Media Disguise Liberal Billionaire Steyer As ‘Climate Change Crusader’
Table of Contents:
- Media Disguise Liberal Billionaire Steyer As ‘Climate Change Crusader’
- Double Standard: Making Tons of Money from Coal While Campaigning Against It
- Tom Steyer: The Man, The Myth
- California’s Green Energy Opportunist
- Nextgen Climate: Steyer’s Political Juggernaut
- Steyer’s Political Bankrolling
- Network Coverage of Steyer is Almost Nonexistent, But Watch Out For Kochs
- Methodology
The New York Times called Steyer “the most influential environmentalist in American politics,” in a July 5, 2014, article. The same article showed just how seriously Steyer takes his political funding. “The goal here is not to win. The goal here is to destroy these people. We want a smashing victory,” Steyer said of candidates he judges to be on the wrong side of the climate change debate.”
The biggest contributor to the 2014 election cycle, Steyer outspent other donors on both sides of the aisle with a grand total of $73.8 million, but he still works hard to put up a facade of being a normal guy.
But even that was less than Steyer had initially planned on spending. Sometime earlier this year, Steyer’s team had promised that Nextgen Climate would raise $100 million in the 2014 election cycle -- half coming from Steyer himself and half coming from outside donors. But when the PAC only managed to raise $2 million, Steyer denied knowing where that number came from, telling the Los Angeles Times on Oct. 12 that he blamed “"somebody I don't know who has never owned up to it." However, the Times noted that “[a]ctually, Steyer's political strategists suggested the sum, both in public and private.” This $100 million number was widely repeated by major news outlets like The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times, without any protest from Steyer until it became obvious that the goal wouldn’t be reached by election day.
Steyer’s goal was “to be the man who saved the world,” according to a Men’s Journal article from March 2014. Messianic dreams don’t fit well with an “every-man” image.
Every-man or wannabe deity, he’s just beginning to make himself well known. The San Francisco Gate noted that Steyer’s political involvement “is sure to fuel speculation the former Farallon Capital Management hedge fund manager is laying the groundwork for a political run in California, but he denies such plans. They weren’t the only major news outlet to push that theory.
“‘Actually, that isn’t the way I see it,” Steyer said, “[t]here’s no hidden agenda here.”
His political bankrolling isn’t limited to Nextgen Climate either. Steyer has also given $3.9 million to the liberal think tank Center for American Progress, an investment also popular with with prominent liberal billionaire George Soros, who has given $8,067,186.
Steyer’s support has paid off for him more than once. His friendship with CAP founder and former president John Podesta got him and Soros access to a meeting to advise Podesta on the White House’s environmental policy.
Podesta is currently the counselor to President Obama, and Steyer sits on the board of directors for CAP. Huffington Post called CAP “the mothership” for “Obama’s 2012 Campaign Cavalry,” a moniker which CAP proudly accepted in its annual report.
Steyer and his brother were also frequent guests at the White House. According to White House visitor logs, since 2010 Tom Steyer has visited the White House 13 times, his brother, James has visited at least 10 times.
Steyer’s donations to now-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s campaign ended up paying off when Pelosi spearheaded a $1 billion light rail project in San Francisco which dramatically increased the value of Farallon property in the city. According to The Washington Times, “The city of San Francisco chipped in with taxpayer dollars to fund the redevelopment as part of a “public-private partnership” with the Farallon subsidiaries.”
The New York Times on Oct. 19, 2014, talked with Kat Taylor about those who accused Steyer of being at the center of a network of liberal groups. Even the Times admitted that these accusations were provable.
In the 2014 election cycle alone, Steyer has given $5,500,000 to the Democrat Senate Majority PAC. He was primarily focused on seven hotly contested states. They included:
Florida: $12,000,000
Colorado: $5,947,600
Iowa: $3,516,685
Pennsylvania: $1,425,000
New Hampshire: $3,148,272
Maine: $1,000,000
Michigan: $3,757,393
In past election cycles, Steyer gave to dozens of liberal politicians, including:
Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.): $2,400
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.): $5,000
Sen. HiIlary Clinton (D-N.Y.)n: $8,800
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.): $4,800
Democratic National Committee: $195,100
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee: $191,000
