Al's back - Attack! Attack!

Well, that didn't take long. Less than 24 hours after An Inconvenient Truth took home two Oscars, including Best Documentary, the Swiftboating of Gore (Above, with Truth's Director, Davis Guggenheim) has begun, led by GOP shill Matt Drudge.

Now Gore's utility bills are being discussed all over the Internet. I'm not even going to get into specifics, because frankly it's a waste of my time, but at first glance, his energy bills are higher than the national average, and Drudge's Website goes on to list the dollar amounts of his bills. What's lost in the right-wing rhetoric is that Gore also owns a house much larger than the national average. In less than 10 minutes this morning, I read with glee on a few Websites, including the right-wing blog Wizbang, conservatives who are busting Gore's balls for owning a large home (and also John Edwards).

Can you imagine? Conservatives, the party of the rich and shameless, decrying the estates of Gore and Edwards? Both men have earned large sums of money; Gore as a politician and activist, and Edwards first as a trial lawyer. They weren't born with silver spoons in their mouths, like some presidents we know. But, I digress.

Predictably, right-wing hate mongers immediately went on the attack. Cue footage of Sean Insanity, Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, etc. People, if Ann Coulter said that 9-11 widows are enjoying their husbands' deaths, what do you think she'll say about Al Gore's energy habits?

Some conservatives are blubbering about how environmentally friendly President Bush's Crawford "Ranch" is, and how it gets no press. It doesn't, and that's not fair. But honestly, how can conservatives expect Bush to get good press about what he's done on his ranch, when he's done virtually nothing beneficial for the environment as president? Someone, anyone, tell me five meaningful things he's done to help curb greenhouse gases since taking office. He did do one meaningful thing, right after taking office - he broke a 2000 election campaign promise for mandatory caps on carbon dioxide emissions. Oops. But hey, Mr. President, nice job on making sure your "ranch" is environmentally friendly. Now, how about doing something environmentally friendly for the rest of the country, since you haven't for over six years as president?

These attacks come as no surprise, though. Much of the effort to combat the science and reasoning behind global warming has come from Big Oil, which has billions of dollars at its disposal to distort and deceive. Who among us expected Big Oil and its paid-for politicians (and the pundits who support them) to just go away and give Al his due?

Gore has responded by saying that he purchases carbon offsets to make up the difference for his energy consumption. Call me incredibly presumptuous, but I believe him. Why wouldn't I? If Gore cared that little about the environment, why would he go around the globe trying to combat it? Why not just retire? Or give the occasional speech for a nice speaking fee and continue teaching, thereby leading a low-profile life?

Instead, Gore chooses to lead, to try to make a difference. Yes, he is indeed a horrible man.

Part of his response to right-wing snooping into his utility bills is this:

He buys 100 percent of his electricity from renewal power sources (Tennessee Valley Green Power Switch). What is Green Power Switch? The revolutionary idea is simple - harness the natural power of the wind, the sun, and the earth to create an energy source that's usable in our homes and everyday lives. TVA and local public power companies, working in cooperation with the environmental community, developed Green Power Switch as a way to bring "green" power - electricity generated by renewable resources (for example, solar, wind, & methane gas) - to Valley consumers, where Gore lives.

Seems pretty reasonable to me, but of course, what are the chances that his answer and explanation will mollify conservatives? About as much of a chance as our leaving Iraq anytime soon. Hmm, I can see how that would annoy conservatives. Maybe that's what I'll do from now on - whenever conservatives have a point, I'll just bring up the War in Iraq, then deny that I was making any kind of connection. Kind of like President Bush brings up 9-11 whenever he wants to make a point about anything, including Iraq.

One final thought - people wonder why good candidates never want to run for public office. This would be an example. The politics of personal destruction has so denigrated our political process, it's to the point where you would almost have to be crazy to seek higher office these days. Gore is probably laughing to himself this morning and shaking his head. Could anyone honestly blame him for saying to his wife, Tipper, over scones and fresh crepes (because that's what snobby, polluting liberals eat every morning for breakfast) "You wonder why I don't want to run for president again? This is why."

Pathetic and sad.

I still hope he runs. And if he does, I hope he has a lot more fight in him than he did in 2000. I have no doubt that he would, but all along he's been a long shot to run. This morning, the odds of a Gore candidacy are probably got a little longer.

Well, I spent about twice the amount of time on that as I thought I would. Vandra tells me I spend too much time blogging, and she's absolutely right, but sometimes I can't help myself - I have this incessant need to ridicule right-wing stupidity when I see it.