Why did Al Gore lose Tenn.?

[redhead1954]

I need some help finding some information on why Al lost his home state. I've been asked by several repugs I work with why this happened. I don't understand why Tenn. didn't back him either and want to be able to tell these repug dick heads how and why it happened. I'm sure in my heart the reason is because of messed up vote counting and voter purges just like in Florida, but would love to be able to get right in these repugs faces with some TRUTH and not their conspiracy bull.

Peace,
Red

[trotsky]

1. He lost it fair & square, I'm afraid.

Tennessee is just not a Democratic state anymore. The Republican party is the group that plays to their hot-button issues: anti-choice, pro-racism, anti-taxes (even though their taxes will probably go up).

Better comeback: just point out that * lost his home state too. He's from Connecticut, not Texas!!

[redhead1954]

5. Great comeback

Hey, I like that comeback trotsky. I hadn't thought of that fact about Smirk. Thanks for responding.

[FullCountNotRecount]

13. Did Al use his mother/family to play up the home state ties?

Bushes use their Babs all the time to reel in the sympathy vote. Did Gore use his mother to help him in his home state?

[monkeyboy]

43. Ralph Nader did it!

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Don't you all feel better now? ;-)

[1a2b3c]

2. his stance on gun control

[Boudicea]

6. I agree

I'm here in mid-TN. I have relatives who would vote Dem but for the gun control issue. I don't get it, but I hear it.

[radwriter0555]

3. Gore didn't 'lose' tennessee. There was rampant voter related fraud

along the lines of Florida, and it's well documented.

I recall also reading a quote from the Governor there, in a dialogue with bush, shortly thereafter, in which he said. "We delivered Tennessee as promised.."

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=voter+fraud+2000+tennessee&spell=1

Googled for many many links...

[redhead1954]

8. thanks radwriter

Thanks for the google link radwriter. I'll check it out and see if I can find some good info to share with the repugs.

[StClone]

12. Video cameras in 2004

I would hope that there are rampant video recordings in 2004 if voter fraud occurs. Proof would be nice on video.

[nannygoat]

22. Here's a link to a resource

Vote Fraud in Tennessee: Worse than Florida?
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=10589

[incubus2012]

28. he lost fair

he didnt win because of his dry personality. and tenn. is turning conservative

[newyawker99]

32. Hi incubus2012!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[PAMod]

4. Gore is anti-gun & anti-tobacco

I don't have a link, but that was the conventional wisdom at the time.

As I recall, Dumbya campaigned there often. Also, as someone else posted, TN has become more and more Republican.

[Astarho]

7. From what I understand

It was part of an effort to embarrass Al Gore ("couldn't even carry his home state...") and as far as I know it has not been investigated.

[rock]

9. I've even heard rumors of massive voter fraud

If Chimpy wasn't such an honorable man, I might believe it (/end sarcasm).

[redhead1954]

10. Many thanks

for the quick responses here on DU. I have been reading the forums for a couple of years now, but never wrote in before this month. It's really wonderful to hear from people so willing to help.

[DemNoir]

11. One must consider

Maybe Al Gore lost TN and AK because he was a lousy candidate that made a ton of mistakes; turning what should have been an easy win into a close race.

[redhead1954]

19. Media Hype?

Don't you think the "liberal" media had something to do with the coverage (negative) that Al Gore got? It seemed to me that all I heard were stories about him inventing the Internet and other such bull. I remember a good Dem friend tell me one time that our news media is owned by something like only 9 multinational corporations, which are controlled by conservative investment funds. I would think that these corporations would be very beholden to their conservative advertizing clientele. Any thoughts?

Cheers,
Red

[radwriter0555]

20. One has to consider that the bush regime is infested with liars, cheats

and thugs who used everything in their power to get a lying, son of a bitch asshole stuffed into the white house in spite of the will of the people clearly stating otherwise.

