Conservative smear machine targets Gore (again)

February 27, 2007

Let’s see, Al Gore just won an Academy Award, he’s up for a Nobel Peace Prize, and he’s sought after as a possible presidential candidate, so I suppose it stands to reason that the right started feeling antsy. Naturally, this led the predictable smear machine to kick into gear.

Yesterday, the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, which hardly anyone had ever heard of before this week, released a “report” to the media claiming that Gore’s home in Tennessee “consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES)…. The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh — more than 20 times the national average.”

The idea, obviously, is to paint Gore as a hypocrite — he doesn’t practice what he preaches, if he really cared about conservation he’d have a more efficient home, etc. The Tennessee Center for Policy Research’s piece quickly landed in the inboxes of leading conservatives, Drudge trumpeted it all day, and far-right blogs pounced. The story went mainstream by mid-afternoon.

There are two key angles to the story — the substance of the claim, and the group making it. Let’s take these one at a time. ThinkProgress spoke to Gore’s office directly about the former VP’s home.

1) Gore’s family has taken numerous steps to reduce the carbon footprint of their private residence, including signing up for 100 percent green power through Green Power Switch, installing solar panels, and using compact fluorescent bulbs and other energy saving technology.

2) Gore has had a consistent position of purchasing carbon offsets to offset the family’s carbon footprint — a concept the right-wing fails to understand. Gore’s office explains: “What Mr. Gore has asked is that every family calculate their carbon footprint and try to reduce it as much as possible. Once they have done so, he then advocates that they purchase offsets, as the Gore’s do, to bring their footprint down to zero.”

In other words, Gore is doing exactly what he should do, and is leading by example. The Tennessee Center for Policy Research neglected to mention these details.

Which segues nicely into scrutinizing the accuser.

Dave Johnson offers some helpful details.

Tennessee Center’s President Drew Johnson comes straight out of the right’s network, coming from Exxon-funded American Enterprise Institute and the right-wing-funded National Taxpayers Foundation.

They are part of the right’s State Policy Network. According to PFAW:

“SPN is a national network of state-based right-wing organizations in 37 states as well as prominent nationwide right-wing organizations. Through its network SPN advances the public policy ideas of the expansive right-wing political movement on the state and local level.”

As of Feb. 16, the Tennessee tax dept. considers them “not a legitimate organization” because of their misrepresenting themselves involving questions about the group’s opposition to a state crackdown on drug dealers.

So, we’re left with a partisan group with no credibility launching a misleading attack that can’t withstand scrutiny. No wonder Limbaugh and Hannity found this story so fascinating.

If this is the new conservative strategy to win the climate change debate, I’m afraid the right hasn’t thought this through. Smearing Al Gore with nonsense isn’t going to change anyone’s mind. Of course, to really debate the issue on its merits would be futile — they’d lose — so they’re left with foolish smears like this one.

It’s rather pathetic.

OT-

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  • If a right winger met Jesus today in a coffee shop and had a conversation with him about the world today, the winger would label him a pansy-assed liberal with no stomach for war and unpatriotic due to his “not supporting the troops.” These guys will smear anyone just to prove the point that no one messes with the right wing and gets away unscathed.

    What pisses me off is the rather amatuerish machine they have assembled to feed BS to the media and how sucessful it is for no other reason that the media will believe any crap it’s fed from the right.

  • Isnt Gore’s home in Tennessee a FARM?? IIRC, a rather sizeable one…or at least considerably larger than the “average” American home.

  • I hope the right wingnuts keep it up, because they’re still heading for the Big Cliff of 2008.

    Most Americans now understand that the Republicans have been dead wrong about global warming, and that their polluter-funded corruption has endangered American kids for generations. All we need to do is remind them of this fact over and over and OVER. (Because the people who don’t know this are so dense, they need to hear it a few more times than normal people do).

    I think Al Gore scares the living crap out of the Republicans (especially if he pairs up with Obama). He reminds people of Bush’s monumental failures just by existing. I’m guessing we will see spinning heads with foaming mouths if he steps into the ring.

  • “Smearing Al Gore with nonsense isn’t going to change anyone’s mind. Of course, to really debate the issue on its merits would be futile — they’d lose — so they’re left with foolish smears like this one.”

