Quite a sickening E mail I received from my brother in CO.
> From the Denver Rocky Mountain News
> September 3, 2000
>
> Al Gore's Gulf War Vote..
> By former US Senator Alan Simpson
>
> Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore's new
> campaign ad is running in your state and says he is
> "fighting for us." But the true story of his Gulf War
> vote says he is usually fighting for Al. Here is the
> inside story of what happened.
>
> The Gulf War vote was pretty serious business. I can't
> think of anyone who didn't have a lump in his or her
> throat as they weighed the situation - 500,000
> American troops already deployed; Iraq's Saddam
> Hussein promising the "mother of all battles"; most "experts"
> predicting heavy American losses.
>
> The choice was not easy. Senators with combat
> experience on both sides of the aisle were on both
> sides of the issue. Some Democrats openly
> supported the measure; some Republicans openly
> opposed it. And vice versa.
>
> The seriousness of the situation called for open,
> honest debate. No dealmaking. No politics. Just an
> honest discussion, followed by an honest vote of
> conscience by each senator. As Republican whip, I
> worked with the Republican leader Bob Dole and the
> Democratic leaders, George Mitchell and Sam Nunn, to
> schedule the debate. As Republicans, Sen. Dole
> and I were responsible for scheduling time to speak
> for senators who supported the war. As Democrats,
> Sens. Mitchell and Nunn were responsible for
> scheduling time to speak for those who opposed the war.
>
> The night before this monumental debate, I sat in the
> Republican cloakroom with Sen. Dole discussing the
> debate schedule for the next day. Then a senator
> walked in and asked to speak to us. It surprised Bob
> and me because he was a Democrat coming to ask for a
> favor.
>
> He was Tennessee Sen. Al Gore Jr. Sen. Gore got right
> to the point: "How much time will you give me if I
> support the president?" In layman's terms, Gore was
> asking how much debate time we would be willing to
> give him to speak on the floor if he voted with us.
>
> "How much time will the Democrats give you?" Sen. Dole
> asked. "Seven minutes," came the droning response.
> "I'll give you 15 minutes," Dole said. "And I'll give
> you five of mine, so you can have 20 minutes," I
> offered. Gore seemed pleased, but made no final
> commitment, promising only to think it over.
>
> Gore played hard to get. He had received his time. But
> now he wanted prime time. And Dole and I knew it.
>
> After Gore left, Dole asked Republican Senate
> Secretary Howard Greene to call Gore's office and
> promised that he would try to schedule Gore's 20
> minutes during prime time, thus ensuring plenty of
> coverage in the news cycle. Later that night, Gore
> called Greene and asked if Dole had him in a
> primetime speaking slot. When Green said nothing had
> been finalized yet, Gore erupted: "Damn it, Howard!
> If I don't get 20 minutes tomorrow, I'm going to vote
> the other way."
>
> The following day, Gore arrived on the Senate floor,
> still waiting to see which side - Republicans or
> Democrats - would offer him the most and the best
> speaking time. Sen. Dole immediately asked the Senate
> to increase the amount of speaking time for both
> sides. I believe only then, after Gore realized we
> were asking for more time to make room for him on our
> side,that he finally decided to support the resolution
> authorizing the use of force to drive Hussein out of
> Kuwait.
>
> It brings me no joy to recount the events leading up
> to the Gulf War vote. It isn't something I wanted to
> do. But it is something I have to do.
>
> I was there. I have to set the record straight because
> the Gore campaign is now running an ad proclaiming
> that Al Gore "broke with his own party to support the
> Gulf War." In reality, it's much closer to the truth
> to say he broke for the cameras to support the Gulf
> War.
>
> And I have to set the record straight because the Gulf
> War vote was far too important an issue to fall victim
> to politics and repulsive revising. It was a moment of
> challenge. Sadly, Al Gore was not up to it. In January
> of 1991, Al Gore put politics over principle.
>
> Alan Simpson is a former Republican senator from Wyoming |
