  
|
| |||||||
|
"Scam" ads the norm Trail Mix: Hillary haters spam cyberspace Gunning for the center Democrats make Hillary legit The blundering pundit Don Giuliani Campaign video: |
Gore's hay day
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Feb. 15, 2000 | SAN FRANCISCO -- He says he also had a friendly and mutually supportive relationship with a fellow Tennesseean named Al Gore. (Gore could not be reached for comment on the extent of his friendship with Gaskin.) Now, Gaskin is seeking the Green Party's nomination as its presidential candidate. So far, he's entered that party's primaries in New York and New Mexico and has formed Georgians for Gaskin. He claims that while "a lot of Greens are just going to go for [Ralph Nader] automatically, there is also a bunch who are ready for me to challenge." Given the recent claims of former friend John Warnecke that Gore was an epic stoner in the early 1970s (which Gore denies), could Gaskin's candidacy provoke a media critical mass, forcing Gore to confront his past as a countercultural dilettante?
Gaskin laughs at the suggestion, but then Gaskin laughs every few minutes anyway over our breakfast at the Fairmount Hotel, during his recent visit to San Francisco. It's the deep laugh of a man who has made his peace with the marijuana gods pretty much on a daily basis for more than three decades running. But Gaskin's turning on isn't about self-indulgence. He brings an impressive record of public service to the table that includes his work as founder of Plenty International, an overseas relief and development company that helped rebuild 1,200 houses in Guatemala and clinics in Lesotho and southern Mexico. His Jefferson Award-winning South Bronx Ambulance project in New York City adapted the police slogan, "If you're in trouble, try calling a hippie," and stripped it of its ironic intent. The man even did his time in the military. He's folksy, plain-spoken and fearless -- the kind of guy who can sit down with his redneck neighbors and tell 'em just why he's against guns, and for gays and feminists, and walk away unscarred. "I get along with my gun-loving neighbors. At first, they thought we didn't have guns 'cause we were cowards. And then they found out that we didn't have guns 'cause we was courageous and they respected that." Given half a chance, these qualities could allow him to find a constituency out there in the Heartland. Still, Gaskin recognizes that it's the Gore connection, and not his down-home honesty or his seven-point program that's likely to get the media attention needed to launch his campaign. He's willing to play along, but only to a degree. It's an article of hippie faith that Al Gore used to hang out at "The Farm" and smoke pot. Will you comment on that? Well, he came around a bit, first as a reporter for the Tennessean. He did a story on us in '72. It was very fair and positive. And we stayed friends. He was supportive of my wife, Ina May's work as a midwife. Tipper read all our books. As far as dope, I can honestly say I never toked up with Al. I don't know if that was his fault or mine. I'm glad though. I'd rather rag on him for being a Republicrat who can't say "non-profit health insurance" to save his life. Have you been following the John Warnecke claims about Gore's prodigious dope smoking in the '70s? Is it your impression that it's accurate? I am not in a position to give evidence and I will not do hearsay, but I believe Warnecke's story. When you first met Gore, did you think he was really straight and stiff, like his current public image? No, not that straight. I mean, he was a reporter. He wasn't a hippie. But from the first time I met him, I was really impressed. Without any prompting from me, he said, "What you people are trying to do here is get to the clear state." So he was hip on that level. And Tipper was about halfway into the local rock 'n' roll community. She was fond of the Farm Band.
|
|||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
More news on 
Next page |