    I think it is the Left that hasn’t thought this through. Gore is not President, is he? Bob Somerby, as you well know, has documented at the Daily Howler just how successful the Right has been with just such fictitious smears against Gore.

    The Left needs to find some way to counter this crap more effectively than exposing it on a blog with a few tens of thousands of readers. It is a huge and important task, and too many Democrats do not even recognize that Big Media will have to be destroyed and the Punditocrisy overthrown, if we are to save our country.

    Wake up and get real.

  • #7 Bruce Wilder is right. We can’t simply debunk the lies and expose the facts to our own, assuming that the simple truth will win. We need a way to counter the right wing lying scumbag slime machine in a way that the mainstream media will pick up, so that every average-joe in America can see through the lies. The question is . . . how?

  • This is a minor point, probably, but from the news release: Gore’s mansion, located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES).

    So is it the case that I can call up some electric company and say, “I’d like to see the usage records for this address,” and they’ll just give them to me? I’m surprised. Not that this is an important issue for privacy, but I’d have thought that companies, whether private or public, would resist releasing information about individuals.

  • Gore is now one of the richest people in America. He owns a few gazillion shares of Google along with some other investments.

    It is a fact of life that rich people consume more of virtually everything than poor people do.

    How does Gore’s actions compare with other rich people’s actions?

    If we all really wanted to save carbon we could all live three to a room in studio apartments and walk to work and never travel.

  • Here is an important article that was published in Harper’s last summer that you might have missed: “Stabbed in the Back! The Past and Future of a Right Wing Myth.”

    http://www.harpers.org/StabbedInTheBack.html

    This article goes over this tactic on the part of the right, going back to FDR. It provides an important overview of just how the “conservative” movement operates. When you read it, and then look at stories like this one (and all the others), you see in detail just how the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy operates.

    It’s long but very, very worthwhile.

  • Racerx, the right is now pooping their Depends (instead of just wetting them fromtheir fear of all things ‘Terra’). Gutless Old Poopers. One of Gore’s BIG strengths is that he would be a huge reminder of all the weaknesses and lies of not only the Bush administration, but of the last 8 years of the GOP as well. And judging at least from one of the ‘kewl kidz’ Richard Cohen, the article Cohen wrote today is flattering in every way. Maybe Modo can be next? Part of the problem noted by #7 above is that in 2000 a-holes like MoDo and Cohen, allegedly left leaning if not alleged liberals on their respective staffs, helped contribute to the smears. Maybe with a Nobel and an Oscar in his hands our own left and left leaning and even nonpartisan media folk will instead choose to focus on the positives of what Gore has done these past 6 (8 by the time of the election) years, helping to keep the middle and ‘independents’ on the Dem side. And Gore even has the luxury of being able to wait until late in the year to announce, allowing the bloodletting that is going on, and will only get worse, between the currently announced Dem candidates (as well as their GOP counterparts) pass him by. Gore teamed with almost any of the top Dem candidates would be a strong ticket.

  • For this compliant, push for an apples to apples comparision.
    Energy comparisions are normally based on watts per square foot (SqFt).
    What is this AVERAGE house at10,656 kWh? Is it 1,000 SqFt located in the northern half of the country with most energy consumed for heating by oil or gas?
    Energy bills are based on the service to a site and should include all buildings, including any out buildings like barns or green houses.
    Energy comparisions should include multiple years as any one year could have an unusual spike.
    Just electrical usage should make comparisions within a single region.
    Any comparision to a national average must include all energy, not just one piece as a house in Florida would have very low oil or gas cunsumption in comparision to a typical house in Boston which would likely have lower electrical (cooling) consumption than the Florida house.

  • The TCPR report notes that the total gas/elec bill for the Gore property was “almost $30,000” which would be about $2,500 per month.
    The TCPR report notes the gas consumption last month was $1,080 which would be a normal peak heating month and would also be an unusually cold January for Tenn.
    Without adjusting for higher summer cooling, that still leaves about $1,420 of electrical consumption for a month. That is well below 20x what my monthly elect bill is and shows the TCPR report is heavy on the hype.

