the current administration.
We, the people, had been writing letters, making calls, and e-mailing our desires. Yet, time after time our elected Democrats voted their consent to policies that do not demonstrate ideals the Democratic Party has long stood for.
You, Al, were our hope. You were our shining beacon of light. You were representing us with your speeches, your policy statements, and your apparent determination.
Al, prior to your withdrawal, letters were posted on Internet sites filled with determined support for your candidacy.
Monica
Freedlander wrote a brilliant article entitled "Why Gore Must Run
– And Will" for BuzzFlash
http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/2002/12/15_Gore.html
The following letter was posted on Democratic Underground:
Dear Al:
You are about to make a decision, one which is more than personal. You said your family would support you regardless of what that decision will be.
Supposedly, your "friends" are saying you will not run. They are not your friends, Al. The media are not your friends. The Democratic Bush apologists are not your friends. They didn't fight for you during the recount. The Republicans are sure not your friends.
Your friends are the 51 million people who voted for you. The ones who refused to succumb to the lies spun every day by the Rove-driven media machine. The ones who are concerned about the same things you are concerned about. Free, fair elections. Disarmament. Global Warming. A clean environment. An open Internet. Alternative energy sources. Conservation. A goal to end reliance on Middle East oil. Universal Health care. Prescription drugs for the elderly. Tax breaks for the middle class, not the top two- percent. Social Security remaining solvent. Full employment, a surplus, not a deficit. Large classrooms.
Your friends are the people who care about the Bill of Rights. Who long for peace. Who yearn for a government which is by and for the people. A government, which tells the truth, rather than hides the truth and lies daily. One which is respected all over the world.
All these things we had when you won the election and lost the office. Now, these goals are virtually gone to cyberspace, along with the Democratic votes in the last election.
Al, we want our freedoms back. We want our economy back. We want fairness in government back. We want the fairness doctrine back. We want a mix of Harry Truman, JFK, LBJ, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton in the White House. We want a president who tells us the truth.
So the fact is: the decision to run is not yours to make. It has already been made. By the 51 million people who voted for you and the hundreds of thousands who saw their votes destroyed. And by the thousands of disenfranchised blacks who were prevented from voting for you because of an old Jim Crow tradition in Florida.
In December 2000, we had no idea of the extent of the conspiracy to steal your votes, to spoil your votes, to not allow those who wanted to vote for you but couldn't. But Greg Palast and others have done their job. They have exposed the permanent blot on our history, compounded by the many atrocities, yes atrocities, that have occurred since. The Supreme Court usurping our election rights, followed by two years of terror perpetrated on the American people. Not only by terrorists. But also by an illegal cabal which has hijacked our government.
You won't say this. But 51 million and more know just what happened, even if only the outlines. The media has done a great job in covering it all up. But now you are back. Doing what you must do. Knowing that you cannot say everything you would like to say. It must be hell to have to live a life knowing that the highest office in the land, the one you are so qualified to hold, was stolen from you. But it is also hell for all of us.
Al, if you are still undecided what to do, know this. We want you to run. Enter the primaries. Continue to shine the light in our collective darkness.
Hopefully, the media will see also the light. Your appearances should help. Besides, you are good for business, Al. Maybe, they will finally see what they have done. Just maybe.
And Al, maybe then we shall get what we want most of all:
Just the facts, just the facts...
Just the truth, just the truth...Yours truly,An American who also happens to be a Democrat
Then came the announcement on Sixty Minutes. Suddenly the Internet was alive with posts of dismay and confusion.
Here is a sampling in the immediate aftermath of the announcement:
"I voted for him. I was supporting him for 2004. I think he is the best. I bought his book. It hurt me so every time he would say something grand and everyone would tear him down...make fun of him. I think that he made people think. Gore is a chess player at a time people want spectacle like WWF stuff which Bush gives them.
DNC sticks to the Florida strategy because it worked so well: sabotage the front runner, come up with a new face who doesn't give a damn about voters and their trampled rights, grovel to the vulnerable incumbent to make him strong and watch the voters stay home in droves. Ah and to the Florida voters who stayed home, my apologies for having been angry at you. I understand what you felt exactly. I am hereby joining the Moron Majority – my voting days are over."
*****
"DRAFT GORE 2004"
*****
"Albert Gore, Jr. – He served well and admirably in the House, the Senate and as Vice-president. He saw President Clinton being subjected to an unconscionable hounding day and night and then had his own taste of evil. He and most of the country know the election in 2000 was stolen from him. Both men in their own way have shown they can take intense pressure and survive. Mr. Gore's decision not to seek his party's nomination for the 2004 election disappointed a huge number of supporters. He put the party first by noting that it must move forward and should he have been the candidate, debates would be bogged down in rehashing the fiasco of 2000. We can hope only for the good of the country and the party that he will not remove himself from the political scene permanently."
*****
"In many ways...I guess I don't blame Al for not running...hey...the Republicans never play fair...they lie, they cheat, they steal...anything to win...and I don't believe that Al Gore is like that...He appears to me to be an honest, intelligent, loving family man...a man that would be an ideal President of our country. An let's not forget...he should have been our President...he did win...but after all of the trickery that the Republicans pulled...he lost...I believe he just feels that his family is more important than all of the crap that they will pull...and of course his family should come first...The sad thing about this all...is that we will suffer...as we are starting to right now. Our children, our grandchildren will pay the price for all of the Republicans misdeeds...as well as our future debt. With the media the way it is...the majority of our citizens...do not even know the truth...as some of us fortunate ones do...that do get the real news...
