Open question to WUWT readers: Will one member of the mainstream media — that was so quick to give page-space to Bill McKibben’s ludicrous assertions about Irene — even bring up these comments by Gore? Will Revkin or Bryan Walsh or ThinkProgress disassociate themselves and their orgs or simply assent through their silence?
Update: end of 08/29 Zero mainstream media outlets (except Fox News) covered Al Gore’s “racist” connections. The silence was not unexpected. Andrew Revkin was more interested (again) in interjecting his opinions on “acceptable” candidates for the GOP primary, a constituency that does not “fit” his worldview. Must be fun to coordinate your messaging with Paul Krugman.
By Caroline May in the Daily Caller
One day climate change skeptics will be seen in the same negative light as racists, at least so says former Vice President Al Gore.
In an interview with former advertising executive and Climate Reality Project collaborator Alex Bogusky broadcasted on UStream on Friday, Gore explained that in order for climate change alarmists to succeed, they must “win the conversation” against those who deny there is a crisis.
(RELATED: Bill McKibben: Global warming to blame for Hurricane Irene)
“I remember, again going back to my early years in the South, when the Civil Rights revolution was unfolding, there were two things that really made an impression on me,” Gore said. “My generation watched Bull Connor turning the hose on civil rights demonstrators and we went, ‘Whoa! How gross and evil is that?’ My generation asked old people, ‘Explain to me again why it is okay to discriminate against people because their skin color is different?’ And when they couldn’t really answer that question with integrity, the change really started.”
The former vice president recalled how society succeeded in marginalizing racists and said climate change skeptics must be defeated in the same manner.
“Secondly, back to this phrase ‘win the conversation,’” he continued. “There came a time when friends or people you work with or people you were in clubs with — you’re much younger than me so you didn’t have to go through this personally — but there came a time when racist comments would come up in the course of the conversation and in years past they were just natural. Then there came a time when people would say, ‘Hey, man why do you talk that way, I mean that is wrong. I don’t go for that so don’t talk that way around me. I just don’t believe that.’ That happened in millions of conversations and slowly the conversation was won.”
“We have to win the conversation on climate,” Gore added.
When Bogusky questioned the analogy, asking if the scientific reasoning behind climate change skeptics might throw a wrench into the good and evil comparison with racism, Gore did not back down.
“I think it’s the same where the moral component is concerned and where the facts are concerned I think it is important to get that out there, absolutely,” Gore said.
Gore also took shots at Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who has lambasted climate change alarmists on the presidential campaign trail, and other politicians who dare to question the veracity of global warming science.
“This is an organized effort to attack the reputation of the scientific community as a whole, to attack their integrity, and to slander them with the lie that they are making up the science in order to make money,” Gore said.
Ironically, back during Perry’s days as a Democrat, the Texas governor supported Gore in his 1988 presidential bid. Perry became a Republican in 1989.
Gore says, “My generation asked old people, ‘Explain to me again why it is okay to discriminate against people because their skin color is different?’ And when they couldn’t really answer that question with integrity, the change really started.” and he then said that climate change skeptics must be defeated in the same manner.
What is the same manner? Is he advocating that the warmists ask sceptics why they don’t believe the sky is falling? Is he volunteering himself to put these questions to known sceptics?
No, I thought not.
They want to shut down the conversation. They know the more people talk about it, the more you will hear the truth about it and this will stop the influx of cash.
Apologies if this already mentioned.
Despites the warmists always blaming Bush for everything but particularly failing to sign up to Kyoto, wasn’t it on the Clinton/ Gore watch that they knew they would never get the Act through the obviously racist Congress?
Cheers
Paul
I far prefer Dr. Curry’s decision to engage all sides of the issues with an open mind to Al Gore’s continued wedging positions, this latest of comparing reasoned skepticism to racism being the most abhorrent. As for heroes – Start with Steven McIntyre. Here is a guy knows climate change is happening (how could it not?) but is skeptical of the integrity of the documentation trail, as everyone should be, but has also taken the time to attempt to reproduce it, unraveling the hidden tangles along the way. Dr’s Spencer, the two Pielke’s, Svengard, Lindzen, Carter in Oz, and even Schmidt who’s response to the CLOUD report is well-reasoned and I think accurate, are all standouts in this debate, and the blogosphere crawls with excellent rational debate on both sides.
