What Happens in Vegas: Meet Sheldon Adelson, Buyer of Democracy

Okay, a couple of things here. First, the man's name is pronounced ADDLE-son, and as a denizen of Las Vegas, it bugs me every time I hear it pronounced AID-elson. Secondly, Sheldon Adelson has done good things in this town, not always using his virtually infinite fundage for evil. Thirdly, the comparison to George Soros (benefactor of many previous Democratic campaigns) fails for more than one reason, chiefly that Soros wasn't helping people get elected for his own personal financial interest.

Adelson is in the game because he can afford to be, because after the Citizens United ruling, he can be, and because he's kind of a bastard. This goes beyond a guy with deep pockets, funding his favorites, and looking for a little quid pro quo. This has--fairly quickly, if you think about it--turned into a many tentacled beast, with Adelson as the head, and Karl Rove as the brain. It's a frighteningly coordinated, full-throttle, take-no-prisoners attempt to purchase political offices from little to the biggest in the land.

The biggest failure of the Supreme Court's decision is in saying that money equals speech. Because by doing that, they've assured that more money equals more speech. Who on earth, short of Bill Gates, could compete with the kind of speech Adelson and the Koch Brothers (who coordinate with Adelson and Rove) can purchase? How could this possibly be what the founders intended?

By all reason, our democracy should be helpless against this assault. You'd think, with no real competing entity like it on the left, that this kind of money would just win now, forever. So far though, it's not working out that way. Things could change in the weeks until the election of course, but even with evil genius Rove pulling the levers, this machine is having trouble driving the polls. And I wonder, can all the money in the world sell a faulty product?

Sheldon Adelson really looks like that. Image from Politico.

[Excerpt]

Sheldon Adelson: Inside the mind of the mega-donor 

. . .Worth just over $21 billion, and now in the crosshairs of the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission, Adelson has made history: He is the first person to spend $70 million to sway a presidential election, and he plans to spend more – perhaps as much as $100 million – by Election Day. An estimated $20 million to $30 million of the giving was to groups that do not disclose their donors, and had not been reported before. . .

Read more: Politico

What Happens in Vegas: Sheldon Adelson Donates $10 Million to Romney Super PAC

Oh, what hell Citizens United hath wrought. We used to think that election season political ads were obnoxious and oppressive. But boy howdy, get ready for a flood. I'm sure that the five or six owners of the major media companies in the United States (how did that happen?) are thrilled at the infinite mounds of dough. They won't have to run Head-On commercials or Sham-Wow! infomercials for a while! And an only slightly larger group of billionaires essentially get to buy whatever politicians they want.

Image from Wikipedia.

Well, almost. Sheldon Adelson--the squillionaire who owns The Venetian and Palazzo--originally wanted Newt Gingrich. Some things, apparently, money can not buy. But look how long Shelly kept Newtie afloat! He just opened up his bottomless purse, and single-handedly kept Newt going for months after he was essentially toast. And now, he's funding Mitt Romney, surely not his favorite candidate, but apparently preferable to that (black) guy currently in the White House.

I am already sick of the ads we're getting*, and I hope that ultimately people just tune them out. Because let's be honest. How many people are there who are just torn between these two candidates. Nothing short of finding out Barack Obama was a secret Holocaust denier or that Mitt Romney invented bacon would be likely to change my decision. You?

I, for one, welcome our new corporate fat
cat overlords.

[Excerpt]


Sheldon Adelson is giving $10 million to Mitt Romney super PAC

Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, who helped prop up House speaker Newt Gingrich’s presidential primary campaign for months, is now using his massive wealth to help former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. According to two sources familiar with the donation, Adelson is giving $10 million to the pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future*. Under Federal Election Commission law, Restore Our Future is free to accept donations of unlimited amounts from single donors but must reveal the identity of those givers. . .

Read more at: The Washington Post

*Another thing I'm sick of? These ridiculously named, falsely grass-roots-sounding SuperPAC names. "Restore Our Future" is one of the lamer ones, not harkening to jingoism with words like liberty, freedom or patriot. And it isn't larded with "People for the. . .", "Americans for. . ." or "The Smith & Wesson/Ronald Reagan Libertygasm Foundation." But it's still goofy (and irritating) as hell.

Venetian's Sheldon Adelson Annoyed at Barack Obama

Photo from GetRichCasino.com

About a month ago, Barack Obama gave a speech, wherein he said, "You can't go take a trip to Las Vegas or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayers' dime." This upset many in Las Vegas, who took it as an indictment of the city itself, instead of the fact that bailout recipients were taking pleasure trips.

Now, the owner of The Venetian and The Palazzo is complaining about it. Sheldon Adelson is one of the biggest Republican names in Vegas, having hosted many a fundraiser. And--being a staunch Republican--you'd think he'd be against using taxpayer money for such frivolity. But when it comes to money, he's not the first of his party to ignore principle in favor of the bottom line.

[Excerpt]

Vegas mogul slams corporate spending backlash

Las Vegas casino legend Sheldon Adelson launched a quest for America's most boring city on Tuesday in a comeback to President Barack Obama's criticism of bankers who hold meetings in the famous gaming capital.

Obama last month warned companies that get bailout cash against spending it on activities potentially seen as perks -- sparking a row with hotel and resort operators who say they are already struggling to fill rooms and may have to cut jobs. . .

Read more at: Reuters