mad cow
11-11-2013, 05:09 PM
Tom Steyer is Virginia’s $8 million man.
The California billionaire spent nearly that much from his personal fortune to make an example of Republican Ken Cuccinelli for his arch-conservative views on the environment.
What unfolded in the ensuing months was an overwhelming flood of spending from the coffers of a single donor determined to inject climate into a race in which state education and transportation issues, and a federal government shutdown, almost certainly played a more decisive role. Steyer paid for $3.1 million in TV advertising, $1.2 million in digital ads, 12 different pieces of campaign mail, a field program that hit 62,000 households on get-out-the-vote weekend and even a Cuccinelli impersonator who showed up at public events carrying a briefcase of mock cash to attack the Republican’s ethics.
During the final three months of the race, POLITICO had extensive behind-the-scenes access to Steyer’s shadow campaign. Along with the smaller seven-figure sum Steyer spent in a Massachusetts special election earlier this year, his Virginia campaign represents a down payment on a sustained effort to defeat Republicans who question climate science — and activate voters who want government action on climate change.
Indeed, Steyer and his advisers say this is only the beginning. He has established himself in short order as the closest thing Democrats have to the Adelsons or the even deeper-pocketed conservatives Charles and David Koch. In other words, an individual with essentially boundless resources who is determined to force change upon politicians through the aggressive use of his checkbook.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/tom-steyer-virginia-election-2013-climate-change-99611.html#ixzz2kNgzu1GmLots more at link.
Global Warming supporting billionaires from 3,000 miles away FTW!
Looking forward to his 2014 election donations.
The California billionaire spent nearly that much from his personal fortune to make an example of Republican Ken Cuccinelli for his arch-conservative views on the environment.
What unfolded in the ensuing months was an overwhelming flood of spending from the coffers of a single donor determined to inject climate into a race in which state education and transportation issues, and a federal government shutdown, almost certainly played a more decisive role. Steyer paid for $3.1 million in TV advertising, $1.2 million in digital ads, 12 different pieces of campaign mail, a field program that hit 62,000 households on get-out-the-vote weekend and even a Cuccinelli impersonator who showed up at public events carrying a briefcase of mock cash to attack the Republican’s ethics.
During the final three months of the race, POLITICO had extensive behind-the-scenes access to Steyer’s shadow campaign. Along with the smaller seven-figure sum Steyer spent in a Massachusetts special election earlier this year, his Virginia campaign represents a down payment on a sustained effort to defeat Republicans who question climate science — and activate voters who want government action on climate change.
Indeed, Steyer and his advisers say this is only the beginning. He has established himself in short order as the closest thing Democrats have to the Adelsons or the even deeper-pocketed conservatives Charles and David Koch. In other words, an individual with essentially boundless resources who is determined to force change upon politicians through the aggressive use of his checkbook.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/tom-steyer-virginia-election-2013-climate-change-99611.html#ixzz2kNgzu1GmLots more at link.
Global Warming supporting billionaires from 3,000 miles away FTW!
Looking forward to his 2014 election donations.