The Assault on The Assault on Reason (in reason)
Al Gore's book tour is a success: He's attracting boisterous protests worthy of a presidential bid. From the right:
Not everyone at the event was a fan of the former vice president. Before the speech started, several members of Freedomworks.org protested Gore's endorsement of regulatory policies, as well as his own energy use.
"We're trying to highlight his hypocrisy in the size of his own carbon footprint, as opposed to other Americans," said Brendan Steinhauser, one of the protestors.
And from the Planet Ork:
Later, during the question and answer session, a follower of Lyndon LaRouche, a frequent but outsider candidate for the presidency, began yelling accusations at Gore before he was escorted away by security. Carla Cohen, the founder of Politics & Prose, a District bookstore, took a minute to respond to the protestor.
"I think that when you yell something like that, it's really an assault on reason," Cohen said.
For those of you who don't live in Washington, the LaRouche crowd swarms outside the Foggy Bottom/GWU metro stop from time to time, and they occasionally send a drone into an event like this.
Friend-of-Reason (and America) Robert Stacy McCain has another report, with more details:
At one point hecklers took over the event, shouting something about "hedge funds" and "genocide in Africa" at Gore as he attempted to take pre-screened questions.
Weak. Did the LaRouchies peak with their heckling of 2004 Nader running mate Peter Camejo? I quote:
"You put Gorgias to shame," he said. "Your sophism is what Plato documented to have destroyed Athens. It's these clever lies and manipulative psychological tricks that the Sophists used to destroy Athens—and you know what I'm talking about."
I want to hear how Gore'd react to that. Or Hillary, for that matter. (I can guess: "As a mother, Gorgias was very important to me…")
