. >> i'm tom styer. each week, we take a look at the keystone pipeline proposal. >> he believes the pipeline will escalate the production of the controversial canadian oil sands. >> the question here was, is this a chance to change our trajectory in terms of energy? is this a chance to change the way people think about it and the way the policies are shaped around energy? >> we caught up with steyer in the tiny town of mayflower, arkansas, where he was getting a look at the cleanup site from an estimated 5000 barrel oil spill. >> here is some just off the top of the water. it's sticky. it's extremely sticky. >> very sticky. >> it smells awful. >> in march 2013, a shallow underground pipeline owned by exxonmobil burst, sending oil running down a mayflower residential street, as can be seen in this video. >> the smell is unbelievable. i mean, look. there's oil. >> the oil flowed down the street through a drainage ditch and emptied into a marshy area. the heavy crude had come from alberta, canada, thousands

on the left, newcomer tom styer, net worth $1.6 billion. he has donated $58 million in support of candidates can sprong records on climate state. >> extreme. >> he had a wooden arc where he is focusing on retiring rick scott. the koch brothers through outside groups with mundane if not agreeable sounding names like americans for prosperity, freedom partners, concerned veterans for america, and again opportunity are outspend gs him by five to one on ads in the battleground states. in the center, michael bloomberg, net worth $34 billion. he pledged to spend $50 million to support gun control legislation. and became a punching bag for red state democrats. >> mayor bloomberg of new york city ran ads in arkansas criticizing me for standing up for your second amenment rights. >> now he will spend $25 million more backing ining centerists. >> add others, and we could see an election that costs about $44 a vote. the financial arments race has become so crate sdi that one campaign reform advocate decide to fight fire with fire. he formed the anti su

on the left, newcomer tom styer, net worth $1.6 billion.ted $58 million in support of candidates can sprong records on climate state. >> extreme. >> he had a wooden arc where he is focusing on retiring rick scott. the koch brothers through outside groups with mundane if not agreeable sounding names like americans for prosperity, freedom partners, concerned veterans for america, and again opportunity are outspend gs him by five to one on ads in the battleground states. in the center, michael bloomberg, net worth $34 billion. he pledged to spend $50 million to support gun control legislation. and became a punching bag for red state democrats. >> mayor bloomberg of new york city ran ads in arkansas criticizing me for standing up for your second amenment rights. >> now he will spend $25 million more backing ining centerists. >> add others, and we could see an election that costs about $44 a vote. the financial arments race has become so crate sdi that one campaign reform advocate decide to fight fire with fire. he formed the anti super pac supe

on the left, newcomer tom styer, net worth $1.6 billion.ted $58 million in support of candidates can sprong records on climate state. >> extreme. >> he had a wooden arc where he is focusing on retiring rick scott. the koch brothers through outside groups with mundane if not agreeable sounding names like americans for prosperity, freedom partners, concerned veterans for america, and again opportunity are outspend gs him by five to one on ads in the battleground states. in the center, michael bloomberg, net worth $34 billion. he pledged to spend $50 million to support gun control legisla

next comes michael bloomberg and then climate change activist tom styer.e dives even deeper into what he calls the wealthification of politics and what makes up the other percent of us. reflections on the upper crust. thanks for being with us. >> thank you. nice to be with you. >> so one of the things you explore and i saw the study, as well, is the fact that the average citizens preferences have little to no impact on legislative outcomes. meanwhile, the wealthiest among us, their preferences have a lot of impact on what our legislators are actually doing. what's going on here? >> it's a huge problem. the 2014 elections are becoming the battle of the billionaires. as you point out, the koch brothers are spending an enormous amount of money, it's estimated they're going to put $290 million in this. there are other billionaires who are spending tens of millions of dollars. and the real problem is a lot of this billionaire money is coming in the form of dark money that's not disclosed. there was a study that suggested more than half of the broadcast ads that

you are being funded by tom styer who is a california billionaire extreme environmentalist. so remember you are running against me. not against any of the other groups. >> i realize that and president obama's name is not on the ballot. i am not going to owe president obama anything on election day. you are going to owe the koch brothers everything. >> please continue. thank you, i owe no body anything except for the iowa people. i will stand up and do what is right for iowans and not california extreme environmentalist, president obama, or harry reid. but for the iowa people. i amsomeone who has stood up for my community, nation and state. i have not left my rural roots but i think congressman you have left them behind. >> 15 seconds to wrap up the comments. >> i have never forgotten where i came from. that is why i voted to pass the five-year farm bill. that is why the iowa corn growers are supporting me and the national farmers union gave me awards. >> and now the illinois senate debate between dick durbin and jim wise. the candidates took questions on gun control, taxes a

tom stier is a political activist with a mission to change american energy policy. >> as a nation, we don't just have to make the changes for ourselves, we have to lead the rest of the world. >> styerown wealth to provide a green agenda across the world. he believes the white house is on his side. >> the obama administration has made this a priority. they're looking at it as a legacy issue. they're doing hard things in spite of what they think it might mean for them politically. >> lsu thinks these policies must be held critically. >> there does seem to be a hostility to oil and gas production per se that doesn't seem to make sense to me. the policy seems to me that they want middle class jobs, just not these middle class jobs. >> that's why, in the louisiana senate race, the leading republican bill cassidy is trying to tie mary landrieu to barack obama and his environmental policies. it's why the senator is running away from them. >>> coming up, i sit down with in did you mean bent mary landrieu and leading republican challenger bill cassidy, both of whom are working hard to prove he or she is the one that will let the good times roll. everybody knows that. well, did you know you