Politics

Tom Steyer Finds A New Villain: Democrats Who Refuse To Move Forward On Impeachment

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Billionaire Tom Steyer is taking a break from attacking President Donald Trump and is now blaming congressional Democrats for sitting on their hands while a “lawless president” laughs at them.

“For over two years this president has broken the law and nothing happens,” one person can be heard saying in Steyer’s new ad, which aired Thursday night. Other people featured in the ad chime in: “You told us to wait for the Mueller investigation, and when he showed obstruction of justice, nothing happened.”

The people in the ad went on to list a number of offenses activists believe Trump engaged in, such as supposedly ignoring lawmaker’s requests for his tax returns.

“Now you tell us to wait for the next election? Really?” they all say in unison. They add: “This is why we volunteered. Raised money. Went door to door. Voted in the last election. Our founding fathers expected you — Congress — to hold a lawless president accountable.” Steyer appears at the end of the ad to remind listeners that the “system is broken. We have to fix it.”

Steyer’s campaign has dumped millions of dollars over the course of the past year on what many Democrats worry is an ill-fated attempt to impeach the president. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, for instance, told reporters in January that she wanted to wait for special counsel Robert Mueller to complete his investigation.

The California billionaire is frustrated that Democrats are still pulling their punches after Mueller published his report. 

He plowed $6 million into the Need To Impeach campaign in January, the bulk of which was slated for national cable and broadcast advertising in early presidential primary states like Iowa, Nevada and South Carolina. Approximately $2.5 million went to television campaigns while another $3.5 million was earmarked for a digital effort, according to media reports.

Steyer’s donations came as Democrats regained the House after nearly a decade in the wilderness. Some of the incoming freshmen Democrats took the opportunity to jump headfirst into the impeachment push. Democratic Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, for instance, told a crowd in January that “we’re gonna go in there and impeach the motherfucker.”

Steyer, for his part, flirted with the possibility of running for president in 2020, but ultimately passed on the opportunity. He worried that his past investments in fossil fuels could hurt him among a Democratic Party turning away from oil. Need To Impeach was behind the ad, which will play in select areas and cost roughly $1 million.

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