The Democrats’ billionaire money man says he wants to debate Charles and David Koch, the billionaire brothers who fund conservative causes and run Koch Industries.
“They’ve gone into the pages of the Wall Street Journal to say that there’s a lack of free and open debate in the United States political system,” hedge fund billionaire Tom Steyer said on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” Friday night. “So yes, I would very much like the Koch brothers to come on to your show, if you were willing to have us all together.”
“I’d be very happy to go through with them our ideas,” Steyer continued. “They can do a nice two-on-one, so they can have the advantage. I have the advantage of the facts. They can have the advantage of the numbers. And let’s really understand what the right energy policy should be for the 21st century.”
Earlier this year, Steyer declared that his super PAC — NextGen Climate Action — would donate $100 million to Democrats who support policies he believes would help stop global warming, such as opposing the completion of the Keystone Pipeline. Of the $100 million, Steyer has indicated he is willing to contribute $50 million or more of his own fortune. (READ: 13 facts about Tom Steyer, the Democrats’ $100 million moneyman)
While Steyer believes he has “the facts” on his side, the Washington Post doesn’t think that’s always true. The Post’s fact checker gave an ad Steyer’s super PAC ran earlier this year on the Keystone Pipeline “4 Pinocchios,” its worse rating.
“The Fact Checker takes no position on whether the Keystone pipeline would be good or bad, but this ad does not even meet the minimal standards for such political attack ads,” the Post wrote of the ad. “It relies on speculation, not facts, to make insinuations and assertions not justified by the reality.”
Steyer has previously accused David Koch of being evil.
Because of his conservative activism, Steyer said, David Koch is ”taking the most incredible risk that I’ve ever seen someone take, of going down in history as just an evil – just a famously evil – person!”