In the Democratic race for the presidential nomination, the front-runner, Al Gore, is defending his record on the environment. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reportsmost political observers had thought Vice President Gore’s record on the environment was beyond challenge.
Transcript
In the democratic race for the presidential nomination, the front-runner,
Al Gore, is defending his record on the environment. Most political observers had
thought Vice-President gore’s record on the environment was beyond
challenge. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
With his best-seller Earth in the Balance, Al Gore literally wrote the book
on environmentalism in the 1990’s. However, some environmental groups
hold him responsible for not accomplishing more during his eight years in
the Clinton Administration. His defenders say Gore is a victim of history.
Robert f. Kennedy, Jr. has raised funds for the Gore campaign. He says Gore
has earned the environmentalists support over his opponent, Bill Bradley,
because Gore fought the republican’s contract with America in 1994. The
contract called for relaxing some environmental laws.
“Bill Bradley quit the senate. He went back to New Jersey, said ‘I’m going to make some
money.’ but, Al Gore stayed and he slugged it out toe-to-toe with Newt Gingrich.”
But some environmentalists say Gore’s record does not match his rhetoric
on the environment. They say Gore should have done more to support the
Kyoto treaty on global warming, done more to protect wilderness areas,
and more aggressively pursued polluters.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.