Friday, Aug 29, 2008
The town that haunts Al Gore
BY JAKE TAPPER
(04/26/00)
Gore's flip-flop in support of the WTI incinerator located 1,100 feet from an Ohio elementary school is astonishing for a candidate who claims that protecting the environment is his priority.
His apparent excuse for this reversal is to claim that his hands were tied by decisions made by the outgoing Bush administration. If this is true, why didn't the Clinton-Gore administration make available to Salon any documents, letters or memos that they should have sent to the Bush EPA asking them to postpone their approval of WTI's license? If Gore is telling the truth, his transition team should have formally contacted the Bush EPA at the time of Gore's post-election, Dec. 7, 1992, press release opposing the WTI incinerator.
But the inconsistencies don't end there. Many authorities, including the General Accounting Office, Ohio and West Virginia attorneys general and the current EPA have all said that the EPA does have the authority to revoke WTI's license.
By blaming the old Bush administration, the community continues to get burned along with Gore's credibility, making an undeserving new Bush administration more likely.
-- Rick Hind
Thank you for bringing this glaring hole in Al Gore's environmental record to light. He truly failed East Liverpool and the rest of the upper Ohio Valley on the WTI issue. It doesn't much matter whether his failure was due to incompetence, White House politics, or being swayed by corporate campaign contributions (a familiar Gore bugaboo). All that the people in this area know is that he broke his promises to fight against yet another corporate polluter that's taking advantage of an economically depressed community.
Sadly, WTI probably won't hurt his chances of becoming president as much as it should because of Bush's horrible environmental record. A lot of environmentalists are likely to hold their noses and vote for Gore out of fear that a Bush presidency would be worse.
-- Nancy Ott
I grew up in Weirton, the town across from East Liverpool where Waste Technologies Incorporated built its plant and where both Clinton and Gore both spoke during their first campaign.
I do not agree with shutting down a plant just because it is a hazardous waste plant. The Ohio Valley, where East Liverpool and Weirton are located, has an economy based mainly on producing steel -- not exactly the cleanest industry to have around. What I object to is having a poorly functioning hazardous waste plant in the area my family lives.
The truth is that this is another example of campaign lies by Clinton and Gore. They lied about caring about the environment of the Ohio Valley. They also lied when they said they would protect the steel industry that the valley's economy depends on. When the bottom fell out of the Asian market, the steel makers' complaints about illegal steel dumping fell on deaf ears. The only thing that Clinton and Gore care about are our votes.
This is another example of Gore saying anything to get elected. Thank you Salon for reporting it.
-- Brian Ellenberger
Heart is pounding too heavily for me to read the article. Great picture of a great looking guy!
Hint: If you want to dis Al Gore, do not include a picture of his face. People in this country will forgive a person for anything if he looks good enough.
-- McCamy Taylor
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