Gore Campaign Hits Beantown

BOSTON--More than 2,000 cheering, chanting supporters--and a handful of protesters--greeted Vice President Al Gore '69 during a rally outside Faneuil Hall Saturday morning.

Amid a sea of red and blue signs, Gore pledged to fight for civil rights, health care reform and environmental protection and charged that his Republican opponents would turn back the clock.

"The GOP should be hesitant and sheepish to recommend that we abandon what was working and return to what failed," he said.

Gore focused criticism on the presumptive Republican nominee, Texas Gov. George W. Bush, but never mentioned his Democratic rival, former Sen. Bill Bradley.

Noting that abolitionist Frederick Douglass spoke at Faneuil Hall, the vice president promised to combat discrimination and advocate for working class people.

"Our primary campaign here in Massachusetts may be coming to a close, but our fight for the working families of this country has only just begun," he said.

Massachusetts will vote tomorrow along with 12 other states, including New York and California.

Over the weekend Gore visited cities in Rhode Island, New York and Florida in addition to his appearance in Massachusetts, according to Alex Zaroulis, the campaign's New England communications director.

Zaroulis said the rally in Boston exceeded the campaign's expectations and proved to be very successful.

"We were expecting between 1,000 and 1,500 people, and over 2,000 showed up," she said. "The crowd was extremely excited as Gore demonstrated his excitement in the campaign."

On the platform Gore was surrounded by a multitude of local and national Democrats.

He was flanked by Senators Edward M. Kennedy '54-'56 and John Kerry, Boston mayor Thomas M. Menino, members of Congress and local elected officials.

Supporters spoke about their reasons for supporting Gore as the Democratic candidate.

Matthew I. Tomey '03, who attended several rallies in New Hampshire, said he admired Gore's support staff.

"Having the support of both senators and so many elected representatives was very impressive," Tomey said. "And the enthusiasm of the crowd was great. We expect him to win easily in the primary on Tuesday."

Major polls show Gore comfortably leading Bradley in Massachusetts and across the country.

Before Gore's appearance, while no speeches were being made, students took the stage and led the rally in chants. Three Harvard students participated in leading the rally on stage, while several other Harvard students helped organize Saturday's event.

According to Marcie B. Bianco '02, who appeared on stage, about 65 Harvard students attended the rally.

Bianco, who is state coordinator of Students for Gore, said that Harvard Democrats and students all across the state have been working hard to support Gore throughout the campaign.

She said the support he received in Boston was exhilarating.

"Gore did a fantastic job in bringing out support during the rally," Bianco said. "His campaign seems to have hit a stride. He's gotten accustomed to stepping up and being the leader, as opposed to second-in-command. He's got a winning effort."

Participants in the rally, which lasted about three hours, were entertained by Overdraft, a band that played throughout the morning and led the crowd in supportive chants.

But the event was disrupted by a group of protesters after Gore's speech, who broke into chants of "No blood and Gore for oil!"

The protesters claimed Gore owns stock in an oil company, Occidental Petroleum, that drills in Colombia, and they claim is unfriendly to the environment and the local Colombian population.

Douglass K. Hansen, a sophomore at Tufts University and a member of Tufts' Coalition for Social Justice, participated in the protest.

"Gore promises to promote environmental issues, but his ownership of this stock shows a lack of understanding and compassion about what's going on," Hansen said.

The Gore campaign refused to comment on the protest.

Shouts from the protesters were only heard for about 15 minutes after Gore's speech before they dispersed.

Vali D. Chandrasekaran '03, a Gore supporter who volunteered for the rally, said the disruption did not hamper excitement about Gore's visit.

"While we support free speech, attempting to override others' expression of speech seems ridiculous," Chandrasekaran said. "People were there to hear Gore, and that's who we heard and supported."

Bianco and other Harvard students said they were excited to be invited on stage to stand next to Gore.

"That Gore invited students on the stage with him demonstrates that education is one of his priorities," said Deborah A. Gist, a student at the Kennedy School of Government who also stood on the platform.

"[Gore] believes that students are a core part of his campaign," Bianco said. "We will continue to work hard until Tuesday to continue getting support and reminding people to get out and vote in the primary."