It is amazing to me...how the Republicans have gotten away with what they have...if Al Gore...or any other Democrat were President...their investigations would be endless...whereas GWB and his co-horts have don anything that they wanted to do...including all of their endless favors for their campaign supporters and corporate friends...Indeed he is a true "Reversed Robin Hood"...he has taken from the poor and lined the pockets of the wealthy! And in the end...we citizens of this country will suffer from it all!"
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
*****
"Without Al Gore Dems are Doomed in 2004"
*****
"I am disappointed, but totally support Al Gore's decision not to seek the nomination in 04........It just seems to me, from a practical point of view Gore probably had no other alternative......the constant drumbeat of attacks by the media and fellow Democrats, who are wannabes, would have been sooooo destructive to the Party and country. Gore is a man of vision, integrity and great personal and political courage......We have not heard the last from him....."
*****
"It looks like the Honorable Al Gore is joining us, the masses who are not running for the job, but we campaigning like hell to remove the bozo select. Al Gore will do a fine job of slamming the bozo as we have all done, he will be a leading voice of slam and divert the retaliation toward himself while the Democratic candidate takes the high road. We will have to wait and see if his and our strategy works. James Carville does the same thing, he slams the right, but will not run for office himself. Me either, but count me in as a vocal voice to have the bozo removed from office."
*****
"What a kick in the stomach. It's like I just heard of a death in the family. Al Gore announces he will not run. I honestly believe he could have won, but I understand his decision. We won't have another candidate that has the honesty, intelligence, commitment and vision that Al Gore has. I blame the Democrats for giving up on Gore and not having the guts to stand up and unite behind him. They all bailed on him. As the media is now reporting, the ones that turned on him were the Party leaders and the big money contributors, the ones that during the 2000 campaign were expecting to profit from his presidency as members of the administration or as a result of political influence. They wanted to punish him for their loss of political and financial opportunity. They're all political whores. The ones that stuck with him were the rank and file Democrats who supported his views on the environment, healthcare, education and most everything else. They trust him and feel he was someone who would support them and could lead us towards a safe and sane future."
*****
"There are millions of Americans who look to Al Gore for leadership and direction. He must be made to realize that this decision is bigger than him and that he has an obligation to the people to at least attempt to overthrow this corrupt Bush regime. We, his supporters, must mount an organized attempt to persuade him to run. None of these mealy mouthed, weak kneed, so-called Democrats have what it takes to beat George W. Bush. Kerry, Lieberman, and the rest of the crew didn't have the guts to vote against the War Resolution. None of them have an original idea in their collective heads. This is bigger than Al Gore's personal inclinations. He must be made to understand that fact and it must be done in an organized fashion. That is our only hope for any kind of viable future."
*****
And finally a letter to CNN written by Mary from New York, a strong Democratic foot soldier who writes to the media consistently.
"Dear CNN,
Well, you certainly got an early Christmas present. This is in regards to your news blurb, 'Al Gore Will Not Run In 2004.' You must be drunkenly over joyed, like I am sure that the sociopath in our White House is about now. Wonder how many beers or should I say pretzels he is chugging back about now? This is precisely why I have given up on the American media. All of you seem to gush over this monster in the White House who has NOT PROVEN ANY LEADERSHIP! Know this, CNN no matter how much you spin this sociopath named George W. Bush, I will refuse to recognize him as my president. I will refuse to support him and his heinous policies. I am angered that a 'people's leader' will not be running in 2004. That man is Al Gore. Go ahead, you cowardly bozos, and continue to spin him in a positive fashion, while the rest of the country continues to make a downward spiral into the abyss. We are no longer living in a democracy, but a fascist form of government, thanks to you and the rest of the perverted media."
*****
There you have it, Al. The people have many feelings about your decision. Some are attempting to understand. Some are longing for you to reconsider. Some are convinced that you are the only Democratic candidate who can beat Bush in 2004.
There is a palpable fear of the direction Bush is taking this country. That is real to everyone who understands the true effects of the policies of the current administration. It cannot be discounted. It cannot be disregarded.
Al, there are movements already under discussion and early organization to form write-in and/or drafts for your candidacy. How will you respond?
Time will tell if these movements have legs, but we know one thing for sure. Millions of Americans voted for Al Gore in 2000, as evidenced by the popular vote win. Millions of Americans were hoping to vote for Al Gore in 2004. That is evidenced by the opinion polls that had Al Gore in the lead by a great percentage for the Democratic candidacy in 2004.
The people want Al Gore. Perhaps the powerful forced you from the race, Al. Who will win out in the end? The people or the powerful? We can only hope that it will be the people.
NOTE: May all readers have a happy, healthy, and safe Christmas! May all readers have a New Year blessed with success! HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!
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Rebecca Knight is a native Tennessean, who grew up in Nashville, and currently resides in a small town near Nashville. Ms. Knight's political awareness evolved through the civil rights movement, the Vietnam era, the Watergate era, and the cold war. The debacle of the 2000 election increased her sense of responsibility for political activism. You may contact Rebecca Knight via e-mail at tennessee_gal655@yahoo.com.
© 2002 by Rebecca Knight
