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Jewish World Review June 19, 2000 / 16 Sivan, 5760
Chris Matthews
The Gore ad, which began airing last week, targets the
country's most potent voting bloc: retirees.
"He's worked a lifetime," an empathetic voice intones,
"but now he's at the mercy of the big drug companies.
They're using money and lobbyists to stop progress in
Washington. Al Gore is taking them on. Fighting for a
Medicare prescription-drug benefit for seniors."
Now comes the high-energy voice of Vice President Al
Gore; the candidate appears in a casual golf shirt.
"People can't afford these ridiculously high prices for
prescription medicines. When their doctor prescribes
medicine for their health and well-being, they ought to be
able to take it."
To the millions of people watching that commercial, it's an
ad for Al Gore, pure and simple. The ad gives Gore's
pitch and gives him credit for making it. Here's a fellow
who cares about retirees, knows about their problems
and, if elected, will go about addressing them.
Not so, according to the Democratic National Committee
and the Federal Election Commission. That ad was not
for Gore's election to the presidency, it was promoting the cause of something
called "party-building." As a result, the money used to pay for it can come from
anywhere, including corporations, has no upper limit and does not get counted
as a Gore expenditure.
In other words, it's an ad paid for with what some worldly wise insiders call
"soft" or "sewer" money.
Republicans play the same dirty game.
Their ad:
"George Bush knows that to keep our commitment to seniors we must
strengthen and improve Social Security now, for the retirement of the baby
boom generation will push it near bankruptcy. He's proposing a bipartisan plan
to strengthen and improve Social Security.
"The Bush plan guarantees every American at or near retirement every dollar of
their benefits. No cuts in Social Security. You paid into it. It's your money and
it will be there for you. And the Bush plan gives younger workers the choice to
invest a small part of their Social Security in sound investments they control for
higher returns."
That's the ad being aired this week by the Republican National Committee.
I asked its chairman, Jim Nicholson, if he would call it a Bush ad.
"That's an ad about an issue," he said, "It's an ad about an idea that Gov. Bush
is strongly advocating."
He would not say it was a Bush ad. To do so would admit that he, the
Republican National Committee and the Texas governor were engaging in a
sham.
Edward Rendell, the Democratic national chairman, was more forthcoming. He
acknowledges the Federal Election Commission is allowing a hoax.
"According to the FEC, that's a party-building ad," he said of the Gore push for
government-financed prescription drugs for seniors.
"You're right," he finally obliged. "Both of these ads are Bush ads or Gore ads.
We ought to get rid of this system."
Yes, we
06/15/00: Citizen Kane, 113 years later
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