Republican TV Ad Attacks Gore on Environment
W A S H I N G T O N, Aug. 8, 2000 -- — The Republican Party is unleashing a multimillion-dollar, weeklong ad blitz criticizing Vice President Al Gore’s record on his trademark issue: The environment.
The vice president has made environmental issues a major focus of his political career, so much so that President Bush, the Texas governor’s father, derided him as “Ozone Man” during the 1992 presidential race. The following year, Gore put out his book Earth in the Balance, which warned of the dangers of global warming and other environmental hazards.
The RNC’s latest attack ad, however, contends that Gore has been profiting from pollution on his own property by allowing mining companies to mine zinc from land owned by him in his home state of Tennessee.
“They’ve been cited for polluting the source of local drinking water,” the ad claims, citing Environmental Protection Agency records. “All while Gore’s made a half a million dollars in mining royalties.”
“Even on the environment,” the spot concludes, “Al Gore says one thing and does another.”
The 30-second TV ad, the RNC’s first since June, begins airing today in 17 key electoral states and continues through Sunday, the day before the start of the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles.
Gore Camp Cries Foul
The Gore campaign reacted quickly to the new ads, renewing its attacks on Bush’s record on environmental issues as Texas governor.
“Because George W. Bush cannot defend his environmental record in Texas,” said senior Gore campaign adviser Ron Klain, “he’s launched an untrue personal attack on Al Gore.“
“Under his watch, air pollution has escalated in Texas,” Klain said in a written statement. “And for over 20 years, Al Gore has had an unparalleled record of fighting the powerful interests to protect our environment.”
“Under Bush, Texas has led the country in industrial pollution, and emissions are actually up,” said Klain, citing various news reports. “In fact, Houston has become the smog capital of the nation under George W. Bush.”
Furthermore, Klain insisted, the water pollution problem caused by the zinc mining on Gore’s property in Tennessee was corrected by the mining company.
“Gore has always insisted that the companies that operate the mine on his property do so in a way that doesn’t harm the environment,” Klain said. “In the instances where minor problems have arisen, they were resolved quickly and in cooperation with state environmental officials and the operator of the mine.”
During last week’s Republican convention in Philadelphia, the Democratic Party launched the first attack ads of the general election campaign — a series of 15- and 30-second spots criticizing Bush’s record on the environment and children’s health insurance as Texas governor, as well as the congressional voting record of GOP vice presidential candidate Dick Cheney.
Republican officials, upset over what they called an “unprecedented attack” by the Democrats during the opposing party’s nominating convention, said they would consider responding in-kind with attack ads of their own. This new RNC ad is the beginning of that response.