Questions for Tom Steyer

Here are some relatively easy questions for Tom Steyer. We urge you to go to his public appearances and ask him these questions on video; see the Question Authority plan.

In fact, we'll pay you for videos of you doing just that (contact ifwdus *at* yahoo for the details).

Tougher questions will follow:

  1. In one of your ads [1] you claim: "We started a non-profit community bank with a simple theory - give people a fair deal and real economic power. Invest in the community. In businesses owned by women and people of color. In affordable housing." Explain how that doesn't equate to you discriminating against men and white people.
  2. Per [2], 'According to Steyer, he would "give Congress 100 days to pass a Green New Deal" before using executive authority impose new energy efficiency standards on and redirect federal funding to climate projects.' Obviously, Congress isn't eager on doing that or they would have done it and Steyer wouldn't have admitted he had to give an ultimatum. That means - just as Congress has worked to undercut Trump's plans - they'd work to undercut Steyer's similar attempts to go around them. Not to mention the influence of lobbying. Not to mention the resulting lawsuits. Explain how Steyer's grand plans won't be blocked by Congress and the courts just as Trump's grand plans have been.
  3. One of the ways the U.S. - for good or ill - works to topple foreign regimes is via agitprop. For instance, we'll have agents highlight food shortages and so on. We'll figure out where foreign leaders are vulnerable and use it to foment dissent hoping for an uprising of some kind. The focus is on turning all but the leader's most committed supporters against him. Here in the U.S., Donald Trump has always been extremely, unbelievably vulnerable to his base. Way back in 2015 we accurately predicted how his "wall", his ban, and his other plans would fail miserably. Trump has repeatedly hinted at or outright supported amnesty (as you may know, his base hates amnesty). Trump's base puts all his many mistakes down to him playing "12d chess", something that's easily shown wrong. Given that you've never given even a hint that you understand Trump's appeal to his base and Trump's huge vulnerabilities to his base, explain how you'd be able to figure out the best plan to undercut a truly noxious foreign leader to his base and how you'd be smart enough to implement it.

Once again: these are easy questions. They give Steyer ample opportunity to speechify and pivot. Tougher questions that will force him to answer against interest will follow.

1/20/2020: Here's another set:

  1. At a 12/19/19 debate, you said "I think it's important to note that this president is not against immigration. He's against immigration by nonwhite people." At a 2/25/2016 debate, Trump said that under his plan, illegal aliens "will go out. They will come back -- some will come back, the best, through a process. They have to come back legally. They have to come back through a process, and it may not be a very quick process, but I think that's very fair, and very fine..." That and other things Trump has said show that he'd clearly increase immigration.
    1. Aren't most or almost all of those Trump would have let back in non-white?
    2. Were you aware of Trump's 2016 plan?
    3. Were you aware of the similar 2007 plan that was like a faster version of Trump's plan?
    4. Are you capable of distinguishing what Trump would actually do from his bluster for his base?
  2. On 1/20/20 you tweeted "Happy to hear the armed protests in VA ended peacefully. Reminder: the demonstrators don't represent the views of a vast majority of Americans who feel they should be able to attend schools, churches, and other public places without fear of being shot." [3]. Full-auto machine guns were freely available for at least 13 years; even Sears sold them. More recently, "in 1960 you could buy a .55 caliber anti-tank gun for under $100" [4]. In the past, guns were even more freely available than now. Were there a large number of Parkland-style shootings in all those past decades?
  3. Realted to Question #5, Columbine was originally planned as a bombing [5]. What's your plan to prevent school bombings?

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[1] tomsteyer · com/press/new-tom-steyer-ad-highlights-his-work-reinvesting-in-local-communities/
[2] nbcnews · com/politics/meet-the-press/blog/meet-press-blog-latest-news-analysis-data-driving-political-discussion-n988541/ncrd1034801
[3] twitter · com/TomSteyer/status/1219420044599234560
[4] wideopenspaces · com/time-machine-get-a-load-of-these-vintage-gun-ads/
[5] AP 9/24/1999 "Bomb's failure apparently changed Columbine killers' plans", azdailysun · com/bomb-s-failure-apparently-changed-columbine-killers-plans/article_5032828f-8505-5cb7-abdc-2ca4924d13ae.html