Al Gore on Government Reform 2000 Democratic Nominee for President; Former Vice President

Sub-sections under Government Reform:
• Campaign Finance Reform
• Reinventing Government
• Other issues under Government Reform

Money overshadows knowledge in our democracy

“Our culture has changed so much that knowledge does not play as big a role as it should in our conversations of democracy,” Gore said. “If not knowledge, then what?” Gore said flatly, “Money.”

Money, he went on to add, that paid for the 30-second campaign spots. He discussed how much more informed the voters were in the 1960s when candidates spent that money on 30-minute campaign films about themselves and their ideas-- including one for Gore’s father, Sen. Al Gore, Sr.

“Unless we wake up and start fighting for it and reintroducing reason and philosophy and justice into the political discourse of this country, this is going to end.” Gore said to a standing ovation.

Money dominates campaigns because of cost of TV ads

In practice, what television’s dominance has come to mean is that the inherent value of political propositions put forward by candidates is now largely irrelevant compared with the image-based ad campaigns they use to shape the perceptions of voters. The high cost of these commercials has radically increased the role of money in politics--and the influence of those who contribute it. That is why campaign finance reform, however well drafted, often misses the main point: so long as the dominant means of engaging in political dialogue is through purchasing expensive television advertising, money will continue in one way or another to dominate American politics. And as a result, ideas will continue to play a diminished role.

Bush pursues policies in advance of the facts

• The first important group in this coalition is what I would call the economic royalists, who are primarily interested in eliminating as much of their own taxation as possible and removing all inconvenient regulatory obstacles.
• The second branch of this coalition is made up of the foreign policy hawks whose policy preferences range from unprovoked invasions to economic imperialism. Bush’s inherent power makes everything he does “legal” by definition.
• This coalition gains access to the public through a cabal of “reporters”--propagandists pretending to be journalists.
• A group of ultraconservative religious leaders provide manpower and voter turnout.

Bush chronically abuses “signing statements”

The Constitution give the president a choice of signing a law, vetoing a law, or refraining from signing a law--in which case it goes into effect without his signature. But those are the only options. The president is not a member of the legislative branch and therefore is not entitled to pick apart all of the provisions of each law and decide for himself which provisions he will accept and which he will reject.

Bush’s signing statements rest on legal theories that his own power is so vast that it is obviously unconstitutional--a power to simply declare what provision of the law he will & will not comply with.

Full & robust public financing of all federal elections

Paid disinformation-- in support of candidates and ballot initiatives--is polluting America’s democratic discourse. So long as it is politically impossible to simply prohibit such funding, we should pursue the next best option--increasing the transparency of all contributions.

ReGo made federal government smallest since 1960s

Model Supreme Court justice: Thurgood Marshall

Regulatory style: smaller & smarter govt, but stronger regs

Bush, a frequent critic of heavy-handedness in government, would take a less-is-better stance through his appointees, stressing flexibility and voluntary actions by industry and the states. Gore, while touting the importance of a “smaller, smarter government,“ would push for more muscular regulation.

Critics worry that each man, in his own way, would go too far. Bush’s ”notion that government should get out of the way is the Ronald Reagan mantra,“ says one analyst, referring to Reagan’s aggressively antiregulatory stance. For his part, Gore ”shows an instinct to intervene in the marketplace,“ says another economist, who insists such intervention only makes problems worse.

Promises weekly open meeting as President

I don’t ever want to see another era of big government

His goal, he made clear, was to undercut the Republican depiction of him as ”a mythical big- spending, big-government candidate.“ Gore said, ”I’m for a smaller, smarter government, one that serves people better, but offers real change & gives more choices to families.“ Bush responded, ”He’s the biggest spender we’ve ever had in the history of politics.“

Spending increase? “Absolutely not”; balance every budget

Q: Is he right?

GORE: Absolutely not. Under my plan, we will balance the budget every year. I’m not just talking. I have helped to balance the budget for the first time in 30 years, and pay down the debt. And under my plan, in four years, as a percentage of our gross domestic product, federal spending will be the smallest that it has been in 50 years.

Q: The vice president says you’re wrong.

BUSH: Well, he’s wrong. Just add up all the numbers; it’s three times bigger than what Pres. Clinton proposed.

GORE: That’s in an ad [which] the journalists who analyzed it said was misleading.

BUSH: Forget the journalists. You propose more than Walter Mondale & Michael Dukakis combined. This is a big spender, he is. And he ought to be proud of it. It’s part of his record. We just have a different philosophy.

