Posts tagged Sheldon Adelson
Holding Politicians Accountable
GOP Donor Sheldon Adelson offered Barack Obama $1B to fund Israel’s Iron Dome
Yeah, President Obama probably made the right choice here:
In 2013, [Harry] Reid used his open channel to float a proposal—not made public until now—that stunned Obama and his staff. Congress had just passed a funding bill for the joint Pentagon-Israel Iron Dome missile system when Reid fielded a phone call from Sheldon Adelson, the Las Vegas multibillionaire and GOP donor. Adelson made an offer: He would personally finance $1 billion for Iron Dome batteries, paid through the federal government, so committed was he to safeguarding the Jewish state.
“I’ll call the president right away,” an excited Reid told him, according to people with knowledge of the interaction.
Obama was thrown off his guard momentarily—“What?!” he asked Reid. When the president regained his footing, he told the leader to thank Adelson but that he didn’t think private financing of munitions would set a good precedent, and didn’t feel the need to loop McDonough into the decision-making process. The idea died.
That’s a lot of defending.
CNN: Marco Rubio defends courting Koch Brothers
Washington Post: Marco Rubio defends sponsoring Sheldon Adelson-backed gambling bill
Sen. Lindsey Graham Gets Cash Boost from Billionaire After Introducing Bill Written By His Lobbyist
1) Introduce bill supported by a billionaire. 2) Profit.
About every elected official comes by to say hello.
Sheldon Adelson might spend $100 million on the 2014 election
Casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson, one of the wealthiest men in the world, might spend up to $100 million on 2014 races, according to CNN.
What kind of influence would $100 million buy in Congress?
More from this weekend’s AdelsonFest in Las Vegas:
“The new big-money political landscape — in which a handful of donors can dramatically alter a campaign with just a check or two — explains both the eagerness of busy governors to make pilgrimages to Las Vegas, and the obsession with divining Adelson’s 2016 leanings.”
A good summary of today’s politics, via NYT:
“Mr. Adelson’s effort officially kicked off on Wednesday, when lawmakers, including a senator, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who has accepted tens of thousands of dollars in donations from the businessman and his family, introduced legislation originally drafted with Mr. Adelson’s lobbyist.”
Washington Post: Sheldon Adelson, top 2012 donor and casino magnate, readies to fight Internet gambling
“Billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, whose record-breaking campaign spending in 2012 made him an icon of the new super-donor era, is leveraging that newfound status in an escalating feud with industry rivals over the future of gambling.”
2012’s biggest donor is gearing up for 2014:
“A political donation of $32,400 may seem like couch change for Sheldon Adelson, the casino executive with a $27.9 billion net worth who gave tens of millions of dollars to Republicans during the 2012 election.
"Yet $32,400 is the maximum annual amount an individual can donate to a national party committee like the National Republican Congressional Committee. House Republicans’ campaign arm surely was happy to bank that payment from Adelson and a matching amount from his wife, Miriam, on April 16.”