 |
|
|
||
|
Gore's Speech: The Clintonian Reading
What if he chose his words with ... precision? |
|||
|
Posted Sunday, August 20, 2000 The past seven years have conditioned American citizens to pay extremely close attention to the precise wording of presidential utterances. ("I did not have sexual relations," etc.) Would President Gore be any different? There is reason to suspect not. Earlier this year, for example, Gore declared, "I've always supported Roe v. Wade. I have always supported a woman's right to choose," language carefully chosen to avoid denying (or admitting) that Gore also had supported the Siljander Amendment, which would have pressured hospitals into refusing to perform abortions and which defined "person" to include "unborn children from the moment of conception." Indeed, Gore repeated this careful I-support-Roe formula in his acceptance speech last Thursday. It's worth reviewing the rest of that speech with a wary, perhaps paranoid, lawyer's eye, to see what other escape hatches Gore may have left himself. As usual, italicized passages are from Gore's text, followed by context and perspective from a deeply suspicious kausfiles staff: I feel so strongly about this, I promise you that campaign-finance reform will be the very first bill that Joe Lieberman and I send to Congress.Which campaign-finance reform? Gore didn't say it would be the McCain-Feingold bill banning so-called "soft money." It could be something weaker (though Gore also said he'd "get all the special-interest money--all of it--out of our democracy," implying he'd go beyond soft money to ban Political Action Committee (PAC) money as well). For revolutionary improvements in our schools. For higher standards and more accountability. To put a fully qualified teacher in every classroom, test all new teachers. ...Key word: "new." Old, already-employed teachers, you're home-free. We will honor the ideal of equality by standing up for civil rights and defending affirmative action.An alert kausfiles reader e-mails to point out that the phrase "affirmative action" is highly ambiguous. It might mean mere outreach efforts aimed at drumming up college applications from underrepresented minorities. It might mean preferences based on class, not race. This seems like a loophole Joe Lieberman is more likely to exploit than Gore--but Gore didn't specifically commit himself to racial preferences, did he? And I will not go along with any plan that would drain taxpayer money away from our public schools and give it to private schools in the form of vouchers.What about a private-school voucher plan that didn't drain money away from our public schools? It's not hard to conceive of one. What if the government kept public-school budgets undiminished, but on top of that offered vouchers or other subsidies to kids who wanted to escape to private schools? What about a plan that would drain money, and give it to private schools, but not "in the form of vouchers"? Tuition tax credits, for example. And I know: For that waitress carrying trays, or a construction worker in the winter cold, I will never agree to raise the retirement age to 70.69? ... 71? ... People who are not waitresses or construction workers? ... Construction workers in the spring? ... New E-mail service: Sign up, using the ListBot gizmo below, and you will be notified by e-mail whenever there's a new item on kausfiles.com. [Note: this service is free. You'll be asked a couple of demographic questions; if you find them annoying just leave them unanswered.] | ||||
|
Recently archived: Gore vs. the Mysterious Forces The trouble with the Democrats' Shrumarama in L.A.. Cheney: Cheerleader for OPEC Let those Yankees in key Midwest battleground states freeze in the dark! Bush and Cheney: The Secret Transcripts Crock of Goldstein WaPo welfare reporter falls for Brookings spin, and worse. The Real Hillary Scandal Mr. and Mrs. Clinton forgot to get their stories straight. The Gift of Nader Gore could use a rival on his left. Rehnquist's Scandalous Shmatte Did he deduct that $30,000 robe? What's He Hiding? Notes toward a unified Bush theory. Special Re-Flogging Edition More on WaPo's hypocritical critic. CBS's Defective Defector 60 Minutes adopts Internet news standards. Looking for Mr. Good Death Mickey's Assignment Desk #8. Another Greenhouse Effect Resurgence of "labor resurgence" stories puzzles experts. Crosswired Politics Why the parties are trading places on some issues. The Toobin Crisis, Day 141 Ann Godoff vs. Charles Peters. The Purnick Platform The new NYT lets it all hang out. Run, Peggy, Run! The best anti-Hillary candidate. Kuttner's Poor Statistics Have child poverty rates 'scarcely moved'? Drew's Cluelessness Please don't let her anywhere near the First Amendment. Why Gore Won't Pick Richardson An impolite thought .... How Convenient! Now McCain tells us. Now She's Done It Maybe that nice centrist Mrs. Clinton really is against welfare reform. Pardon Our Reporting Clinton left the door wide open! Elian: An Overlooked Angle? Castro did Clinton a big favor last year. Boomers Against Death The shift against the death penalty isn't necessarily a shift to the left. The Perfect Campaign All e-mail, all the time! No Justice, No Paez The LAT and 'judicial activism.' Kausfiles Battles for the Vital Center! Why Bush has plenty of time to reposition himself. Clean Sheets The case for selling the Lincoln Bedroom. Don't Push It, Hillary Plus: kausfiles moves its cheese! Faster Politics Why 'momentum' ain't what it used to be. Jeffrey Toobin, Chicken! Fifth of a series. Hillary's Shocking Truth Plus: the Nissan Cojones Watch. Hit Poems A kausfiles contest. Gore's Press Problem Plus: How he blew his chance for a New Hampshire knockout. Bush Knows What "Regatta" Means Bradley's SATS; the media's moodswing; the neolibs' nightmare. Jeffrey Toobin, Hypocrite, Part III! How dare Isikoff write a book, says Toobin in his book. Not Gotcha Why Gore's gay flip was a genuine gaffe. Pay Up, Shrum! Litmus test flip-flop smoking gun. Jeffrey Toobin, Hypocrite 'Tawdry voyeurism,' anyone? Cuomo Family Values Did Mario raise his son to be Hillary's Boy? DeParle Gets Half the Story The NYT doesn't tell us what we need to know about Milwaukee's poor. Bill Clinton Wants You on Welfare! Is this the dole administration after all? The Pornographer Who Didn't Bark Why wouldn't Flynt bust Newt? Yes, There Are Easy Answers! The NYT and WaPo find a quick fix for affirmative action. Who Stole Nissan's Cojones? Jerry Hirshberg'a got a lot of ... chutzpah! Doesn't Anyone Want to Be Famous? The political opportunity of a lifetime. The Ending of the Black Underclass, Part XVIII African-American welfare receipt falls to new low. Just Buzz Me! Synergy City! Harvey Weinstein plans a TV show based on Talk. Is Daniel Patrick Moynihan the Devil? A review of the evidence to date. Harvey Scores Again! An exciting new Talk contest. Is It Over? Clinton's Pathetic Second Term Revealing the one Big Thing he still might accomplish. Maybe Bush Didn't Snort Coke -- Maybe He Dropped Acid! One solution to the Bush drug mystery. George Bush, Drug Pioneer? Bush's pharmacological time-line seems a little ... out of the mainstream. Will Tina Fire Lucinda? Talk and truth. Copyright 2000 Mickey Kaus. 
|
|||
