Gore: Today's GOP leadership 'extreme'

WASHINGTON, March 25 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore says the current Republican majority in the House of Representatives echoes "the dark days of the Bush administration."

In a fundraising letter for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Gore asked Democratic activists to contribute to House Democrats' races to provide a check on the "extreme elements in control of today's Republican Party," The Hill reported.

"Not since the dark days of the (George W.) Bush administration have we seen a Republican-controlled Congress that is so intent on pushing (its) agenda in Washington -- protecting tax breaks for oil companies making record profits, attempting to roll back environmental regulations, and not only refusing to pass climate change legislation in any form but refusing to acknowledge that climate change even exists," Gore wrote.

The former presidential candidate, who lost to Bush in the controversial 2000 election, said the DCCC was trying to raise $1 million from grassroots activists before the March 31 quarterly fundraising deadline, The Hill reported Thursday.

"The world is watching our fundraising totals as a measure of our grassroots strength and ability to take on the special interests so we can win back the House for Democrats," he wrote.