A DIFFERENT KIND OF INCONVENIENT TRUTH?

Al Gore's global warming movie "An Inconvenient Truth" won an Oscar last night. Tonight some of Gore's political fans hope it spurs him to run for the presidency in '08.

But a right-wing policy group in Tennessee thinks it has found another kind of inconvenient truth for Gore to deal with.

In an op-ed piece today at Chattanoogan.com, the Tennesse Center for Policy Research acuses Gore of using more electricity each month to power his Nashville mansion than the average household uses in a year, while at the same time imploring Americans to conserve.

"The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh -- more than 20 times the national average. Last August alone, Gore burned through 22,619 kWh -- guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year. As a result of his energy consumption, Gore's average monthly electric bill topped $1,359. -- Drew Johnson, Tennessee Center for Policy Research as quoted by Chattanoogan.com

In the piece quotes Johnson claims to get his statistics on Gore's use from utility company Nashville Electric Service. We have attempted to contact the utility via e-mail, but since our inquiry came after hours we haven't heard back yet to confirm the source of the information.

The Tennesse Center for Policy Research calls itself "an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan research organization committed to achieving a freer, more prosperous Tennessee through free market policy solutions."

The "free market solutions" phrase would indicate it might be a conservative think tank with an motive to take on Gore. Checking the group's "about us" page you find a rather conservative agenda.

• Generate economic growth through reduced tax and regulatory burdens on individuals and businesses


• Create unmatched educational opportunity by empowering parents, students and teachers with choices and opportunities


• Advance healthcare solutions that restore dignity and encourage personal responsibility


• Identify opportunities to reduce cost and increase efficiency in all levels of government


• Reflect the Founding Fathers’ vision of a free society grounded in property rights and individual liberty based in personal responsibility

With that buzz-word-laden description of its goals it's hard to imagine the group is "nonpartisan" and is not grinding a political axe here. But, then again, they seem to have the goods on Gore in this case.