Can activism plus pragmatism equal a Tom Steyer presidency?

During his recent visit to The State, Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer said he had grown to accept the fact that three words — “billionaire former businessman” — are inevitably cut-and-pasted next to his name.

“It’s normal,” Steyer said. “But I don’t think of myself that way. … I’m actually a different person from the stereotype.”

That said, when Steyer was asked what he would accomplish during the first 100 days of his presidency, he reeled off a to-do list with the crisp tone of a confident CEO laying out a firm’s strategic goals during an annual shareholders meeting.

“I would,” Steyer began, “declare a state of emergency on climate on Day One,”

And:

“I would end the trade war on Day One.”

And:

“I would start a formal commission on race on Day One to basically start the process of retelling the story of the last 400 years (in America).”

And with a concluding flourish, Steyer said he would quickly work to restore the United States’ “morale leadership in the world” and convince other nations “that (President Donald Trump) was a blip, an unfortunate and destructive blip” in American history.

“If you’re going to vote for me,” Steyer said, “you’re going to vote for an outsider. If you’re going to vote for me, you’re going to vote for someone who has been taking on ... the establishment. That’s who I am.”

Bold words?

Yes.

But even Steyer’s biggest skeptics must concede that the Californian really has walked the talk of an outsider during the seven years since he left the hedge fund he founded to become an activist promoting causes like:

▪ Addressing the threat of climate change.

▪ Increasing youth voter registration and turnout.

▪ Fighting Big Tobacco.

▪ Hatching “Need to Impeach,” a nationwide petition campaign launched in 2017 to urge Trump’s impeachment.

“People want to know if I understand the actual truth about people’s lives in America ... and if I will I fight for them,” Steyer told The State. “(And they are) the people I have been hanging out with for the past seven years as a full-time activist.”

In reality, Steyer’s hopes for winning the Democratic nomination depend on pulling off a delicate balancing act: he must offer enough provocative ideas to be credibly viewed as bold by progressive voters — yet tout his highly lucrative business career enough to assure moderate voters that the economy would be in safe, pragmatic hands during a Steyer presidency.

“Trump is going to run on the economy (even though) he’s been terrible for the economy,” Steyer said.

“But whoever is the (Democratic nominee) is going to have to actually make the case,” Steyer added. “They will have to understand what drives this economy and what prosperity actually looks like. And I think I’m that person. I spent three decades answering that question (as a successful business owner).”

There’s no debating that Steyer faces an uphill battle to earn the Democratic nomination — for one thing, while he’s a personable and engaging figure who possesses the charisma chip that was never implanted in fellow billionaire candidate Michael Bloomberg, too many people still tend to lazily lump Steyer and Bloomberg together.

That doesn’t flatter Steyer at all, and it has obviously become a source of frustration for the candidate.

“Mike stands for a whole bunch of things that I don’t stand for,” Steyer said regarding Bloomberg. “He’s a very different breed of cat from me.”

But while that’s an ominous obstacle for Steyer, it’s clear that his full-throated “capitalism is a good thing, but it should do more good things for more people” message is striking a chord with many Democratic voters.

If it isn’t, why is Steyer drawing double-digit support among black Democratic voters in South Carolina — dwarfing what Sen. Cory Booker, a high-profile African American presidential candidate, has been able to generate?

And why has Steyer, a political novice, been able to outlast experienced pols like Kamala Harris and Beto O’ Rourke?

It’s likely because while Steyer has brought considerable financial muscle to the Democratic race, he’s brought a wealth of thoughtful substance to it as well.

Time will tell whether Tom Steyer has wasted his money in seeking the presidency — but Steyer has already proven that he’s not wasting the American people’s time by doing so.

This story was originally published December 18, 2019 at 5:21 AM.