Day: April 24, 2009

When Tennessee Rep. Marsha Blackburn confronted Al Gore with his profiteering from global warming legislation at today’s House Energy and Environment Subcommittee hearing on the Waxman-Markey climate bill, Al Gore said that every penny he ever made from his business activities went into non-profit efforts. [See transcript below.]

That is a flat-out lie, according to this March 6, 2008 Bloomberg report that indicates that Al Gore invested $35 million of his own money in various for-profit endeavors.

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore left the White House seven years ago with less than $2 million in assets, including a Virginia home and the family farm in Tennessee. Now he’s making enough to put $35 million in hedge funds and other private partnerships.

Gore invested the money with Capricorn Investment Group LLC, a Palo Alto, California, firm that selects the private funds for clients and invests in makers of environmentally friendly products, according to a Feb. 1 securities filing. Capricorn was founded by billionaire Jeffrey Skoll, former president of EBay Inc. and an executive producer of Gore’s Oscar-winning documentary film on global warming.

Kudos to Rep. Blackburn for asking one of the “10 Questions for Al Gore” and exposing Gore as the fundamentally dishonest operator that he is.

Here’s the transcript from the April 24, 2009 exchange between Al Gore and Rep. Blackburn. Note that not only does Al Gore lie to Rep. Blackburn, he tries to turn the tables by implicitly accusing her of being anti-business.

Rep. Blackburn: …You talked a little about [that] people have to have trust in what you’re doing and I think you know that this bill is going to fundamentally change the way America works and it’s going to effect families. We’ve all talked about how it affects individuals and what it’s going to do to their budgets and… ah… what it’s going to do to jobs in this country. And given the magnitude of those changes, I think it’s really important that no suspicion or shadow fall on the foremost advocates of climate change legislation. So I wanted to give you the opportunity to kind of clear the air about your motives and to set the record straight about your motives for some of your former constituents. And I’ve got an article from [the] October 8 [2008] New York Times Magazine about a firm called Kleiner Perkins… a capital firm called Kleiner Perkins. Are you aware of that company?

Al Gore: Well, yes. I’m a partner at Kleiner Perkins.

Rep. Blackburn: So you’re a partner in Kleiner Perkins. OK. Now they have invested about a billion dollars in 40 companies that are going to benefit from cap-and-trade legislation. So is the legislation that we are discussing here today, is that something that you are going to personally benefit from?

Al Gore: [Sigh]… I believe that the transition to a green economy is good for our economy and good for all of us. And I have invested in it. But every penny that I have made, I have put right into a nonprofit, the Alliance for Climate Protection, to spread awareness of why we have to take on this challenge. And, Congresswoman, if you’re… if you believe that the reason I have been working on this issue for 30 years is because of greed, you don’t know me.

Rep. Blackburn: No, sir, I’m not making accusations. I’m asking questions that have been asked of me. And individuals… constituents… that were seeking a point of clarity. So I am asking…

Al Gore: I understand exactly what you’re doing Congresswoman. Everybody here does.

Rep. Blackburn: Well, are you willing to divest yourself of any profit. Does all of it go to a not-for-profit. Is it an education not-for-profit?

Al Gore: Every penny that I have made has gone to it. Every penny from the movie, the book… uh… from any investments from renewable energy. I’ve been willing to put my money where my mouth is. Do you think there is something wrong with being active in business in this country?

Rep. Blackburn: I am simply asking for clarification on the relationship.

Al Gore: I’m proud of it. I’m proud of it.

Rep. Blackburn: Thank you and I appreciate the answer…

Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) pressed Al Gore about his connections to Goldman Sachs. Gore responded with a quizzical look in denying the charge.

But Gore’s partner in Generation Investment Management is David Blood, a former Goldman Sachs partner. Goldman Sachs is lobbying for global climate change. You draw the lines.

Gore then tried to defend himself by accusing Rep Scalise of engaging in “guilt by association.” Yeah, Gore never does that.

Thanks to Rep. Scalise for asking one of the “10 Questions for Al Gore.”

Al Gore testified today that climate skeptics are like those who deny that the moon landing occurred.

Kudos to Rep. Scalise (R-LA) for pressing Gore on the science.

Al Gore suggested that future generations will ask: What were they [us[ thinking? Why did they listen to “outlier quacks who got money from carbon polluters?”

Will any congressman ask Al Gore these 10 questions about his financial interests in global warming?

Although former Virginia Sen. John Warner is testifying alongside Al Gore today in favor of the Waxman-Markey climate bill, he admitted that he hadn’t read the bill — earning him the Green Hell ‘Useful Idiot of the Day’ Award.

Al Gore said today that the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) “represents the global scientific community.”

How about the 31,000-plus scientists who signed a petition calling global warming junk science?

Rep. Greg Walden (R-WI) observed today that the Waxman-Markey bill would result in the end of the production of energy from forest biomass.

Al Gore defended the bill and downplayed the value of biomass.

When Rep. Walden tried to press Gore, Committee Chairman Ed Markey (D-Kennedyland) then gaveled him silent.

Al Gore said at today’s hearing that the cost of global warming legislation would be, at most, $0.30 per day — about the “cost of a postage stamp per day,” he said. He then said that global warming regulation could even save people money.

Rep. Greg Walden (R-WI) pointed out that Al Gore’s estimate came from an EPA report that assumed that nuclear power would grown by 150 percent — but nuclear power is not mentioned in the Waxman-Markey bill, which is the subject of the hearing.

Al Gore testified today that cap-and-trade is the “first step to a global agreement” on climate. Useful idiot, former Republican Sen. John Warner, chimed in that the Waxman-Markey bill would be important as a “beachhead” on global warming regulation.

Al Gore told Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) today that the climate skeptics are like Bernie Madoff in that they are “perpetrating a fraud” on the public.

Al Gore says the skeptics are the “Bernie Madoffs of global warming” and that they are “lying to make money.”

House Energy and Commerce Committee Hearing Update:

Al Gore ducked talking about talking about nuclear power as a solution to carbon emissions by saying something to the effect that, “I don’t want to take up the Committee’s time by talking about nuclear power.”

This wasn’t exactly true as Gore then said he supported nuclear power but then went on to scare the Committee about nuclear proliferation (i.e., Iran and North Korea).