Some Progressives Cry Foul as Tom Steyer Likely to Qualify for Next Dem Debate
“DNC donor requirement may have been added with the right intentions, but there’s no doubt it’s created a situation where billionaires can buy their way onto the debate stage”
Tom Steyer, the west coast billionaire obsessed with impeaching President Donald Trump, recently announced his 2020 bid for president. To the shock of many, he has met the fundraising goal to appear in the next Democratic primary debate.
Although he still has to meet the polling requirement, some people on the left believe he used his wealth to satisfy the donor threshold.
Montana Governor Steve Bullock has been one of the louder critics.
Todd Shepherd writes at the Washington Free Beacon:
Steyer Meets Debate’s Donor Requirement, Draws Complaints From Left
Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer and his team announced Tuesday his campaign reached 130,000 individual donors, one of the critical benchmarks that candidates must reach to make the next debate one month from now.
If Steyer can reach the other requirement — to poll at 2 percent in four qualifying polls — which seems likely given his recent rise in a number of nationwide surveys, he will become the tenth candidate to qualify for the September debates.
The announcement drew swift criticism from fellow Democrats, many of whom accused the California billionaire of buying his way into qualifying.
“The DNC donor requirement may have been added with the right intentions, but there’s no doubt it’s created a situation where billionaires can buy their way onto the debate stage, and campaigns are forced to spend millions on digital ads chasing one dollar donors – not talking directly to donors,” Montana governor Steve Bullock said in a prepared statement.
Steve Bullock responds to Tom Steyer making the debate stage pic.twitter.com/1CWpiz4Pw8
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) August 13, 2019
Paul Steinhauser of FOX News has a response from Steyer:
Steyer campaign manager Heather Hargreaves highlighted that “fewer than half of Tom’s donations came from advertising. Writing off the support of thousands of Democratic voters who are responding to Tom’s message isn’t the way to beat Trump in 2020, no matter what you think about the DNC’s criteria.”
Since launching his presidential campaign, Steyer’s spent millions of his own money to win a spot on the stage. He’s done that through television commercials on national cable networks such as CNN and MSNBC and flooding the local airwaves in Iowa and New Hampshire – the first two states to vote in the nominating calendar – with ads. He’s also spent heavily on direct mail, filling up the mailboxes of Democratic and independent voters.
That isn’t sitting well with everyone:
Tom Steyer spent $2.9 million in 30 days on Facebook ads begging for $1 donations. As of Aug. 11, he is spending $140K per day. Remember when Dems blamed Facebook for subverting democracy? They turned around and devised a system that is enriching Facebook at preposterous levels
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) August 13, 2019
Tom Steyer successfully bought himself 130,000 unique donors and may now qualify for the debates, which would make a mockery of the DNC’s entire system
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) August 13, 2019
California TV is bombarded with relentless Tom Steyer ads.
He has the gall to start most of them with “I started a tiny investment business…”
The guy worked at Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, then got lucky selling risky hedge funds and got rich off fossil fuels.
HARD PASS.
— Pat the Berner? (@PatTheBerner) August 13, 2019
Tom Steyer running for president & not using that $100 million dollars to fund a massive voter registration campaign makes absolutely no sense. https://t.co/1sNJZx5D1Y
— Clint Smith (@ClintSmithIII) August 13, 2019
Edward-Isaac Dovere of the liberal journal The Atlantic suggests Steyer is gaming the DNC’s system:
The DNC Debate Rules Are a Game
Qualifying for the Democratic debates has become a game, and Tom Steyer has more than enough money to play it. In the span of five weeks, the San Francisco–based billionaire activist has channeled millions of dollars of his own money into trying to win a spot on the stage in September. If the effort works—and he’s getting close—Steyer could beat out many major candidates who have been running for president for months.
One major investment: His campaign bought 8 million voter files compiled by the group Need to Impeach and is renting data from NexGen America, two advocacy organizations that Steyer himself founded and still funds. The move gives his team access to information on scores of people. But his ability to get this close to qualifying so quickly is also a reflection of the system set up this cycle by the Democratic National Committee.
By telling candidates they need a minimum of 130,000 donors to compete at the next debates, the party has compelled campaigns to devote significant energy to persuading voters to donate minuscule amounts of money so the candidates can make the stage—money that’s not necessarily representative of voters’ genuine support. With just two weeks to go before the August 28 cutoff date for qualifying, well-established senators and governors are on the verge of being locked out even as unconventional candidates are allowed in.
Democrats got into trouble with their own base for appearing to rig the primary in 2016. If Steyer makes it into the next debate, they run the risk of appearing to allow others to do the same.
There’s no easy way out of this for them.
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Comments
“Democrats got into trouble with their own base for appearing to rig the primary in 2016. If Steyer makes it into the next debate, they run the risk of appearing to allow others to do the same.
There’s no easy way out of this for them.”
Sure there is – #WalkAway =)
“If it’s Democrat, It’s Rigged!”
He is perfect for the Democrats. A child playing with dynamite.
I don’t know. Beware of Geeks bearing grifts.
Room for one more clown in that itty bitty car?
If this keeps-up, they are going to need a bigger itty-bitty car.
The power to control other people as POTUS attracts sociopaths of all types just as my porch light attracts moths and other annoying insects.
It’s funny when monkeys throw their poop at each other.
Talks cheap take money to buy a spot at the debate.
The last thing in the world the democrats are is democratic.
“…it’s created a situation where billionaires can buy their way onto the debate stage”
As opposed to mere millionaires.
“MrSatyre | August 14, 2019 at 12:17 pm
“…it’s created a situation where billionaires can buy their way onto the debate stage”
As opposed to mere millionaires.”
For those of you tuning in from the Roman Empire, millionaires can only qualify to be Senators and hold Legatus rank, whilst billionaires can buy the Imperator office.
There’s no easy way out of this for them.
He could be Epsteined.
Three years in and Dems are still quacking about impeachment – moreso since the Mueller embarrassment.
Does it ever occur to them continued impeachment talk effectively admits they view Trump as unbeatable – or they lack faith in the field of Dem candidates to challenge, much less beat Trump? Or will the impeachment zealots pivot at some point and refer to the election in 2020 as an ‘impeachment by the people’? And would Dem voters be smart enough to see that for what it is – their gutless leaders saying in effect “what we couldn’t get done in 4 years of investigations and billions wasted, you can do for us in a day”
The Dems aren’t playing to win, they’re playing to make Trump lose.
He’s obviously Putin’s puppet. When is the dossier coming out?
Who?
The DNC donor requirement may have been added with the right intentions
As always, D’rats have their own special definitions of things like “right intentions.”
Wow. This Edward-Isaac Dovere chap seems a little confused…
“His campaign bought 8 million voter files … . The move gives his team access to information on scores of people.”
“Millions” and “scores” — those mean about the same thing, right?
A billionaire buying his way onto a Democrat stage proves, once again, that the left are masters of irony. They just don’t realize it.
But where does he stand on gender equality? Where does he stand on reasonable gun confiscation?
Just a bunch of fascists in reality. Cheating is natural to them as they can’t win on moral principles of kind.
And because we can’t edit, the Babylon Bee has another on the mark story out.
Six year old saying, ‘why don’t we just give away everything for free’ surges to the top of the democratic polls.
Better Headline: “Rich, White Old Guy, with oodles of YouTube Ads saying he’s the Only Guy Who Can Face Donnie Trump on the Economy, tries to get ‘Envy-choked Party that HATES Rich, White Old Guys’ to ignore his Wealth, FAILS miserably.”