Tom Steyer is not really an environmentalist billionaire, seeking to stand up for his values on the topic of climate change. He’s a deeply partisan Democrat, who’s willing to forgive and overlook past stances and votes of his preferred party in ways he never would for a Republican lawmaker.
In Iowa, NextGen will back Representative Bruce Braley, a Democratic candidate for the Senate who voted for a House climate change bill in 2009. The group will attack Mr. Braley’s potential Republican opponents, State Senator Joni Earnst or Mark Jacobs, a former electric energy company executive, by criticizing claims they have made questioning climate science.
Here’s Democratic representative Bruce Braley, the man they’re trying to help elect, April 8, 2012:
“I’m encouraged that this bill will help expedite the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. The pipeline project is an opportunity to create thousands of jobs in Iowa and the Midwest and reduce our dependence on Middle Eastern oil. Environmental concerns must be addressed, and this bill provides an avenue to air those concerns to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Keystone XL has attracted rare bipartisan support because of the enormous economic benefits it will provide. It should move forward quickly once it’s approved.”
Of course, in 2013, Braley suddenly flip-flopped and voted against a Keystone bill that was identical to the one he had previously voted for in committee a month earlier.
Perhaps Braley realized he wanted Steyer’s assistance for his Senate ambitions.