Rick Perry backed an already-climate-crusading Al Gore in '88

Politico ^ | 8/15/11 6:32 PM EDT | Bob King

[SoConPubbie]

Texas Gov. Rick Perry may have forgotten a thing or two about the Al Gore presidential campaign he helped lead in 1988.

In an interview with an Iowa radio station on Monday, the Republican presidential contender explained his role as the Gore campaign’s Texas chairman by saying that “this was Al Gore before he invented the Internet and got to be Mr. Global Warming.”

[Steel Wolf]

Yeah, I remember Al Gore from back then. It's just disingenuous to suggest that he's the same animal now than he was then. You want to talk a Romneyesque full body reinvention, he's a good example. Pro life, pro guns. Old conservative democrat family.

He and his wife were running around slapping warning labels on my music back then. They'd call him a social conservative Taliban mullah for that crap these days. Even his enviro-shtick was a mild, nascent version of what it became later on.

[pgkdan]

Guess what? Who shives a git? It’s 2011, not 1988!

[demshateGod]

And going to CNN for hit pieces on Bachmann.

[alstewartfan]

Algore had a 9% ACU rating in ‘88, up from 6% in ‘87. I won’t be defrauded by yet another Texan. There are great Texans, but Perry isn’t one.

[bubbacluck]

Golly, I remember when Carter was running against Reagan. The word on the street was that Reagan would start a nuclear war his first day in office. We really believed that. I voted for Carter.

I was pro-choice, pro-party, and fairly liberal; but if you asked me why I would not have been able to explain any of my “deeply held” beliefs.

Then a light turned on (thank you, Jesus!). I have been actively conservative ever since.

I guess I can never run for public office because of my past and lack of “purity”.

For crying out loud, people do change.

[Perdogg]

Global Warming started about 1989. There was the Hanson incident at NASA then Forbes had an article saying that Hanson was FoS.

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

That is because their saint and icon is losing ground fast. It has become desperation and damage control to a whole new level. It will get more intense in the coming weeks. Get used to it.

[demshateGod]

If Perry is what everyone says he is, I pray to God he loses the primary, and the General, but I’m just not seeing that. I’ve seen some stuff I’m against but not Rhino caliber.

[pgkdan]

I find it amazing conservatives on FR are now going to the Nation and Politico for hit pieces on Perry

Why shouldn't they? They're doing the libs dirty work after all, aren't they? Can't wait to see their reaction the day Palin endorses Perry.

[alstewartfan]

Maybe YOU are satisfied with a guy who has apparently remade his image for political expediency, but I am not. Maybe I’m cynical, but Perry is older than I am, and *I* had Carter, Mondale, Gore and Dukakis figured out back then. Perry did not. If Perry lived in Mass, I have little doubt that he’d still be a Democrat. Bob

[demshateGod]

Hm, those articles are very compelling.

[RAV_USA]

Back around 1962, Obama used to crap in his pants every day and he became president!!!

[jpsb]

1988? Wow, so after 8 years of president Reagan in the White House and with Reagans’ VP Bush 1 running for pres, Perry is still a democrat? Backing and working for Al Gore? This is not good at all. Perry has a lot, and I mean a lot of explaining to do.

[alstewartfan]

If Perry defeats Palin in the primary, Gov. Palin’s endorsement won’t mean much unless she can convince me that Perry’s not a fake. Bob

[Elendur]

But at the end of the day,
It’s the Kenyan, or our guy.
///
absolutely true!
...but, we have many good true conservatives.
and we can only run ONE of them.

(and again, i thank mnehring for the education. before that, i wrote repeatedly i thought Perry would be a good president, and planned to vote for him!)

what is wrong with asking honest questions?
and we’re told Perry has a great record,
then when we ask about anything, we’re told to ignore it?

pro Amnesty. pro DREAM act. anti Fence. double TX spending.
is against AZ illegals law.
a Christian who quotes from the Quran praising Islam?!?
and was the Chairman for Gore, who was certainly a liberal in 1988 !
(again, if Perry simply admitted he was wrong about Gore,
like he admitted he was wrong about forcing girls to take Gardasil, i’d respect that, and drop it. but he didn’t.)

seriously, the more i read about Perry, the more i wonder,
WHAT exactly is so conservative about him ?

[Mr. Lucky]

Exactly. The Obama brown shirts probably can’t believe their luck: willing stooges to do their work for them.

[cripplecreek]

The fact that Perry is still pushing green energy at taxpayer expense isn’t encouraging.

[smoothsailing]

This is so lame. But, if it's any consolation, Robert Gibbs doesn't like Perry either.

[cicero2k]

I’m only concerned with his 12 years as governor of Texas record. So I don’t see being a “green” as a problem.

That said, I do want to know how he is different from George Bush 43 on immigration? We don’t need to go down that road again.

Otherwise, there’s no state as American as Texas right now. The person at the helm does need to be taken seriously. I don’t live there, I fled to CO from CA, but I’m getting closer :)

[GunRunner]

People who are making a big deal of this don't really realize that Texas was a Democrat only state since Reconstruction and only really started to turn Republican in the late 80s and 90s.

I don't have any problem with him being a conservative Democrat 25 years ago. Those of you who would like to make hay of this will stomp and scream but eventually you'll come to your senses and vote for him in November 2012.