Republicans are hammering away at Tom Steyer, the California Democrat billionaire and political supporter, for his financial support of liberal pro-environment candidates while he owned a hedge fund invested in coal mines overseas; his unpopular political ties; and his attacks on fossil fuel in this country.
The Republican Governors Association (RGA) and the super PAC American Crossroads and its sister group Crossroads GPS, have taken precise aim at climate change activist and hedge-fund investor Steyer, and the Crossroads groups have come out with a series of hard-hitting political ads,
according to The Washington Post.
While neither Steyer nor the billionaire Kochs are running for office, the battle of the attack ads against them is heating up.
Steyer's group, NextGen Climate Action Committee, has annoyed and threatened Republicans with the injection of millions into Senate contests in an effort to influence the November midterm elections, much like Charles and David Koch have done to Democrats with their Americans for Prosperity group, the Post reports.
The RGA has launched a new website slamming Steyer as a "political hypocrite" and calling him "Steyer the liar," also calling attention to his close ties to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat.
The website,
www.meettomsteyer.com, lists anti-Steyer articles and attacks his opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline and other causes close to conservative hearts.
Steyer,
The New York Times has reported, has pledged to spend $100 million in Senate races in Iowa, New Hampshire, Colorado, and Michigan; and governors' races in Pennsylvania, Florida, and Maine.
He can no doubt afford it —
Forbes magazine lists Steyer, 57, as having a personal fortune of $1.6 billion.
For example, an American Crossroads ad opposing Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley of Iowa, in his run for Senate, states, "Now, a California billionaire who stands to profit by blocking Keystone is spending big to help Braley's campaign," and uses Steyer's photo.
The Republican Governors Association website slaps Steyer with claims that while he is a strong proponent of environmental causes, his Farallon Capital Management fund, which he left in 2012 to focus on environmental politics, is heavily invested in overseas coal mines.
After Farallon bought land in the San Francisco's Mission Bay neighborhood for development, "Pelosi, who has been on the receiving end of donations from Steyer and his family, announced $942 million in federal funds to establish a transportation link between Mission Bay and downtown San Francisco,"
The Daily Signal reported.
Oregon Live notes that Steyer's NextGen is spending serious money to influence state-level elections in both Washington and Oregon.
However, given the voters' lack of familiarity with Steyer and, in fact, the Koch brothers, The Washington Post concludes, "There simply isn't much evidence to suggest that any of this will influence voters' thinking significantly enough to affect any outcomes this fall."
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