About Al Gore…
I’ve been a fan for years. Gore is a national security expert and a military
man who knows a lot about the arms race and what we face on the world stage. I did radio
interviews from coast to coast in 2000 in support of his candidacy. His campaign
on global warming is righteous. I had the pleasure of being on a select conference call with him in mid-2006 that convinced me this was not only an important
issue, but that Gore was the man who could deliver it. The movie “An Inconvenient
Truth” is exhibit A, with the Oscar exhibit B. But as we go forward, Democrats
need to do a lot better explaining this reality if people are going to get Gore’s
global warming message, because the language is just too tough to tap into today.
After the Oscars Gore was attacked. Not news, because it was bound to happen.
Wingnuts went after him on hypocrisy, with Democrats defending Gore all
over the blogosphere. However, conservatives had a simple message, while Democrats
and progressives had explanations, most of which were too deep for a sound bite. The inconvenient truth
to this verbal battle is that most people don’t get what going “negative
carbon” means or what “offsetting your carbon foot print” is all about. So unless we change the marketing of Gore’s imperative global
warming message they never will. That goes for Al Gore and his lifestyle, too.
Sean Hannity railed about Gore’s private jet and about his energy bill.
Democrats offered up Dick Cheney’s electricity bill as rebuttal.
Wingnuts said it didn’t matter, because Cheney isn’t lecturing anyone about
“giving up their SUVs,” while taking private jets.
Gore is right. He’s got the scientists.
Wingnut radio countered that he also has multiple mansions.
But Al buys back energy and counterbalances his carbon foot print… see
eyes glaze over as the message passes over the people’s head. Carbon what?
I don’t have the answer on this one, but it’s not enough to offer up scientists. It’s sad, but it’s also not enough to be right, er, correct on the facts. Remember Kerry’s swiftboating? In addition, it’s a reality that many people will simply never be convinced that global
warming is real. It doesn’t support their world view or corporate philosophy.
That will never change, though western hunters and outdoor enthusiasts of all political stripes are the new converted. But to most conservatives, anything that makes corporations invest in the public good is
evil. When our environmental argument is too dense to get into sound bites it makes matters worse.
Mr. Gore deserves to live a large life, because he’s earned it. Republicans
should be able to understand that one. It’s also required to spread his message
around the globe. But Mr. Gore has to do better in explaining how his private jets and multiple
mansions are offset and what that all means in the global warming
debate. He would be wise to come up with an easier equation for regular folks to adopt and compare to their lives, so they can better relate and understand the way he lives his own. “An Inconvenient Truth” went a long way in aiding the cause for championing global warming, but there’s a lot
of educating still to do, especially on Gore’s lifestyle, which he has earned,
offsets in green ways, but which the people do not understand and most environmental advocates
simply cannot easily explain. When we can’t, we give the wingnuts an entry point that not only hurts Gore and the progressive movement, but also destroys the case for global warming itself. That’s why marketing Gore’s message is so important and why we all must find a better way to do it.
Gore has started the debate, won an Oscar and has been nominated for a Nobel
Peace Prize, all lofty accomplishments. But when it’s all over he’s got an even
bigger job to do. He’s got to find a way to explain his larger than life persona and the lifestyle he lives in simple terms, so average people can reconcile the global warming message
behind — enter wingnut talking points here — … the globetrotting, “limousine liberal,” multiple mansion hopping man.
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