  • They must really fear Gore to mount attacks like this one over such a trivial and poorly researched point. Al Gore won in 2000 and most of us have not forgotten that fact. He is one of our best, and Hillary is a piss-poor second choice. I hope that if Hillary does self destruct, which may happen, that Gore would step up to the plate. If Hillary does well, I doubt if we will see Gore run. And that is too bad.

    By the way, if you have a home or farm in the country and have an ag well, and perhaps some barns or shops, and a house that depends entirely on electricity, those averages do not begin to reflect your usage. Those averages probably include small apartments and studios in high density areas. Way to cook the books “Tennessee Center for Policy Research.” There are lies, damn lies, and statistics.

  • Are we the only country left in the world to continue denying global warming. Are we really so self involved that we stick our fingers in our ears and hum loudly to avoid having to accept and deal with this issue? These people are amazing in their denial. When they say ok it’s possible they start screaming but look how much energy you’re using so it must not be that important or urgent. If Exxon/Mobile offered $10,000 to prove global warming or as an initiative to become energy saving and non-polluting this criticism of Gore, this article, would be non-existent.. Right wing goobers will never swallow that there’s a difference between Democracy and Capitalism. Their opinions are always for sale.

  • “So is it the case that I can call up some electric company and say, “I’d like to see the usage records for this address,” and they’ll just give them to me? I’m surprised. Not that this is an important issue for privacy, but I’d have thought that companies, whether private or public, would resist releasing information about individuals.” Comment by RSA (#10)

    I think you bring up a pretty good point. I know that it’s policy of my local utility company to release this information and it’s pretty good information to know if you are thinking of acquiring a piece of property. But you brought it up I never had considered the privacy implications.

  • This little smear, complete with soundbite, actually made the CBS radio news at noon CST. No research, no rebuttal, just 15 seconds of attack.

  • I think Al Gore scares the living crap out of the Republicans (especially if he pairs up with Obama).

    Profanity notwithstanding, I was thinking this very same thing this morning. I’m still a huge Wes Clark fan, but if he isn’t competitive as a Pres or VP candidate, then I think a Gore/Obama ticket is pretty much unstoppable. And it would set Obama up nicely to be President 8 years later. The notion of the Dems having the White House for 8-16 years must truly be frightening for the GOP.

  • I agree 100% with Al Gore that we need to address global warming, but he does look like a hypocritical ass (as many in the ‘Jet Set’ do) when they espouse one way of living, while practising another.

    And all ‘purchasing carbon offsets’ proves, is that if you’re rich, you get to waste energy. How is that NOT elitist?

  • And all ‘purchasing carbon offsets’ proves, is that if you’re rich, you get to waste energy. How is that NOT elitist?

    While I don’t disagree that the cost of offsets is way to high for the average American like me to afford, the notion that doing so allows you to “waste” energy is false.

    Read up on how it works, and notice that the goal isn’t to just waste energy and then buy a bunch of credits to offset it — it is to minimize as much as you can, and then buy them from others who have some to spare. The ultimate goal is for everyone, as a community, to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases, not just on an individual basis.

  • #17 I disagree. I do not think it is hypocritical of the President to travel by plane. With the President, security is the OVERWHELMING concern. It is simply a matter of fact that the President is afforded certain conveniences and protections, because we need him to be safe to preserve the continuity of government. Air Force One is the safest way to travel, even if he is just running to the Kwikky Mart for some Ho-Hos. If Gore were President, he would do the same, and I wouldn’t think it was hypocritical either.

    #23 Gore does have a private jet. He is rich, and that is how rich people travel.

    Let’s face it, in arena of “how you live your personal life”, poor and middle class people are always going to have a problem with rich people saying “you should do in a more expensive way because it is correct. Especially when said rich person is of a different political stripe.

    While Gore is doing the right thing by trying to reduce his carbon footprint, to say that it requires a sacrifice on his part is a bit like saying I’m sacrificing myself for my community by leaving my change of three pennies in the tray at the Kwikky Mart (from buying Ho-Hos, of course). It ought to be easy for Gore to lay some smackdown on the smear merchants…he has an open mic in the public forum whenever he wants to talk.

