The DC-based Competitive Enterprise Institute desperately wants to remain relevant in the global warming discussion, and has fallen back to some good old fashioned Gore-bashing to do so.
At a press conference yesterday, the CEI released a new ad campaign trying (again) to discredit action on global warming, by trying (again) to discredit the work of vice-president Al Gore.
You can check out the CEI‘s ads here – you’ll find they’re nothing more than a rehash of information long since made irrelevant. For example, the CEI claims that Mr. Gore’s home uses 20 times more energy than the average home, which is simply untrue, and it takes only a quick google search to find this Oct, 2007 CNN story stating:
Al Gore, who was criticized for high electric bills at his Tennessee mansion, has completed a host of improvements to make the home more energy efficient, and a building-industry group has praised the house as one of the nation’s most environmentally friendly.” Either the “think” tankers at the CEI are not familiar with Google, or, more likely, they’re willing to ignore the facts in an attempt to remain a relevant player on global warming in free-market, right-wing circles.
The CEI has been in a tail spin ever since its funding from oil-giant ExxonMobil was cut off quite publicly last year. Then there was the CEI‘s last embarrassing attempt at a television ad campaign.
And what better way for a right-wing think tank to pull out of a tailspin then to bash Al Gore.
They know that a little Gore bashing (no matter how inaccurate) is a sure-fire way to put them back in the good graces of the conservative cadre and hopefully get a few dollars from their fossil fuel friends.
Check out ThinkProgress for another take on the CEI ad campaign.