[last_texas_dem]

29. While I disagree...

...with your assessment of Gore's candidacy (I think he was a good candidate who made the same amount of mistakes most candidates make, but had the bad luck of having the entire media jumping on him for anything they could) I can't figure out why you even think AK would have been a close one for Gore. Alaska hasn't voted for the Democratic candidate for President since 1964, and that was when Barry Goldwater only carried the Deep South and his home state of AZ. I hardly think Al Gore, as much as I like the guy, should have been expected to turn that one around.

[Cheswick2.0]

35. oh bull

he got more votes than Clinton ever did and with the media, the right and the faux left all running against him and willing to tell any lie to do so, there is no reason to say it "should have been easy". So please don't bother trying to sell that shit here.

[amazona]

14. I'm told voter fraud

Relatives in Tennessee say it was fraud, but I'm not sure of the details. I don't have the news stories. This is coming from eastern Tennessee, normally a Republican stronghold, so I'm going to assume that if that area is secretly grumbling then there is probably something to it. Not many blacks in that area so it must have been another form of fraud - anyone know more? Knoxville's own Victor Ashe is the individual rumored to be *'s long-time companion, so take it for what it is worth. It's hard for us little people to get behind the scenes and know the truth but there is no reason to assume that people in Tennessee are complete idiots. Anyone with half a brain should be able to figure out that having a president from your own state is good for business.

[LearnedHand]

17. I lived in TN during the election...

...and I didn't hear anything about fraud. I DID hear, however, that he simply didn't spend enough time there, didn't make use of his friends, supporters, and ties to people in the state.

He came to Knoxville, where I saw him speak, just days before the election. Before that, he'd spent little time in the state.

And what someone said above is true: Tennessee is a rampant repuke state. There may be some small democratic enclaves left, but the state is controlled by the RW Southern Baptist church. Not a snowball's chance in hell that the voter guides handed out from the pulpits are going to support a Dem, and certainly not Gore.

[Cheswick2.0]

36. here ya go

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=voter+fraud+2000+tennessee&spell=1

[Hubert Flottz]

15. Out Gunned by Moses!

Same as WV!

[emad]

16. He's on record as distancing himself from Clinton

which didn't do him any good at all. Plus, Joe Lieberman was a liability. Gore should have picked someone with Janet Reno's brains, Marilyn Albright's gravitas and Kathleen Kennedy's credibility. I reckon Tipper put a stop to that....plus that 3 minute smooch on prime time: that really was the kiss of death.....

[Cheswick2.0]

37. prove it , show me that record

cause I campaigned for him and he spoke about Clinton in every campaign stop.

[4_Legs_Good]

18. Since he left the state: TN --> Right / Gore --> Left

I remember an interview with someone from Tennessee who said that they appreciate that he was from the state, but he no longer held the same views that they held.

Easy as pie.

Not to mention his criminal inability to speak, the media's piss-poor coverage of him, his inability to decide on what his personality was, his consideration of Clinton as a liability, Lieberman, etc.

I agree 2000 should have been a walk in the park for Gore, but somehow he blew it. I'd still blame most of it on the right wing media, though. I'm "reading" Al Franken's book right now. GREAT STUFF, and he covers the Gore media coverage pretty well. What's that statistic, something like 1,040 stories about Gore claiming to have invented the internet (which he never did actually claim) and 4 stories about George Jr.'s absence from the Texas Air National Guard.

I really would have thought that his comment in a debate, I think it was, where he said that he did serve in Vietnam, but he wasn't in the most danger and his job wasn't the most difficult... etc. would have really done well with the pro-military types. "patriotic" and humble.

I think his largest liability was that he squandered 8 years as VP and never learned how to communicate - he was a cardboard cut-out going in and he was a cardboard cut-out coming out. Only after the "election" did he really seem to gain some small ability for speaking and realize that maybe he did have an actual personality.

Still, he's the only VP ever to appear on Futurama (twice!), so that wins him a lot of points in my book.

david

Kucinich 2004

Arianna YES
Recall No

[thom1102]

25. He did claim that he invented the internet...

Rightly! He sponsored the bill that increased funding for DARPAnet so that it could be expanded in the World Wide Web. Covered in Franken, and Alterman. (summer reading list!)