  • #24 U.M. – In Levitt and Dubner’s excellent book “Freakonomics”, they address exactly this type of situation. While I agree that the INTENT is to reduce the amount of carbon emissions, the effect (sometimes) is that these kinds of incentives serve only to assuage a person’s guilt, not eliminate the wasteful behavior. Honestly, if you are the sort of person who tries to reduce your carbon footprint, then purchasing carbon offsets is the moral equivalent of leaving a note on someone’s car when you ding them in the parking lot. You know the consequences of not doing it are practically non-existant, but you feel better doing the right thing.

    Furthermore, suppose your TV breaks. You know you can reduce your carbon footprint by not replacing the TV, because you use less energy, and you don’t contribute to the environmental waste of having to dispose of the new TV when it breaks. However, you can also just buy a new TV, and buy some carbon offsets to balance things out. Which will you choose? I’d be willing to bet that given that choice, people will replace the TV, and buy the carbon offset to go with it. So you haven’t eliminated the undesired behavior (using more energy, creating waste), the person just paid a little more for the privilege, and as a bonus, they feel better because they “did something for the environment” by purchasing the carbon offsets.

    On the other hand, if you are someone who is struggling to pay your mortgage, and you also want to reduce your carbon footprint, are you going to buy carbon offsets because it is the right thing to do? No. You are going to pay your mortgage, and, well, the environment is just going to have to take care of itself this month.

    However, suppose that my utility company BILLED me for the carbon offsets, now I have a real choice to make in my budget. I’ll cut-out the Ho-Hos and Big Macs because I’ve got to pay my mortage and my utility bill, which includes the carbon footprints.

    So my point is, that purchasing carbon footprints allows the environmentally conscious people to do more, but it ABSOLUTELY does not dis-incentivise people from using non-green energy sources.

  • A little more information has come out on the subject.
    The property in question is 10,000 sq ft. with a monthly bill of $1200 for electricity.

    If the average middle class home is 2000 sq. ft. (or 1/5th of the Gore area) then 1/5th of $1200 = $240 per month… still a VERY wasteful number!

    The rich are always telling the plebeians how they should live. And they’re usually full of sanctimonious shit.

  • According to this source, Million-dollar homes in Davidson have soared, Former Vice President Al Gore’s home on Lynnwood Boulevard comes in 81st, valued at $3 million. With a little bit of googling ingenuity it’s possible to find Gore’s address and plug it into Google Earth to get a bird’s eye view of his spread. It’s not a farm. It’s more of an estate. It looks to be a 3 to 5 acre parcel. Thanks for the great work exposing Drew Johnson as a hack.

  • you people and this self admiration society are a bit too much.
    what is Obama besides an empty smiling face? has he been in office longer than 2 weeks? Why do yo trust these guys so much, just because their opponents are so despicable?

    Obama will be shot by a wack job if he gets near the nomination, even if he’s a former VP.

    you think a democrat in power with a democrat house and senate will profoundly change our way of life? The evil rich command both parties.

    Who killed the electric car?
    if we switched 20% of us to electric cars the arab war would be over, they would be broke and their ‘societies’ in chaos.
    who killed the electric car?

  • “According to this source, Million-dollar homes in Davidson have soared, Former Vice President Al Gore’s home on Lynnwood Boulevard comes in 81st, valued at $3 million. With a little bit of googling ingenuity it’s possible to find Gore’s address and plug it into Google Earth to get a bird’s eye view of his spread. It’s not a farm. It’s more of an estate. It looks to be a 3 to 5 acre parcel. Thanks for the great work exposing Drew Johnson as a hack. ”

    ——————————————————————————-

    So what you are saying LessBread, is that as long as you are in a high enough tax bracket, you’re allowed to be an energy pig?

    As I said before, I agree 100% that we MUST drastically reduce the amount of guck we spew into the air (and not only because of the greenhouse effect). It’s just that I’d like to have a spokesman that actually PRACTICES what he PREACHES.

    For instance… why the fluck do the rich need to fly around in private jets? Are they too good for first class on a commercial flight? Is it that they don’t want to breathe the same air as us commoners?

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