October 6, 2005
The Associated Press

'American Democracy is in Grave Danger'

by Vice President Al Gore
Speech at Media Conference

I came here today because I believe that American democracy is in grave danger. It is no longer possible to ignore the strangeness of our public discourse . I know that I am not the only one who feels that something has gone basically and badly wrong in the way America's fabled "marketplace of ideas" now functions.

How many of you, I wonder, have heard a friend or a family member in the last few years remark that it's almost as if America has entered "an alternate universe"?

I thought maybe it was an aberration when three-quarters of Americans said they believed that Saddam Hussein was responsible for attacking us on September 11, 2001. But more than four years later, between a third and a half still believe Saddam was personally responsible for planning and supporting the attack.

At first I thought the exhaustive, non-stop coverage of the O.J. trial was just an unfortunate excess that marked an unwelcome departure from the normal good sense and judgment of our television news media. But now we know that it was merely an early example of a new pattern of serial obsessions that periodically take over the airwaves for weeks at a time.

Are we still routinely torturing helpless prisoners, and if so, does it feel right that we as American citizens are not outraged by the practice? And does it feel right to have no ongoing discussion of whether or not this abhorrent, medieval behavior is being carried out in the name of the American people? If the gap between rich and poor is widening steadily and economic stress is mounting for low-income families, why do we seem increasingly apathetic and lethargic in our role as citizens?

On the eve of the nation's decision to invade Iraq, our longest serving senator, Robert Byrd of West Virginia, stood on the Senate floor asked: "Why is this chamber empty? Why are these halls silent?"

The decision that was then being considered by the Senate with virtually no meaningful debate turned out to be a fateful one. A few days ago, the former head of the National Security Agency, Retired Lt. General William Odom, said, "The invasion of Iraq, I believe, will turn out to be the greatest strategic disaster in U.S. history."

But whether you agree with his assessment or not, Senator Byrd's question is like the others that I have just posed here: he was saying, in effect, this is strange, isn't it? Aren't we supposed to have full and vigorous debates about questions as important as the choice between war and peace?

Those of us who have served in the Senate and watched it change over time, could volunteer an answer to Senator Byrd's two questions: the Senate was silent on the eve of war because Senators don't feel that what they say on the floor of the Senate really matters that much any more. And the chamber was empty because the Senators were somewhere else: they were in fundraisers collecting money from special interests in order to buy 30-second TVcommercials for their next re-election campaign.

. . . The US Press was recently found in a comprehensive international study to be only the 27th freest press in the world. And that too seems strange to me. . . .

The greatest source of hope for reestablishing a vigorous and accessible marketplace for ideas is the Internet. Indeed, Current TV relies on video streaming over the Internet as the means by which individuals send us what we call viewer-created content or VC squared. . . .

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Enver Masud, "Broadcasting Fairness Doctrine Promised Balanced Coverage," The Wisdom Fund, July 25, 1997

Jennifer Van Bergen, "The Twilight of Democracy: The Bush Plan for America," Common Courage Press (September 15, 2004)

Arianna Huffington, "Kafka Does Iraq: The Disturbing Case of Abdul Amir Younes Hussein," The Wisdom Fund, September 24, 2005

Robert Pear, "Buying of News by Bush's Aides Is Ruled Illegal," New York Times, October 1, 2005

Jennifer Van Bergen, "The Case of Dr. Dhafir," CounterPunch, October 7, 2005

Paul Craig Roberts, "The Police State Is Closer Than You Think," Antiwar.com, October 8, 2005

Norman Dombey, "Tell us who fabricated the Iraq evidence," Independent, October 9, 2005

Si Kahn, Elizabeth Minnich, "The Fox in the Henhouse: How Privatization Threatens Democracy," Berrett-Koehler Publishers (October 10, 2005)

Dana Milbank, "Colonel Finally Saw Whites of Their Eyes," Washington Post, October 20, 2005

"Canada, U.S. slip in Press Freedom Index," Associated Press, October 20, 2005

Lev Menand, "Leading Historian Says U.S. 'Empire' To Fail," Harvard Crimson, October 20, 2005

AUDIO/VIDEO: Robert Fisk, "War is the Total Failure of the Human Spirit," DemocracyNow, October 20, 2005

Lewis H. Lapham, "We Now Live in a Fascist State," Harper's Magazine, October 21, 2005

James Risen and Eric Lichtblau, "Bush Lets U.S. Spy on Callers Without Courts," New York Times, December 16, 2005

Eric Margolis, "Bush Promises Victory in Iraq - But for Whom?," lewrockwell.com, December 26, 2005

Ruth Conniff, "Impeachment Buzz," The Progressive, December 27, 2005

Paul Craig Roberts, "America's Moral Crisis, a History of Hitler's Secret Prisons and a Brief on the Illegality of Bush's War," CounterPunch.org, December 28, 2005

Editorial: "The Imperial Presidency at Work," New York Times, January 15, 2006

[Hitler used the Reichstag fire to create an atmosphere of crisis. Both the judicial and legislative branches of government collapsed, and Hitler's decrees became law. . . .

In this first decade of the 21st century the United States regards itself as a land of democracy and civil liberty but, in fact, is an incipient dictatorship. . . .

It is paradoxical that American democracy is the likely casualty of a "war on terror" that is being justified in the name of the expansion of democracy.--Paul Craig Smith "Tyrant in the White House," CounterPunch, January 16, 2006]

[A special counsel should immediately be appointed by the Attorney General to remedy the obvious conflict of interest that prevents him from investigating what many believe are serious violations of law by the President.--Al Gore, " America's Constitution is in grave danger," Salon.com, January 16, 2006]

[Two years ago, in a report entitled Democracy in an Age of Rising Inequality, the American Political Science Association concluded that progress toward realizing American deals of democracy "may have stalled, and even, in some areas, reversed." . . .

The following year, on the eve of President George W. Bush's second inauguration, the editors of The Economist, reporting on inequality in America, concluded that the United States "risks calcifying into a European-style, class-based society." . . .

But this crowd in charge has a vision sharply at odds with the American people. They would arrange Washington and the world for the convenience of themselves and the transnational corporations that pay for their elections. . . .

Until we offer qualified candidates a different source of funding for their campaigns - "clean," disinterested, accountable public money - the selling of America will go on.--Bill Moyers, "Restoring the Public Trust," tompaine.com, February 24, 2006]

[Sandra Day O'Connor, a Republican-appointed judge who retired last month after 24 years on the supreme court, has said the US is in danger of edging towards dictatorship if the party's rightwingers continue to attack the judiciary.--Julian Borger, "Former top judge says US risks edging near to dictatorship," Guardian, March 13, 2006]

[President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution.--Charlie Savage, "Bush challenges hundreds of laws," Boston Globe, April 30, 2006]

VIDEO: Aaron Russo, "AMERICA: FREEDOM TO FASCISM," May 31, 2006

Editorial: "Block the Vote," New York Times, May 30, 2006

Greg Palast, "How They Stole Ohio," buzzflash.com, June 1, 2006

[There are now 37 million Americans living in poverty, and at 12.7 percent of the population, it is the highest percentage in the developed world.--Paul Harris, "Wake up: the American Dream is over," Observer, June 8, 2006]

VIDEO: Alan Russo, "America - From Freedom to Fascism," 2006

Charlie Savage, "Takeover: The Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy: The Bush Plan for America," Little, Brown and Company (September 5, 2007)