[4_Legs_Good]

27. I don't think he claimed the inventive part of it

But rather aiding in funding the development of th DARPA net to the internet we now know and love.

Then the media took his statement out of context, twisted it around and ran headlines of the sort "GORE CLAIMS HE INVENTED THE INTERNET", which hurt his credibility.

I think we're saying the same thing... :)

david

Kucinich 2004

Arianna YES
Recall No

[Cheswick2.0]

38. yes he ran such a piss poor campaign he got more votes than Clinton

and it he had not had florida stolen from him he would have amassed a huge electoral vote lead.

[4_Legs_Good]

44. That's a scary point...

Does it mean that Democrats can't win without a Ross Perot on the ballot???

Still, an incumbent VP should do better when running against a total buffoon. Shows this country is in very poor shape.

david

Kucinich 2004

[bigendian]

21. I've thought about this alot.

I am a native hillbilly that has watched Al since his days in the Senate.

The context of Al's loss in TN has to do with abortion and gun control. The fundie churches were actually preaching against him. I know one person who changed their vote to bush because of what a minister told them about Al. The NRA also poured lots of money onto negative ads.

The subtext does involve many people disinfranchised in African-American districts. But I attribute alot of that to the overload of new voters. Gore was good at getting people registered and to the pols.

Add in alot of migration of conservatives to TN because of a great business climate, mix with natives who were too stupid to realise that Gore was now commited to the nation and not TN and you can see how he was percieved as "out of touch".

Regarding that migration ..... they never knew Al as the great Senator he was. It was easy for them to fall for the lies.

Just my opinion.

[Catherine Vincent]

23. His take on gun control.

The NRA campaigned heavily in Tennessee and persuaded a lot of them that Gore would take their guns away.

[einsteins stein]

24. Gore did better in Tenn. than Clinton ever did

Check the records, Gore took a larger vote total, and a higher percentage of the vote, than Clinton did in either election year.

The reason Clinton WON and Gore did not, is because when Clinton ran, the right was divided by Perot, both times. Otherwise, Bush and Dole would both have likely taken that state.

This is one of the unfortunate myths of the 2000 election. Easy to debunk, but nobody really bothers to see the details...

[Cheswick2.0]

40. Hello and Thank you!!!

I have read someone else give that same explanation before. Can't remember who it was.

[Uzybone]

26. Voter fraud

check this link
http://www.nashvilleinsanity.com/

[amazona]

31. thanks, good link NT

.

[corarose]

30. Jr The piece of Shit lost his REAL state didn't he

Jr is not a real Texan is he. Ask your friends why Jr lost his real state and that will answer their question for them.

You can't win as State that you actually don't live in anymore can you?

[Yupster]

33. When did Bush come to Texas?

I don't know.

However, I was born in Brooklyn, am 44 years old and have lived in Texas for 24 years. Am I not a real Texan?

I sure think I'm a Texan. I sure don't feel like a New Yorker.

[corarose]

39. Al Gore lived in WA more years then TN

didn't he?

[Cheswick2.0]

41. Bush lost his own country

:hi:

[corarose]

48. Thank You!

Without black box voting I bet Jr didn't win even one state legally.

[Terwilliger]

49. That is the LAMEST comeback

you shouldn't use that

[Cheswick2.0]

34. vote fraud and suppression

that's the main reason, but he is also left of the average Tennesean.

[mvd]

42. Neglect

I think he took it for granted for too long.

The gun stance didn't help, and it's wrong the way they thought about it, but Lieberman didn't help either in the South. I agree with Gore about having things like registration, but think big government would help solve our crime problems in general - by providing less reason to go to crime.

[Lindsey]

45. I always thought it was because he acknowledged the

harm of tobacco because his sister died of lung cancer from smoking. Does anyone know if this is true - that it was big tobacco that did it.

[cosmicdot]

46. don't know if you have this link yet

http://www.nashvilleinsanity.com/

http://www.nashvilleinsanity.com/evidenceinTN.html

http://www.nashvilleinsanity.com/latestnews.html

[TennesseeWalker]

47. Gun control, and some really irregular voting.