Gore in Action

Photos Copyright 1998, 1999  Eric M. Appleman/Democracy in Action.  All rights reserved.

Nov. 20, 1999--Just back from a trip to New Hampshire, Vice President Gore received the endorsement of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM).  The AFL-CIO voted to endorse Gore on Oct. 13 but a number of affiliates such as the IAM needed more time to complete their endorsement procedures.
Aug. 12, 1999--Des Moines, Iowa.  Vice President Gore's ninth trip of the year to Iowa included a visit to the Iowa State Fair.  Many national reporters were in the state for the Aug. 14 Iowa Straw Poll.
Aug. 12, 1999--Arriving at the Iowa State Fair.
Aug. 12, 1999--Surprise!
June 17, 1999--Manchester, NH.  In the third stop on his announcement tour, Vice President Gore along with Tipper hosted a forum "Expanding Prosperity and Maintaining America's Economic Leadership" at Hesser College. [more photos].
June 7, 1999--Vice President and Tipper Gore hosted a discussion at the first-ever White House Conference on Mental Health.  Tipper Gore, who is President Clinton's Mental Health Policy Advisor, chaired the conference.
June 1, 1999.  Joined by Tipper Gore and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and other women leaders, Vice President Gore launched Women for Gore.  "For me, women's rights are about my mother's example, my wife's inspiration, my daughters' brightest hopes," Gore stated.  He said that as President he would extend Family Leave to cover parents' meetings with teachers, make pre-school available for every child, support parents in instilling moral values ("Twenty years ago, Tipper was right."), support Tipper's efforts to bring about quality mental health care, and "always, always" defend a woman's right to choose. 
May 23, 1999.  After his speech to the SEIU, Gore proceeded to AIPAC's 40th Annual Policy Conference. "The United States of America is a foul weather friend of Israel," Gore declared. Among other points, Gore vowed the United States would continue to stand up against Israel bashing in the UN and other international forums. He said the U.S will "do whatever is necessary to make sure Israel maintains its qualitative military edge." He pledged additional assistance for implementation of the Wye accords and said that "Israel must make her own decisions on her security." Finally, Gore forcefully addressed Kosovo. "If we have learned any lesson from the Holocaust, we must respond," he said. 
May 23, 1999.  Speaking to the Service Employees International Union's legislative and political action conference, Vice President Gore said that his family "came out of a political awareness that had organized labor as the bedrock."  He noted that his father was Tennessee's first secretary of labor, and that a prominent labor activist was one of his babysitters when he was growing up. "I am pro-union, I am pro-worker, I am pro-organizing...in my bones," Gore stated. Gore highlighted the administration's accomplishments, starting with the strong economy and what that has meant for workers, he pointed to its defense against efforts to roll back labor rights, and he talked about ongoing and future objectives including an increase in the minimum wage; and a call to "re-dedicate ourselves" to the principle of an equal day's pay for an equal day's work. 
April 29, 1999.  GORENET, a network of young professionals backing Gore, held its inaugural event at the Capital City Brewing Company. 
March 8, 1999.  The Gore campaign is taking shape and fundraising is in full swing. Here Tipper Gore introduces her husband at an evening reception for about 650 supporters who have contributed $1,000 to the campaign. The Vice President told the audience that the advances in civil rights and equality for women in the past century are "just a warm-up for the progress we're going to make in the 21st century." He noted the creation of 18 million new jobs in the last six years and declared he wants to "use our prosperity to make certain that we build stronger families in livable communities." Gore also addressed the patients bill of rights and education as he had at the big Democratic rally a week earlier.
March 3, 1999.  Democratic leadership gathered at the Library of Congress to roll out the "Families First" Agenda.  Vice President Gore spoke in the middle of the program, after House Minority Leader Gephardt, three citizens and Sen. Minority Leader Daschle, and before President Clinton. Gore said, "This is not an election rally, this is the beginning of a congressional term."  He recalled the administration's 1993 economic plan.  "The key in 1993 was fiscal responsibility...we cannot turn back from that fiscal discipline," Gore said. Gore also devoted a significant portion of his speech to education, calling for 100,000 new teachers to reduce class size to 18 in early grades, interest-free bonding authority for school construction and repair, an end to social promotion, connecting every school and library to the Internet, and accountability. 
March 3, 1999.  After the "Families First" rally Vice President Gore mingled with supporters.
Feb. 23, 1999.  Vice President Gore received the League of United Latin American Citizens' President's Award during LULAC's second annual Legislative Friendship Awards Gala. In his speech, Gore outlined the administration's work on behalf of the Hispanic community in methodical detail, starting with "the longest peacetime expansion in our history" and what that has meant for the Latino unemployment rate. He outlined many other accomplishments such as "the first-ever national action plan to help Hispanic American students stay in school" (Gore said nearly $1 billion has been specifically targeted to Latino education in two years), record Small Business Administration loans to Hispanic businesses, and a proposal to restore benefits to legal immigrants.  At several points during the speech Gore deployed a sentence or two in Spanish. 
Jan. 14-15, 1999.  Vice President Gore hosted a Global Forum on Reinventing Government at the State Department.  The forum brought together representatives from about 40 countries.  Officals from United Kingdom, Thailand, South Africa and Brazil and elsewhere discussed their experiences implementing government reform under a variety of conditions.  Gore set the direction during the conference, delivering the keynote address and chairing plenary sessions on both days. He outlined four imperatives for government reform: 1) economic competitiveness ("Red tape is like an economic noose," Gore said.); 2) doing more with less (Gore said REGO has saved taxpayers $137 billion in its six years); 3) building people's faith in self-government (treating citizens as customers); and (4) strengthening community and civil society.
Jan. 15, 1999.  During the Global Forum on Reinventing Government, Vice President Gore drew some laughs when he showed a "ruggedized" telephone the Navy had been purchasing.  The phone, which Gore said cost $450, is designed to continue operating even after a ship sinks. 
Jan. 11, 1999.  In one of many events leading up to the president's State of the Union address and the release of the budget, Vice President Gore launched the administration's "Livability Agenda for the 21st Century." A centerpiece of the agenda is Better America Bonds, a proposal for tax credits of more than $700 million over five years to generate almost $10 billion in bond authority.  To ease traffic congestion, Gore announced proposed FY2000 spending of $6.1 billion for public transit, which he termed "the highest single investment in public transit." "The federal government's role should never be that of beauty commissar...but it is our job to work with states," Gore said. "Livable communities, places with a high quality of life, are more economically competitive communities," Gore stated. 

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