Romney’s Not-So-Sweet Sugar Daddy
Q. Who is Sheldon Adelson, and why is he trying to buy the Oval Office for Mitt Romney?
A. A 78-year-old gambling magnate with a shady history of international wheeling and dealing, hatred of labor unions, a fixation on Israel and, in the era of Citizens United, determination to spend whatever it takes to unseat Barack Obama.
Before the Supreme Court flooded obscene money into politics, Adelson was dismissed by George W. Bush as “some crazy Jewish billionaire.” In 2012, he has morphed into the poster boy for corruption of the electoral process.
Until now, Romney’s new best friend might be seen as just another example of high-bracket arrogance and egomania who puts his money where his mouth is (pace Donald Trump), but as the malleable GOP contender bows and scrapes to him in Jerusalem, Adelson deserves a much closer look.
His clout became visible in Gingrich’s South Carolina primary victory fueled by a $16.5 million SuperPAC tip in return for the former Speaker’s past legislative favors but, as Newt faded, Adelson grudgingly turned to Romney, who leaped into his leash without so much as slipping Gingrich a finder’s fee.
In this era of news snippets and sound bites, researching Sheldon Adelson’s history is a headache-inducing experience, but the outlines of a dark HoratioAlger American success story are clear.
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Mitt Romney the devout Mormon, seems to be lowering his standards to win this Presidental election. For decades The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) – The Mormons and its faithful church members have taken a strong, and very vocal unalterable stance against gambling in any form including lotteries, internet gambling, racetracks, and casinos. Sheldon Adelson (CEO of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation and Venetian Macao Ltd.) son of a Ukranian Jewish immigrant (also fanancier of Romney’s recent visit to Isreal), and his wife recently gave $10 million to the pro-Romney super PAC named Restore Our Future. Adelson the Las Vegas casino magnate has pledged to spend $100 million to defeat Obama. Adelson’s very large contributions can easily make Romney a shoe in for the President of the United States. It will probably be after Romney officially wins the GOP nomination at the National Republican Convention in Tampa, Florida in August 2012 that the American public can expect this Super PAC money to be spent in massive negative campaign ads against Obama.