> Subject: Will Gore carry Tennessee?
>
>
> >I received the following this morning and thought you might like to read
> it.
> >It underscores a few of the many reasons I don't support Al Gore, despite
> >the fact that I'm a native (and now, part time) Tennessean.
> >
> >This morning I heard an NBC news anchor admit that most of the senators
who
> >have worked on committee with Al Gore don't like him.
> >
> >Martin
> >
> >
> >Dear friends,
> >
> >When I ask my friends and neighbors here in Rhea County,
> >Tennessee whether they plan to support Al Gore, they
> >invariably look at their feet, clear their throats and
> >mumble a reply. Sometimes they say, "No, I don't think
> >so." Other times, with great discomfort, they say,
> >"Yeah, probably."
> >
> >Regardless of the response, I was bewildered at the
> >sense of embarrassment that the mention of Al Gore's
> >name brings.
> >
> >You see, Al Gore represented our district in the House
> >of Representatives since the tender age of 28. He was
> >one of Tennessee's senators for 8 years until becoming
> >vice president. It is hard to find people who haven't
> >voted for him at one time or another.
> >
> >Why are locals now so embarrassed when this man, whom
> >they supported for so long, makes it big on the
> >political scene? You think they'd be as proud as punch.
> >
> >Here in east Tennessee being honest, honorable and true
> >to your word is vastly more important than how much
> >money you make or how powerful you are.
> >
> >People here know, better than anyone else in America,
> >that Al Gore has reversed most of his fundamental
> >convictions. When confronted, he has blatantly lied.
> >
> >He is not viewed as the "local-boy-made-good." Instead,
> >most folks, even his supporters, harbor the uneasy
> >suspicion that Al Gore has sold his honor and his good
> >word for political power.
> >
> >This week's editorial from our local newspaper, The
> >Herald News, explains it all. I hope you will spread
> >this as far and as wide as you possibly can, and ask
> >your friends to do so as well.
> >
> >This e-mail needs to go to millions of people. There is
> >too much at stake to remain quiet.
> >
> >-Jeff Myers
> >
> >THE HERALD-NEWS, DAYTON, TENNESSEE, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER
> >10, 2000, P. A-4 (reprinted by permission)
> >
> >Tennessee hasn't had a native son in the White House in
> >more than a century. Certainly most Tennesseans would
> >agree it would be good to have one of our own as
> >president. The question is whether Al Gore is still a
> >Tennessean and whether we can afford for him to be
> >president.
> >
> >Al Gore is not the man Tennesseans sent to Washington as
> > vice president in 1992. He's certainly not the same man
> >Fourth District voters made the youngest Congressman in
> >decades at the tender age of 28, nor is he the same man
> >Tennessee sent to the U.S. Senate by huge margins in
> >1984 and 1990.He has abandoned the conservative, Southern
> >values for which we once elected him.
> >
> >Let's look at some of the changes.
> >
> >Al Gore once told The Herald-News he was "personally
> >opposed" to abortion. He also said he was against
> >federal funding of abortions. Now Gore has positioned
> >himself as the great champion of abortion rights and
> >even defends the barbaric practice of partial-birth
> >abortions. America's youngest and most defenseless
> >citizens would receive no protection under a Gore
> >presidency.
> >
> >Ten years ago when Gore last ran for the Senate, The
> >Herald-News supported him, in part because he portrayed
> >himself as a defender of the Second Amendment. Gore was
> >a friend to hunters and sportsmen and considered himself one.
> >
> >Since then he has changed directions 180 degrees. He now
> >supports national registration and licensure of all guns
> >and all gun owners. He is solidly in the gun control
> >camp that wants to eliminate all private ownership of
> >handguns, semiautomatic rifles and pump shotguns. Of
> >course, the private security forces for the elite would
> >still have easy access to these weapons. Oh, and of
> >course, so would the criminals.
> >
> >On environmental issues Gore was once essentially
> >mainstream. He believed in common sense EPA regulations
> >and continued private use of public lands by permit. Now
> >when it comes to environmental issues, Gore is on the
> >fringe. He is more closely aligned with Katuah Earth
> >First!, that radical environmentalist, tree-worshiping
> >group that chained themselves to concreted barrels to
> >block access to Watts Bar Nuclear Plat three years ago,
> >than with the average Tennessean.
> >
> >Gore writes in his book "Earth in the Balance: Ecology
> >and the Human Spirit," "we must make the rescue of the
> >environment the central organizing principle for
> >civilization." Surely we face greater issues than
> >protecting the environment.
> >
> >Once Gore told The Herald-News he believed it was an
> >admirable thing for committed parents to educate their
> >children at home for religious or personal reasons. Now
> >Gore supports a National Education Association policy
> >that would make it illegal for most families to home
> >school. It calls for all teachers, regardless of the
> >type of school they teach in--public, private, religious
> >or home--to be licensed by the federal government and to
> >only teach "state-approved" curriculum.
> >
> >Tennesseans have historically valued their independence
> >very highly, perhaps it is a remnant of the pioneer
> >spirit that built this great state. Unfortunately, Gore
> >now supports increasing control by the federal
> >government in most area of our lives.
> >
> >The bottom line is, Gore doesn't hold to the same
> >conservative Southern values that led Tennesseans to
> >elect him six times to Congress. During his time in
> >Washington, D.C., he has forgotten his roots.
> >
> >Al Gore may claim Tennessee. The question is, can
> >Tennessee still claim Al Gore?
> >
>
> |
