City Journal reports:
California billionaire Tom Steyer may be the biggest player in this year’s congressional elections—and, some charge, the biggest hypocrite. Steyer has vowed to use his NextGen Climate PAC to spend as much as $100 million to boost Democrats around the country who oppose the Keystone XL pipeline and support alternative-energy measures to combat climate change. But Steyer, the former CEO of the Farallon investment firm, made much of his fortune from the coal, oil, and gas industries that he now targets.The Democrat party update.
Steyer may be mulling a run for governor after Jerry Brown finishes his almost-certain next term—and California, with its aggressive Air Resources Board and alternative-energy mandates, would seem to be friendly territory for Steyer’s political aspirations. But the reality is more complicated. Steyer is a frequent critic of the conservative Koch brothers, who, he alleges, use their political muscle to improve their bottom line. But Steyer’s critics say that he’s becoming a left-wing version of the Kochs. His political activism, they suggest, will likely help Farallon, which operates a competitor to the Keystone XL. Steyer retired as CEO in 2012 but hasn’t divested from all his energy holdings, though he has promised to do so from his tar sands and coal holdings.
