Sid Blumenthal on "Let It Rip" Al Gore (great article)

[Ugnmoose]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1104370,00.html

<snip>
But the Gore of today is not the Gore of 2000. The careful political figure trying to distance himself from Clinton and contorting his personality to project likability has been tempered by defeat. "If I had to do it all over again, I'd just let it rip," Gore said a year ago. "To hell with the polls, the tactics and all the rest. I would have poured out my heart and my vision for America's future."

Gore now calls the rightwing media a "fifth column" within journalism, and he's raising millions to build a TV network of his own as an alternative. In his own way, he's absorbed the lessons of the past three years and become a representative Democrat. His endorsement of Dean is his commentary on his campaign and the conduct of his party since.

[carolinayellowdog]

1. He wrongly accuses Congressional Democrats

In the piece above, Blumenthal writes: "Most Democrats in the House and Senate backed the war resolution on Iraq." In today's Salon, a slightly modified version includes the far stronger falsehood: "The vast majority of Democrats in the House and Senate backed the war resolution on Iraq."

I'm as disgusted as anyone by those Dems who did back the resolution, but an author and commentator as widely-read as Blumenthal should surely get his facts straight. 57% of Congressional Democrats voted no. Here's the tally:
"Of 208 House Democrats, 126 voted against the resolution, and this significant number "does send a message that the support for this war is not what the administration asked for," said Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas. In the Senate, 21 of the 50 Democrats voted against the measure. Vermont independent Sen. James Jeffords also opposed the measure." And here's a source:
http://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/10/11/iraq.us/

So the nos were 147 out of 258, 56.9%. The worst you can say is that Senate Dems by a slight majority went along with the greatest mistake imaginable-- but their House colleagues opposed it by a wider margin.

[w4rma]

3. Thanks for that information, carolinayellowdog! (n/t)

[Cha]

2. It's nice to read a sane view of what's happening

with Gore!