Fort Worth Star Telegram:
July 21, 2000
By: Bill Thompson
Al Gore wants to succeed Bill Clinton as commander in chief, but his rhetoric suggests that the vice president's main goal is to replace Slick Willie as the nation's liar in chief.
Gore showed up in Texas yesterday to disseminate his latest pack of distortions, deceptions and flat-out falsehoods about George W. Bush, who just happens to be governor of the Lone Star State.
Topping Gore's list of whoppers was his outrageous claim that Bush "made his top priority a large tax cut for special interests."
Bush's priorities as governor have included any number of important programs designed to benefit all the people of Texas, but his "top priority" was providing tax relief to the state's overburdened homeowners. To that end, Bush engineered a $1 billion reduction in property taxes -- the largest such cut in the state's history.
Do you suppose that Gore views hard-working Texas taxpayers as "special interests"?
Sure he does. We know this because Clinton and Gore fight tooth and nail to defeat every proposal for universal tax relief that comes down the pike. The only tax cuts you'll ever see these guys support are those that are "targeted" to benefit narrowly defined, politically favored categories of taxpayers.
When the vice president bemoans the Bush tax cut, Gore is complaining about tax cuts for just plain folks.
So Gore travels to Bush's home state to misrepresent the governor's tax agenda. And while he's at it, Gore claims that Bush has squandered the state's budget surplus, which may or may not be as large as originally projected.
Fact No. 1: If giving part of a government budget surplus back to the people who earned the money in the first place is "squandering" the surplus, then we need far more public officials who are willing to squander.
Fact No. 2: The allegedly diminishing surplus could actually turn out to be slightly `larger' than previous estimates, according to Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander.
It's hard to imagine that Gore doesn't know the truth -- and if he knows, then he is indeed making an energetic grab for that "liar in chief" title. If he isn't lying, of course, we must assume that he is afflicted with a reckless proclivity for making unsubstantiated allegations against his opponent -- which casts serious doubt upon his fitness to serve as America's top elected official.
Anyone who is looking for a clue regarding the level of honesty in Gore's latest attacks on Bush might want to consider the fundamental contradiction in his criticism. In addition to ripping Bush for supposedly squandering the state's surplus, Gore has been blasting the state for failing to pour enough money into social programs.
So what's the deal? Is Texas spending too much or not spending enough?
One more fact: One of the unexpected drains on the state's finances is higher-than-predicted expenditures for Medicaid, a massive entitlement program that provides health care for the poor.
Shame on Bush and the state of Texas for squandering the budget surplus on Medicaid recipients. Those "special interests" are insatiable, aren't they?
The Associated Press reported that "Rylander and Texas legislative leaders from both parties offered to meet Gore in San Antonio and `brief him on the facts.' "
Gore said no thanks.
Here's what the Bush campaign said:
"Al Gore confirmed today that he is not interested in the truth, but merely interested in political games. Gore refused to meet with a bipartisan group of Texas budget experts to discuss the surplus in Texas, and is coming under fire from Texas Democrats who want Al Gore to quit portraying Texas unfairly."
The campaign quoted Democratic state Rep. Henry Cuellar of Laredo as saying that Gore's criticism of the state's fiscal policies amounted to an attack on the Texas Legislature.
Actually, it amounted to an attack on Texans in general. Lucky for us, Texas voters get to retaliate on Nov. 7.
July 21, 2000 By: Bill Thompson
Al Gore wants to succeed Bill Clinton as commander in chief, but his rhetoric suggests that the vice president's main goal is to replace Slick Willie as the nation's liar in chief.
Gore showed up in Texas yesterday to disseminate his latest pack of distortions, deceptions and flat-out falsehoods about George W. Bush, who just happens to be governor of the Lone Star State.
Topping Gore's list of whoppers was his outrageous claim that Bush "made his top priority a large tax cut for special interests."
Bush's priorities as governor have included any number of important programs designed to benefit all the people of Texas, but his "top priority" was providing tax relief to the state's overburdened homeowners. To that end, Bush engineered a $1 billion reduction in property taxes -- the largest such cut in the state's history.
Do you suppose that Gore views hard-working Texas taxpayers as "special interests"?
Sure he does. We know this because Clinton and Gore fight tooth and nail to defeat every proposal for universal tax relief that comes down the pike. The only tax cuts you'll ever see these guys support are those that are "targeted" to benefit narrowly defined, politically favored categories of taxpayers.
When the vice president bemoans the Bush tax cut, Gore is complaining about tax cuts for just plain folks.
So Gore travels to Bush's home state to misrepresent the governor's tax agenda. And while he's at it, Gore claims that Bush has squandered the state's budget surplus, which may or may not be as large as originally projected.
Fact No. 1: If giving part of a government budget surplus back to the people who earned the money in the first place is "squandering" the surplus, then we need far more public officials who are willing to squander.
Fact No. 2: The allegedly diminishing surplus could actually turn out to be slightly `larger' than previous estimates, according to Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander.
It's hard to imagine that Gore doesn't know the truth -- and if he knows, then he is indeed making an energetic grab for that "liar in chief" title. If he isn't lying, of course, we must assume that he is afflicted with a reckless proclivity for making unsubstantiated allegations against his opponent -- which casts serious doubt upon his fitness to serve as America's top elected official.
Anyone who is looking for a clue regarding the level of honesty in Gore's latest attacks on Bush might want to consider the fundamental contradiction in his criticism. In addition to ripping Bush for supposedly squandering the state's surplus, Gore has been blasting the state for failing to pour enough money into social programs.
So what's the deal? Is Texas spending too much or not spending enough?
One more fact: One of the unexpected drains on the state's finances is higher-than-predicted expenditures for Medicaid, a massive entitlement program that provides health care for the poor.
Shame on Bush and the state of Texas for squandering the budget surplus on Medicaid recipients. Those "special interests" are insatiable, aren't they?
The Associated Press reported that "Rylander and Texas legislative leaders from both parties offered to meet Gore in San Antonio and `brief him on the facts.' "
Gore said no thanks.
Here's what the Bush campaign said:
"Al Gore confirmed today that he is not interested in the truth, but merely interested in political games. Gore refused to meet with a bipartisan group of Texas budget experts to discuss the surplus in Texas, and is coming under fire from Texas Democrats who want Al Gore to quit portraying Texas unfairly."
The campaign quoted Democratic state Rep. Henry Cuellar of Laredo as saying that Gore's criticism of the state's fiscal policies amounted to an attack on the Texas Legislature.
Actually, it amounted to an attack on Texans in general. Lucky for us, Texas voters get to retaliate on Nov. 7.
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