Gore, Back in Political Game, Takes Swipe at Bush
Wednesday, March 13, 2002
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Vice President Al Gore, appearing at the first of what he promised would be many fund-raisers for Democratic congressional candidates, took a swipe on Tuesday at White House tax and environmental policies and said Democrats must keep the Bush administration in check.
Gore, wading back into the political wars after his bitter presidential defeat in 2000, guaranteed Democrats would gain a House seat in his home state of Tennessee and possibly pick up a Senate seat in the November elections.
He said Democratic control of the House, where Republicans now have a six-seat margin of power, and the Senate, where Democrats rule by one vote, would help keep a leash on the Republican-controlled executive branch.
"The principle of checks and balances ... is something every American ought to be thinking about during this campaign season," he said at a $500 per person fund-raiser for Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Richard Neal.
He criticized the $1.35 trillion tax cut championed by President Bush, which he said was "so inequitably distributed," and questioned White House environmental policies and proposals to build smaller, easier-to-use nuclear weapons.
"Even if you think there are some of those things you might agree with, you can certainly see that our founders were wise to say, 'OK, let's don't let too much power be put in the hands of a small group'," Gore said.
Gore, who narrowly lost the presidential race to Bush in 2000 after a five-week post-election recount battle in Florida, has slowly begun to emerge from relative political isolation in recent weeks.
He formed a political action committee recently to raise money to help congressional Democrats and has appeared at occasional committee fund-raisers. The appearance for Neal was his first on behalf of an individual candidate.
Neal was one of Gore's early supporters in his presidential bid and led a bus caravan of 200 Massachusetts volunteers to help go door-to-door in the New Hampshire primary during the Gore campaign's initial stages.
"I hope you are going to continue in politics," Neal told Gore at the fund-raiser.
Gore, part of a large potential field of Democratic presidential candidates in 2004, is expected to decide after the November elections whether to make another White House run.
He predicted at least a one-seat gain for House Democrats in his home state of Tennessee in November, telling those in attendance that "you can put that in the bank." He also said Democrats might be able to retake his old Senate seat, replacing retiring Republican Sen. Fred Thompson, although he said that would be "a harder-fought battle."
"I'm going to be campaigning from one end of this country to the other to elect Democrats to the House and Senate," Gore said.
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