Al Gore: "it's all about power"

[Stargleamer]

Al Gore didn’t hold back: The Trump admin is “attacking the heart of truth,” twisting facts like the Nazis did in the 1930s. From climate denial to rewriting the Ukraine war, it’s all about power—not reality.
Gore warned the U.S. is under siege—and every former leader should speak out like he did.

— Jennifer C (@thejenniwren.teamlh.social) 2025-04-23T20:52:30.198Z

He’s right—it is all about power

[dalton99a]

1. And the only language they understand is power.

Not fact or logic or decency or values

[Joinfortmill]

32. Say it again until everyone gets it!!!

[DBoon]

33. that was the point behind Antifa

Fascists consider reasoned arguments and following the rules to be a sign of weakness. Power through violence is the cornerstone of fascism.

The original Antifa in 1930s Britain understood this and would relentlessly attack fascist activities. They replied to fascism in a language they understood.

[Pachamama]

2. Here is the full speech from Al Gore....

Scary part is - he gave this speech two months ago and not even in last week with all that has been happening!

[MadameButterfly]

44. Thank you for sharing this--the whole speech is a must listen

Gore at his best
(and he could have been president) (sigh)

[rurallib]

53. thank you for this! Will share

[malaise]

3. The Assault on Reason

By Al Gore - must read

[Silver Gaia]

35. That is an excellent book I have on my bookshelves,

written by a man I have deeply admired for most of my life who was our duly elected president way back then, NOT George Bush.

[malaise]

38. DUers recommended it way back when

He nailed it - saw it coming

[Silver Gaia]

42. He saw a lot of things coming!

And he's been correct about things all along, just as he is now.

I have the pleasure of being able to claim him first as my Representative to the U.S. House, then my Senator, then my Vice President. He was elected to be my/our President, too, but it was stolen from him.

Back in the 70s, I lived in a rural area in Tennessee. There were plans to create a county dump on a ridgetop where it would have polluted our streams as well as the springs and wells where many of us got our drinking water. We were a small group but we called a meeting to discuss this and invited Al Gore to attend. We did not really expect that he would come, but he did. He listened to us, he asked questions, and assured us he would do all he could to help us. A few weeks later the dump project had found a new home in a much better suited place. We never knew for sure what he did, just that he kept his word to us. I have admired him ever since.

[malaise]

45. Now that Is a great example of a good man

who walks the walk. Nice post.

[Silver Gaia]

47. Thanks. I love to tell that story.

I moved to California in the late 90s and I told that story every chance I could when he was running for President. He's the real deal. 🥰❤️

[A_Steel_Magnolia]

4. Don't forget money, which can buy power. They are a gruesome twosome!

[Auggie]

6. Power is also the means to money. One could ask ...

which comes first, the money or the power?

[Farmer-Rick]

7. I guarantee it's the money.

Last edited Mon Jun 30, 2025, 03:44 PM - Edit history (1)

In capitalism, it's always money first and power second. Because money is power in capitalism. You will literally die in the United States if you don't have enough money.

Errrrr next time we all need to pick filthy rich parents to be born to. Then you can start out being born with capital which let's you push people off the ladder to success.

[BattleRow]

17. And remove the lower rungs behind you.

But remember ,what goes up must come down ..

[Farmer-Rick]

48. I wonder how bad it will get before

The great majority of Americans will stand up and fight back?

[Bluetus]

52. Money begets power. Power begets more money. The two are never far apart.

[Farmer-Rick]

55. So true

[markodochartaigh]

41. Money and Power

two of the faces of the god of the US.

A lot of people say that money is the most important. But when Henry Ford (yes, I know about his fascist tendencies) paid his workers enough so that they could buy the cars they made, he was sued by his fellow company owners.
Most of our oiligarchs do not want a piece of an ever-expanding pie (more and more money). They want a bigger piece of whatever pie there is (asymmetric wealth). It is not enough for them to be rich, they want the vast majority of us to be poor.

[Farmer-Rick]

49. Yeah, they don't care about America or democracy

They only care about how much more of our national wealth the can take away from others. And it is our wealth they are looting. It's not something they created or did that gives them that wealth. It's something we all did that gives them that wealth.

They want every last dollar to be in their greedy grasp. But if and when they have stolen every last dollar, it becomes worthless. That's why concentrated wealth causes inflation. Money becomes worth less as they take more.

