By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | It’s been two weeks since Tom Steyer came over for supper.
On a campaign swing through Charleston, the billionaire presidential candidate sat down with a few people to eat Rodney Scott’s awesome barbecue and ribs and have a beer. Well, he actually had one glass of wine. He is, after all, from California.
I didn’t intend to write about this visit because I didn’t want it to seem like an ad for a guy running for the Democratic nomination. (I still don’t know who I’ll vote for in the February primary; there is no GOP primary, so I won’t be voting in that one.)
After thinking long and hard about Steyer’s visit, it seemed that to not write about it would be a disservice for readers who may wonder about the Trump-obsessed guy running all of the ads on television.
In three words, Steyer is enigmatic, passionate and pragmatic.
Upon arrival, he got out of a car, yanked off a tie and barrelled into the den, stained shirt, colorful belt and all. He engaged with guests, not with a kingly, sweeping manner, but intimately as if each person with whom he was talking was the only person on the planet. He took time to have a brief, but deep discussion with my 16-year-old daughter (and all parents know how difficult that can often be.) He listened to her, responded and asked questions. It was a conversation, not talking points.
Then he stepped away from the voters in the room to make a 20-second video my other daughter, who was sick with a stomach bug. He started wryly. “Ellie, it’s Tom Steyer. Your dad tells me you may have seen me on TV.” (Understatement of the year for anyone in South Carolina who watches television.) After a word on how he is trying to unseat President Trump, he smiled, “Get better and next time I’m here, I’m gonna give you a big hug.”
That video, plus the one-on-one listening and engagement with guests, showed humor and authenticity, which is missing from too many slick, pre-packaged candidates who run for everything from Statehouse to Congress.
What really impressed most guests, some of whom didn’t know much about Steyer other than how he’s bankrolled the Need to Impeach movement for the last two years, was how he didn’t pull punches and answered any questions thrown at him.
Steyer emphasized how the climate truly is in crisis. But that crisis, he said, offers a huge opportunity for Americans to use their ingenuity, competitiveness and innovation to create change and build long-term prosperity.
“Stop telling me about your political philosophy and start talking to me about the numbers and the safety,” he said in a recent interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that included a question about nuclear plant construction. “There are easy (clean energy) bets to make that are safe. There’s never been a solar spill. There’s never been a wind disaster.”
Today’s generation, he said, can be the new greatest generation by turning around climate change and, in the process, creating 4.6 million new jobs and restoring America’s position of global economic prominence.
In short, he said we can fix the problem by using our brains — and that such an effort was a noble aspiration that would pay long-term dividends. Building prosperity — a word he used a lot — would lead to social improvement and restore democracy.
“Listen, I think most Americans don’t know me,” he said recently. “What I’d like to do is introduce myself and explain what I think the future can look like for America in a positive way. If I do those two things, mission accomplished.”
Now at only 1 or 2 percent in most polls, Steyer addressed a national audience for the first time as one of 12 candidates in a recent debate. He also believes boosting turnout will propel a Democrat into the White House.
Guests at the dinner encouraged Steyer to share his passions about solving the climate crisis, helping restore the American dream, building prosperity and fighting for social justice solutions for people who are struggling rather than continue to dump on Trump.
If you’ve seen recent ads, he seems to be spending his millions to do just that.
Andy Brack’s latest book, “We Can Do Better, South Carolina,” is now available in paperback and for Kindle via Amazon.
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We Can Do Better, South Carolina!