Anyone who can’t find a hero in this debate isn’t looking – that is possibly a consequence of the distraction provided the Al Gore and his anti-science, evangelical twist to climate.
We in Texas would welcome Al Gore to come and have a conversation about all this. It has been so hot and dry, we could use 10-11 inches of snow this August.
The Blaze (web site), a conservative news and opinion website founded by Glenn Beck
Go figure.
In American politics, playing the race card means you’ve lost the battle. It is a last-ditch effort to win. It is always the liberals who play the race card. You don’t agree with a black person? It must be racism in their eyes. Playing the race card is often an effort to silence the opposition. Fortunately, the race card no longer works for the majority of people.
The only reason Big Al is playing the race card is he has nothing left. He doesn’t have facts on his side, or he would argue with facts. He doesn’t have the support of people on his side, or he wouldn’t resort to playing the race card. Big Al is scared that he would lose his power and money. Nothing else has worked, so desperate times call for desperate measures. It is looking more and more likely like his climate conference will be a big dud. If he has to resort to desperate measures to get publicity, things are bad for the purveyors of doom.
If Al Gore ever met me, I would ask him 1 question. Why is it the people who demand scientists follow the scientific method and require verifiable proof are the ones you call deniers but the people who break the law to NOT follow the scientific method considered credible? He will have no answer.
DirkH:
It is part of a presumptive close strategy – practised by all used car salesmen, funeral insurance salesmen and other charlatans.
Does anyone have confirmation of Gore’s assertion about the trend in chlorine molecules in the atmosphere? He makes it early in the video when talking about ozone and CFCs.
Has he stopped lying and admitted that his dad did in fact vote against the Civil Rights Act in the Senate? Al Gore is a son of a racist. His home state celebrates Nathan Bedford Forrest as a holiday, that would be the founder of the Ku Klux Klan.
‘win the conversation’, ‘make the argument’ etc.. Politicians like Gore don’t know the meaning of these words.
Conversation means to them a monologue of their (peculiar) views throujgh a megaphone (bull-horn?)
Making an argument is simply selling snake oil.
They showed algore’s new film on the interview at the 49 minute mark. It is about his next project that sounds like a lame Earthday imitation. On September 24th, Al says the world is going to join hands to create 24 hours of reality. They are going to reveal the deniers on that day. I am so scared. Mr. Occidental stooge is blaming big oil for spreading all this denial. The guy calls it a day of reality but after listening to him speak for an hour I don’t think he has any clue whatsoever about even basic reality. The cheese slipped off his cracker long ago.
Rational Debate says:
August 28, 2011 at 12:13 pm
re: suyts says: August 28, 2011 at 11:40 am
… I’m incredulous that people would be allowed to draw such comparisons on a national stage.
“would be allowed” — Free speech, and obviously we don’t want censorship.
=================================================================
Yes, perhaps I should have made it clearer. I’m not advocating forced censorship, but rather the censorship that comes with exercising responsibility. It is a horrific statement they allowed Al Gore to make and air. Its just as legitimate as airing NAMBLA’s reasoning.
http://www.enterstageright.com/archive/articles/0900ntl.htm
September 18, 2000
Three of Al Gore’s black Secret Service agents have recently filed a lawsuit, citing racial discrimination against their supervisors in the vice president’s security detail. The three men contend that black Secret Service agents are frequently passed by for promotions; they claim that Gore has made no response to their repeated attempts to draw the matter to his attention.
Well, if the vice president wasn’t aware of the problem before, he probably is now. Congresswoman McKinney made several critical remarks about her party’s presidential pick that found their way not only to her own web site, but also to the front page of the Washington Times on Friday, September 8, 2000.
“Gore’s Negro Tolerance Level [NTL?] has never been too high. I’ve never known him to have more than one black person around him at any given time. I’m not shocked, but I certainly am saddened by this revelation,” said the outspoken four-term representative from Decatur. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, McKinney often speaks out on the issues surrounding race relations. Boy, does she ever.
