Gore Joins Max in Spending the Surplus

[John Halle]

> ------------------------------
> 
> Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2000 23:35:02 -0700
> From: "Max Sawicky" <sawicky at epinet.org>
> Subject: Re: Gore Joins Max in Spending the Surplus
> 
> As I mentioned last week, Gore laid down some markers
> in his speech that encouraged me because they were
> sufficiently specific as to be somewhat less easy to
> squirm out of.  Namely providing health care for all
> children, universal preschool, the prescription drug
> benefit (the design of which I don't much like -- half
> of spending up to $5K a year.  I'd rather see some
> cost-sharing up to a ceiling, then 100% coverage.)
> If I was sure Gore would come thru on these, you
> would not here the word 'ralph' pass my lips. But
> I've been here before, when much smaller commitments
> were reneged on in the name of fiscal discipline, and
> before there was any reason to uphold such principles.
> If anything, Gore is stronger on the dogma of fiscal
> discipline than Clinton ever has been, hence my
> pessimism.
>

This really gets to the point.  There is absolutely no reason to believe
that Gore has any intention of carrying out even the most mildly
progressive policies which he is now advocating in an attempt to
neutralize Nader.  What will happen is that should he take office, Gore
will "dance with the ones that brung him" i.e. the big campaign
contributors, lobbying firms, centrist think tanks. If you have any doubts
on that score, just recite to yourself the phrase "putting people first" a
few times, and ask yourself the degree to which Clinton hesitated to
renege on his supposed committments.

Do we really need to argue about this?

John