Democratic megadonor and possible 2020 presidential candidate, Tom Steyer, is adding his name to the roster of progressives using violent language to inspire anger against conservative voters.
Liberals and progressives, Steyer told a small gathering Monday in Poland, need to “kick their ass” and “crush these people.”
Steyer was meeting with Ivy League students at the U.S. Climate Action Center” while in town for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP24).
Steyer told the students that California provides an example for the rest of the nation to follow.
“So basically when you think about how we’re going to succeed and actually kick their ass, it’s going to be based on justice, environmental justice, economic justice and coloration,” Steyer said. “And believe it or not, that is how California worked. We lead with justice, not with climate. And so when we look at what’s going to happen in 2020, we are going to have to crush these people.”
“Honestly, I think the whole idea that they’re going to compromise, they’re going to come to their senses, they don’t really understand what’s going on — they absolutely understand what’s going on,” the billionaire benefactor continued. “They all went to college. They all can read. Many of them went to Yale. Really! They’re looking at their interest. They’re not fooled. They’re doing something they believe is really good for them and to hell with everybody else.”
Steyer urged his audience to step up their activism because the global climate hangs in the balance: “And look, we’re in a situation that is dire and the ability to be polite to people who are going to put everyone in this room and for the parents every one of your kids at risk, and for grandparents every one of your grandchildren at dire risk, I think the time for politeness is over.”