“I’ve personally been discriminated against at the White House by the very same people these Secret Service officers are complaining about,” the congresswoman continued. “That these black officers had no response from Gore’s staff is symptomatic of a larger problem. Gore would like these problems to just go away, but they’ll never go away if they’re not addressed.”
When this bellicose commentary hit the Internet and the newspapers, there was a sudden hush in the state of Georgia that fell in less time than it would take for you to say “Loretta Sanchez found a great site for that fund-raiser.” When the bluster started up again, it had taken a decidedly different tone.
“These remarks originated in a draft of a press release that was in the editing process and were never intended for public distribution,” McKinney stated in a new press release. “I disclaim all of those comments. And let me warn any Republicans who might be tempted to use the comments that were attributed to me, which I have now disclaimed and retracted, to divide and confuse the voters — I will not stand for it.”
The real problem is that the theory of man made global warming does not hold water. If the theory was iron clad, they would not have to resort to defending it by using accusations of racism and capitalist conspiracies. Al Gore is just trying to line his pockets and at the same time appear to be relevant.
Al is a prime example of an “intellectual”…….a man consumed by his ego, unable to comprehend why there is no market for his hubris.
“……. they couldn’t really answer that question with integrity …..”
Coming from a blowhard who refuses to answer questions at all.
As was said on another thread “Al Gore ducks like a quack”.
@ur momisugly Wade
Aug, 28, 2011, 1:05 pm
You hit the nail on the head!
Wow. The desperation is palpable – you can see it in his contorted facial expressions. Devoid of scientific literacy, this is the absolute best he’s got, and he knows it. Plainly no longer satisfied with simply calling us “climate deniers,” he’s now upped the ante to comparisons with racists. Thought-control FAIL. This slow motion car crash is absolutely fascinating to watch, and I can’t wait to see to what depths he’ll go to next.
“The cheese slipped off his cracker long ago.”
LOL. At least when he ‘wrote’ Earth in the Balance, perhaps before.
Or perhaps his cracker never had any cheese.
Above comment should read
@ur momisugly Wade Aug 28, 2011, 1:05 pm
Another socialist trying to deny the rest of us the right to freedom of speech and thought, doesn’t history teach us anything about these tin pot dictators. If they can’t win by rational argument or via the ballot box they have to rest power by other nefarious means. It is shameful that the scientific world lets Gore get away with this.
Environmental Advocates Use Racism to Dismiss Global Warming Skeptics
http://weeklyintercept.blogspot.com/2011/08/environmental-group-uses-racism-to.html
The J U L Y 2 0 0 0 issue of the Atlantic Monthly contained an article on Gore by James Fallows titled, “An Acquired Taste.” Its subheading reads:
Here’s the link: http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/2000/07/fallows.htm
You have to wonder if its really about the science, why the need for the use of insults and dehumanization attempts as a standard technique of rhetoric to support AGW?
If is was a religion on the other had it make perfect sense , as religions have always needed to create a evil none-believers to keep people on the path of righteousness with dire warnings to the faithful should this listen to these ‘evil ones’ , and to justify the intolerance of other to the fatih others not of the faith
Not just wrong , but mad and bad too , seems to be Gores and co approach.
The skeptics will win any debate and the alarmists only stand to lose. Bring it on !
Most alarmists are not knowledgeable about their own cause !
1) They thinkCO2 is some kind of super greenhouse gas.
FALSE: CO2 only produces .4 ° C for a doubling of all CO2.
Any more comes from positive feedback which hasn’t happened so far.
Free beer tomorrow but tomorrow never comes.
2) The warming from 1978 to 1998 is somehow unique and unnatural.
FALSE: It happens every 60 years and the 1978 to 1998 iteration wasn’t any longer or stronger than the last 2 iterations, which weren’t caused by CO2 either.
The temperature tracks the PDO well both when they go up and when they go down.
PDO vs CRUTEMP 1940 to present
http://www.woodfortrees.org/plot/hadcrut3vgl/from:1940/to:2012/scale:5/plot/jisao-pdo/from:1940/to:2012/mean:12
PDO vs CRUTEMP 1998 to present
http://www.woodfortrees.org/plot/hadcrut3vgl/from:1998/to:2012/scale:5/plot/jisao-pdo/from:1998/to:2012/mean:12
The correlation is excellent from 1998 to present, almost year by year.