Were you better off 8 years ago than you are now?

BUSH: We’ve had enough fighting [in Congress]. It’s time to unite. You talk about eight years? In eight years, [the Clinton/Gore Administration] hasn’t gotten anything done on Medicare, on Social Security, a patients’ bill of rights. It’s time to get something done.

I cast the tie-breaking vote to add 26 years to the life of Medicare. It was due to go bankrupt in 1999.

Supreme Court should interpret Constitution

GORE: Both of us use similar language to reach an exactly opposite outcome. In my view, the Constitution ought to be interpreted as a document that grows with our country and our history.

BUSH: I’ll tell you what kind of judges he’ll put on there. He’ll put liberal, activist judges who will use their bench to subvert the legislature. That’s what he’ll do.

GORE: That’s not right.

Decreased fed workforce by 300,000; won’t increase by 20,000

GORE: As for 20,000 new bureaucrats, as you call them, you know the size of the federal government will go down in a Gore administration. In the Reinventing Government Program, you just look at the numbers. It is 300,000 people smaller today than it was eight years ago. Now, the fact is you’re going to have a hard time convincing folks that we were a whole lot better off eight years ago than we are today. But that’s not the question. The question is, will we be better off four years from now than we are today?

Use historic surplus to balance budget and help middle class

GORE: We’ve got the biggest surplus in history. Will we use that prosperity wisely in a way that benefits all of our people and doesn’t go just to the few? I think we have to invest in education, protecting the environment, health care, a prescription drug benefit that goes to all seniors, not just to the poor; under Medicare, not relying on HMOs and insurance companies. I think that we have to help parents and strengthen families. I think we have got to have welfare reform taken to the next stage. I think that we have got to balance the budget every single year.

BUSH: He’s going to grow the federal government in the largest increase since Johnson in 1965. We’re talking about a massive government, folks. We’re talking about adding to or increasing 200 new programs, 20,000 new bureaucrats. Imagine how many IRS agents it’s going to take to be able to figure out his targeted tax cut for the middle class that excludes 50 million Americans.

Puerto Rico: Back statehood if majority votes for it

Both Bush and Gore have declined to take a position on whether Puerto Rico should participate in the election, noting that the matter is before the courts. Both candidates have identical positions on Puerto Rico, saying they would back statehood if a majority of voters on the island support it. Both campaigns have taken steps to prepare for the possibility of a campaign on the island, signing up volunteers and organizers.

Open meetings to stay in touch with every-day people

Supported “PAC participation in the political process”

Supreme Court nominees should interpret the Constitution

GORE: I would look for justices of the Supreme Court who understand that our Constitution is a living & breathing document, that it was intended by our founders to be interpreted in the light of the constantly evolving experience of the American people. The right of privacy, just to take one example, was found by Justice Blackmun in the Constitution, even though the precise words are not there.

BRADLEY: Other than war & peace, Supreme Court appointments are the most lasting contribution that a president ever makes. It is imperative to find people of real integrity and unquestioned ability, somebody that’s able to see a context in the times in which they live. Not someone who’s locked into a original interpretation of the Constitution as if 1787 is the year 2000. But someone who sees the law as something that moves to adjust to the times and can do so in a way that furthers the deepest values of our country.

No controlling legal authority“ for White House calls

We distrust our government; but want it in emergencies

Distrust of government is buried deep in America’s genetic code. For more than two centuries, wave after wave of people who have been harassed or abused by their governments have seen this country as a last refuge, a haven. The less government there is, the more we like it....

Until the earth cracks open in California and people’s lives crack with it. Until a river becomes so polluted that it catches fire. Until a child dies from a contaminated hamburger. Or until we lose a job, need help feeding our family, grow old and can’t afford medical care, or become victimized on our own neighborhood streets. Then we want the government to be there for us, and quickly.

Performance-based pay for civil servants

McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform will be first bill

BUSH: I am not going to lay down my arms in the middle of a campaign for somebody who has got no credibility on the issue. I would support an effort to ban corporate soft money & labor union soft money. I believe there needs to be instant disclosure on the Internet as to who’s given to whom.

GORE: You have attacked my character and credibility and I am not going to respond in kind. One serious problem is that our system of government is being undermined by too much influence coming from special interest money.

BUSH: I want people to hear what he just said. He is for full public financing of congressional elections. I’m absolutely, adamantly opposed to that.

Ban soft money and provide free broadcast time