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Robert Reich
NationofChange / Op-Ed
Published: Wednesday 25 January 2012
“Never before in the history of American politics has a single couple given more money to a single candidate and had a bigger impact”

Who is Sheldon Adelson and What Has Newt Promised Him?

Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino owner, is now the poster boy for what’s terribly wrong with our campaign-finance system. Adelson, you may recall, had, before the South Carolina Republican primary, donated $5 million to the pro-Gingrich Super Pac “Winning Our Future” – giving Newt a pile of money for negative advertising against Mitt Romney in South Carolina.

Adelson has done it again. He and his wife Marian have cut another $5 million check for Gingrich to go negative on Romney in Florida. The money won’t go as far as it did in South Carolina – TV ads cost a lot more in Florida – but it’s enough to give the Grinch a solid footing.

And, who knows? The Adelsons are billionaires. They might decide to put in another $5 million or perhaps $20 million into Gingrich’s Super Pac. The point is, there’s no limit.

Do you know who Sheldon and Marian Adelson are? Do you know what Gingrich has promised them, or what they think they’ll get out of a Grinch presidency? I don’t. But if Newt becomes President of the United States, they’ll be singularly responsible. And we better find out, because Newt will owe them big time.

Forget the Lincoln Bedroom. The Adelsons and their kids will have the run of the White House, including the Oval Office. Hey, they’ll take over the Old Executive Building next door and turn it into a casino.

Never before in the history of American politics has a single couple given more money to a single candidate and had a bigger impact – all courtesy of the Supreme Court and its grotesque decisions that speech is money and corporations are people under the First Amendment.

This article was originally posted on Robert Reich's blog.

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ABOUT Robert Reich

 

ROBERT B. REICH, one of the nation’s leading experts on work and the economy, is Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He has served in three national administrations, most recently as secretary of labor under President Bill Clinton. Time Magazine has named him one of the ten most effective cabinet secretaries of the last century. He has written thirteen books, including his latest best-seller, “Aftershock: The Next Economy and America’s Future;” “The Work of Nations,” which has been translated into 22 languages; and his newest, an e-book, “Beyond Outrage.” His syndicated columns, television appearances, and public radio commentaries reach millions of people each week. He is also a founding editor of the American Prospect magazine, and Chairman of the citizen’s group Common Cause. His widely-read blog can be found at www.robertreich.org.

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10 comments on "Who is Sheldon Adelson and What Has Newt Promised Him?"

somebody tgohhut about to exclude several directories on bundling?ec2-bundle-vol -d (-k-c-u) -s (why always only 1536 give it 10240) -a -e /dev , /mnt , /proc , /sys , /var/lock , /dev/shm

Valery Asenjo

January 28, 2012 4:24am

he started a super pac for newt

icurok2

January 26, 2012 12:14pm

For $10 mil the Adelsons might ask Newt to stop with "Saul Alinsky," already. Saul Alinsky is code for; Obama is a tool of Commie Jews. When Anti Semitism runs rampant, the Adelsons can repair to Israel, but what about the rest of us?

Kittyangel

January 26, 2012 8:59am

Hasn't Newt stated during one of the recent debates that he's all for militarily invading Iran on the excuse that they are developing a nuclear weapon and need to be stopped for the safety of the region?

syed salamah al...

January 25, 2012 11:18pm

What has Newt promised Adelson and his AIPAC wife? The 'severed heads of 5 million Palestinians' on 5 million golden platters like Herod's promise to his Mrs. Adelson on St.John the Baptist's severed head! What else is to be expected in the United States of A(IPAC).

FrBob

January 25, 2012 8:30pm

I don't understand the connection this item cites between the Adelson donations (gifts?) and the Supreme Court ruling. It sounds as if the Adelsons are donating their own money - not corporate funds. That was legal BEFORE the decision, if I'm not mistaken; check the Koch brothers and George Soros.Much as I'd like to see Soros have unlimited rights, while the Soroses and Adelsons of the world had tight caps placed on them, I think the focus needs to be elsewhere than on corporate giving - which is irrelevant, here (as will be ANY caps on donation amounts as long as we have to abide this AWFUL Supreme Court).

alicesimpson

January 25, 2012 1:26pm

Instead of just 'kvetching,' we need to put our voices, votes and signatures where they will put an end to this purchasing of American politics and politicians.

sem

January 25, 2012 1:14pm

Surely you know, Mr. Reich. Adelson is a wealthy Zionist. It's all about Israel

Hazel

January 25, 2012 12:18pm

Adelson owns the largest circulation newspaper in Israel--HaYom. He may be more powerful than AIPAC!

Bob Huck

January 25, 2012 12:14pm

I've read Adelson pays for the yearly congressional junkets to Israel.