"Former Vice President Al Gore blamed Republicans’ fear of crossing the mega-donor Koch brothers for the GOP's skepticism on climate change.

Gore, during an interview Monday, said it is not "complicated why they have all been cowed into abandoning" their position on the issue, asserting that Republicans fear facing opponents financed by billionaires Charles and David Koch, who have poured millions into the midterm elections this year.

"Anyone who wants to set his or her aspirations on the Republican nomination for the presidency in 2016 already knows that they can't possibly cross the Koch brothers and the others that are part of the group," Gore said Monday during a discussion at the University of Chicago."

Mario Trujillo reports for The Hill May 13, 2014. [2]