[AllaN01Bear]

5. his defeat and stolen election is why i joined du , thanks mr prez

[calimary]

8. He would have been an OUTSTANDING President.

I remember being so excited to vote for him!

Bush v Gore. That was such an easy choice (at least for me). Ridiculously easy. Like being given a choice between a plate of chicken or a bowl of shit.

[AllaN01Bear]

10. methinks so too also.

[hamsterjill]

19. It was why I found DU.

I lurked until Kerry lost and then i joined. I was so sick of the absolute lies and unfair advantage of the Republicans. I needed to know there were still some sane people left in the world.

[AllaN01Bear]

20. i still have a kerrry / edwards sign in my mess somewhere

[yellowdogintexas]

30. I still have my Kerry Edwards t-shirt. It is a great sleeping shirt because it is very soft! nt

[Silver Gaia]

37. Same!

[Silver Gaia]

36. He was supposed to be our president, NOT George Bush.

Had that election not been stolen, I firmly believe we would not be where we are today.

Since the day they declared Bush as the "winner," I have felt like I am living in the wrong universe. Something shifted. This is the wrong timeline/dimension/reality. I don't belong here. Neither do you.

[Iris]

40. Same for me. He will always be one of my favorite Democrats

[Bluetus]

54. We are where we are because of 40 years of capitulation

And that includes the 2000 election.

I have no use for anything Gore has to say until he begins with this:

"25 years ago, we had a hotly contested election which history has shown I would have won had all the votes been counted in Florida. I made the decision at the time to put my faith in the honor of our nation and the strength of our Constitutional government. In hindsight I can see this became a pivotal moment that has put our country on the path of fascism. With the benefit of hindsight I can see that my faith in these institutions was misplaced, and ironically, by trying to do the statesmanlike thing, in fact, my decisions had the opposite effect. Today, I apologize for my part in enabling this path to fascism and I pray that somehow we can reverse course before we lose our democracy completely."

He really should own his role here. Certainly Gore is not the only one who was far too timid , but is is just not OK for him to show up 25 years later and say, "Golly, who woulda thunk it?" MILLIONS of us thunk it at the time. We thunk it when Kerry wouldn't fight the Swift Boaters. We thunk it when Obama wouldn't even consider a public option. We thunk it when Obama wouldn't fight for his rightful SCOTUS nomination. We thunk it when RBG selfishly clung to her seat, handing it to Trump. We thunk it so many times in those 25 years of Gore silence.

I don't blame everything on Gore, but he should at least acknowledge his part in getting us to this point. He should at least admit he was wrong and he should tell his fellow Democrats to stop making the same mistakes.

[ClimateChangeisReal]

57. Stop blaming Gore for Bush 2000 election theft

The actual facts show that Al Gore did all he could short of starting a civil war to have the uncounted Florida votes counted. It was the Rehnquist 5's judicial coup d'état that rubberstamped the Bush brothers assault on democracy in Florida and shredded the U.S. constitution in order to install W which caused our country to become a dictatorship.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

59. Welcome to DU

[WiVoter]

9. I Think It's About The Midterms

I think they know it’ll be the last one that will have any resemblance to democracy.

[GiqueCee]

11. The word, "POWER"...

... is a bland euphemism for what these evil bastards really crave, which is, TOTAL dominion over the lives of others.
They screech about "FREEDOM!" but turn around and pass the most invasive, restrictive, and draconian laws imaginable.
They lie with every breath they take, and then lie about lying.
They use the Constitution as toilet paper, spit on the Bill of Rights, and then dare you to do something about it.
And even those with the cojones to challenge them are thwarted by corrupt judges who are willing accomplices to the oligarchs that fund the campaigns of those who appointed them.
And those same oligarchs own all the major "news" outlets that are, more often than not, compliant toadies that spin the truth into a cloying cotton candy that numbs weak minds into complacency.
Unspeakably evil people are systematically destroying everything that made America great, even as they project onto others the very crimes they are committing.
It's time to stop them, and that calls for more than we have seen thus far from those who have the wherewithal to do so. So let's light some metaphorical fires under some timid tushies, shall we?
A recent primary win by an unexpected champion should inspire us all to defy conventional wisdom, and by so doing, BEAT THESE FUCKERS once and for all!

