Gore Skewers Bradley Health Insurance Plan

WASHINGTON —  Vice President Al Gore branded rival Bill Bradley a “left-of-center insurgent” and his plan for universal health insurance a “throwback to an earlier generation” before Democratic lawmakers accepted the discipline of balanced budgets.

The attacks marked a slight change in tactics for Gore, who has frequently questioned whether the former senator from New Jersey has been a loyal Democrat, noting he voted for spending cuts promoted by President Reagan. But in an interview with the Associated Press, Gore suggested that Bradley leans too far to the left.

Clearly feeling the squeeze of Bradley’s rise in polls, Gore offered his harshest assessment yet of Bradley’s $65-billion plan to eliminate Medicaid and give poor people subsidies to obtain health insurance.

Gore said Bradley would have to raise taxes or go “deeply into deficits” to pay for the plan. Bradley has said he would use the budget surplus to pay for the health plan as well as plans to improve access to preschool and to combat childhood poverty. Bradley has described the initiatives as not only necessary but also a moral obligation.

Gore, meeting with AP editors and reporters Friday, said: “The Democratic Party has gained a lot of credit with voters over the last seven years for accepting fiscal responsibility. . . . It means paying attention to what happens to the budget surplus and not squandering it.”

Gore defended his “stay and fight” slogan, which implies Bradley is a quitter for leaving the Senate in 1997 after Republicans gained a majority in Congress.

Gore said the difference between Bradley and other Democratic senators who left that year, including four whose endorsements Gore now trumpets, is that, unlike Bradley, the others “are not running for president and they’re not saying that they’re left-of-center insurgents that represent the true spirit of the Democratic Party.”

Bradley has refrained from attacking Gore, saying voters are tired of negative campaigning. Bradley said Saturday that “common sense and willing to think long term” best describe his philosophy on issues such as health care.

As for Gore’s barbs, the former professional basketball player said: “I’m also a competitor and been in enough games and competition to know you can take the elbows only so many times.”