For those who complain that the GOP is the party of the rich, consider this: according to OpenSecrets.org, in the 2013-2014 electoral cycle, the leading individual political donor in the nation was billionaire Tom Steyer, the leftist hardliner, joined by his wife, who gave a staggering $20.4 million to Democratic and leftist causes.
That figure was more than double the second-highest donor, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who gave 95% of his roughly $9.5 million in donations to Democrats and leftist causes.
We’re not done yet; the third highest donor was Fred Eychaner, who gave 100% of his 5.8 million to Democrats and leftist causes.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Steyer, 57, a board member of the environmental activist group Next Generation, donated a whopping $21.9 million to Proposition 39 in 2012, a proposition closing tax loopholes for multistate corporations. In 2014, Steyer intends to use his super PAC NextGen Climate Action to spend up to $100 million on climate change issues and candidates who support them.
Sabrina Lockhart, communications director for Californians Against Higher Oil Taxes, pointed out, “It makes sense that a billionaire who can afford to dump millions to play in politics is willing to ‘spend what it takes’ to make energy costs soar for hard-working Californians. After all, he’s already promised to ‘penalize’ those who don’t agree with his out-of-touch agenda.”
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