End of rant. For now.

[republianmushroom]

12. Yup, Gore, nails it.

[BoRaGard]

13. k and r

[JI7]

14. Many of the problems today go back to the 2000 election

In terms of culture it goes back further.

But even a one term Gore presidency could have avoided some of the shit we deal with now. The Supreme Court being one of the biggest.

I believe we would still have got Obama as President but it would have been later. We also might have got McCain, Romney, and/or Christie.

But overall we could have mostly avoided the Bush wars. We would still had conflicts but not attempts at regime change or nation building.

We will never know about 9/11.

[Nixie]

18. Exactly and plus thousands. It was the biggest turning point in

our entire country and has altered humanity. All of humanity, not just our country. Clinton left a balanced budget and Gore could have come in with his climate visions and proceeded. Clinton was risky and ahead of his time by choosing a climate czar like Gore.

Instead we got 9/11, the Iraq war, national debt, just nothing good.

It still breaks my heart to think of what Gore could have done for our country’s future and our planet.

[et tu]

15. more than one

inconvenient truth......so many

[Clouds Passing]

16. Al won! I love Al Gore 🩵 His fire is infectious 🔥

[Ping Tung]

21. "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.". Lord Acton

[DFW]

22. One of the biggest disgraces of our country is that not only did this man "lose" to George W. Bush.....

but that the Republicans and those who voted for Ralph Nader are still jubilant that he did.

("There was no difference between the two." Sure, and there is no difference between night and day, either)

Literate, eloquent, knowledgeable, capable.....everything Trump and his Republicans are not.

Give me a hundred "Al Gore says" threads for every "Bernie says" thread any day.

[questionseverything]

23. Sigh, why the Bernie hate?

We can either vote together or be “disappeared “ separately

You are a brilliant, very well educated gentleman so please explain to me how that last line bashing Bernie when nothing else is about him is helping anything?

[DFW]

24. You are shooting at the wrong target

As one who considers Sen. Sanders to have a relevance far inferior to the attention paid to him here, my negative feelings are not toward Sanders, but rather toward those who constantly post his every word as if they had come from the Messiah, himself. How many people here post speeches and quotes from Al Gore? I find Gore's words to have a far greater depth and relevance, and yet the board is not bombarded with "Al Gore says" posts.

[questionseverything]

25. I'm shooting at the target that felt the need to announce his Bernie hate when it wasn't remotely connected to the

Subject

I have democratic pols that aren’t my cup of tea but I don’t trash them period and especially not in opts that don’t mention them

[DFW]

27. Again, it's the people who post his every word that I find irksome. He doesn't, so I don't care.

That is what clutters the board. He doesn't post (good for him). Almost no politicians do (I wish some would, one Texan in particular comes to mind). Posts here have a permanence that no politicians want a record of that can be thrown in their faces down the road. Not to the extent of Gingrich's "I will sue anyone who quotes what I said yesterday on TV," but some get close.

My post was to specifically point out two extremes--quotes by Al Gore, which appear here almost never, are words I find FAR more relevant than quotes by Sanders, which get posted here in quantity, and on a daily basis.

[questionseverything]

28. So it seems you just don't care if you drive off democratic voters

Ok got it

[vanlassie]

39. However, Al Gore is pretty much out of the

current picture, and Bernie is a current office holder who fills stadiums.

[ClimateChangeisReal]

58. This speech of Al Gore's

that's currently being commented on went viral. How is that not relevant?

[vanlassie]

60. Did I say someone was not relevant?

No. I did not. Have a great day.

[ClimateChangeisReal]

61. You implied

that Al Gore was no longer relevant. Just saying.

[Irish_Dem]

26. No. It is about power and MONEY.

And cruelty.

[Stargleamer]

29. Well then. . .

Power in the service of greed, power in the service of hatred/cruelty

[Irish_Dem]

31. Yes this is accurate.

[nilram]

34. Former leaders? Current ones, too.

Especially, really.

[BadgerMom]

43. Hero

[Skittles]

46. THANK YOU AL GORE

[Martin68]

50. With SCOTUS complicit in this power grab, defending democracy has become that much more difficult.

[purple_haze]

51. holy smokes he's aged

[oregonjen]

56. Well, gee, haven't we all? He ran for President 25 years ago!