thinbluemime
2012-06-25 20:47:11 UTC
June 23, 2012
What Sheldon Adelson Wants
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/24/opinion/sunday/what-sheldon-adelson-wa=
nts.html?_r=3D1
No American is dedicating as much of his money to defeat President O=
bama
as Sheldon Adelson, the casino magnate who also happens to have made mor=
e
money in the last three years than any other American. He is the perfect=
illustration of the squalid state of political money, spending sums
greater than any political donation in history to advance his personal,
ideological and financial agenda, which is wildly at odds with the
nation=E2=80=99s needs.
Mr. Adelson spent $20 million to prop up Newt Gingrich=E2=80=99s fai=
led =
candidacy
for the Republican nomination. Now, he has given $10 million to a Mitt
Romney super PAC, and has pledged at least $10 million to Crossroads GPS=
,
the advocacy group founded by Karl Rove that is running attack ads again=
st
Mr. Obama and other Democrats. Another $10 million will probably go to a=
similar group founded by the Koch brothers, and $10 million more to
Republican Congressional super PACs.
That=E2=80=99s $60 million we know of (other huge donations may be s=
ecret), and
it may be only a down payment. Mr. Adelson has made it clear he will ful=
ly
exploit the anything-goes world created by the federal courts to donate =
a
=E2=80=9Climitless=E2=80=9D portion of his $25 billion fortune to defeat=
the president and
as many Democrats as he can take down.
One man cannot spend enough to ensure the election of an unpopular
candidate, as Mr. Gingrich=E2=80=99s collapse showed, but he can buy eno=
ugh ads to
help push a candidate over the top in a close race like this year=E2=80=99=
s. Given
that Mr. Romney was not his first choice, why is Mr. Adelson writing the=
se
huge checks?
The first answer is clearly his disgust for a two-state solution to =
the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, supported by President Obama and most
Israelis. He considers a Palestinian state =E2=80=9Ca steppingstone for =
the
destruction of Israel and the Jewish people,=E2=80=9D and has called the=
Palestinian prime minister a terrorist. He is even further to the right
than the main pro-Israeli lobbying group, the American Israel Public
Affairs Committee, which he broke with in 2007 when it supported economi=
c
aid to the Palestinians.
Mr. Romney is only slightly better, saying the Israelis want a two-s=
tate
solution but the Palestinians do not, accusing them of wanting to
eliminate Israel. The eight-figure checks are not paying for a more
enlightened answer.
Mr. Adelson=E2=80=99s other overriding interest is his own wallet. H=
e rails
against the president=E2=80=99s =E2=80=9Csocialist-style economy=E2=80=9D=
and redistribution of
wealth, but what he really fears is Mr. Obama=E2=80=99s proposal to rais=
e taxes on
companies like his that make a huge amount of money overseas. Ninety
percent of the earnings of his company, the Las Vegas Sands Corporation,=
come from hotel and casino properties in Singapore and Macau. (The latte=
r
is located, by the way, in China, a socialist country the last time we
checked.)
Because of the lower tax rate in those countries (currently zero in
Macau), the company now has a United States corporate tax rate of 9.8
percent, compared with the statutory rate of 35 percent. President Obama=
has repeatedly proposed ending the deductions and credits that allow
corporations like Las Vegas Sands to shelter billions in income overseas=
,
but has been blocked by Republicans.
Mr. Obama=E2=80=99s Justice Department is also investigating whether=
Mr.
Adelson=E2=80=99s Macau operations violated the Foreign Corrupt Practice=
s Act, an
inquiry that Mr. Adelson undoubtedly hopes will go away in a Romney
administration. For such a man, at a time when there are no legal or mor=
al
limits to the purchase of influence, spending tens of millions is a
pittance to elect Republicans who promise to keep his billions intact.
What Sheldon Adelson Wants
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/24/opinion/sunday/what-sheldon-adelson-wa=
nts.html?_r=3D1
No American is dedicating as much of his money to defeat President O=
bama
as Sheldon Adelson, the casino magnate who also happens to have made mor=
e
money in the last three years than any other American. He is the perfect=
illustration of the squalid state of political money, spending sums
greater than any political donation in history to advance his personal,
ideological and financial agenda, which is wildly at odds with the
nation=E2=80=99s needs.
Mr. Adelson spent $20 million to prop up Newt Gingrich=E2=80=99s fai=
led =
candidacy
for the Republican nomination. Now, he has given $10 million to a Mitt
Romney super PAC, and has pledged at least $10 million to Crossroads GPS=
,
the advocacy group founded by Karl Rove that is running attack ads again=
st
Mr. Obama and other Democrats. Another $10 million will probably go to a=
similar group founded by the Koch brothers, and $10 million more to
Republican Congressional super PACs.
That=E2=80=99s $60 million we know of (other huge donations may be s=
ecret), and
it may be only a down payment. Mr. Adelson has made it clear he will ful=
ly
exploit the anything-goes world created by the federal courts to donate =
a
=E2=80=9Climitless=E2=80=9D portion of his $25 billion fortune to defeat=
the president and
as many Democrats as he can take down.
One man cannot spend enough to ensure the election of an unpopular
candidate, as Mr. Gingrich=E2=80=99s collapse showed, but he can buy eno=
ugh ads to
help push a candidate over the top in a close race like this year=E2=80=99=
s. Given
that Mr. Romney was not his first choice, why is Mr. Adelson writing the=
se
huge checks?
The first answer is clearly his disgust for a two-state solution to =
the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, supported by President Obama and most
Israelis. He considers a Palestinian state =E2=80=9Ca steppingstone for =
the
destruction of Israel and the Jewish people,=E2=80=9D and has called the=
Palestinian prime minister a terrorist. He is even further to the right
than the main pro-Israeli lobbying group, the American Israel Public
Affairs Committee, which he broke with in 2007 when it supported economi=
c
aid to the Palestinians.
Mr. Romney is only slightly better, saying the Israelis want a two-s=
tate
solution but the Palestinians do not, accusing them of wanting to
eliminate Israel. The eight-figure checks are not paying for a more
enlightened answer.
Mr. Adelson=E2=80=99s other overriding interest is his own wallet. H=
e rails
against the president=E2=80=99s =E2=80=9Csocialist-style economy=E2=80=9D=
and redistribution of
wealth, but what he really fears is Mr. Obama=E2=80=99s proposal to rais=
e taxes on
companies like his that make a huge amount of money overseas. Ninety
percent of the earnings of his company, the Las Vegas Sands Corporation,=
come from hotel and casino properties in Singapore and Macau. (The latte=
r
is located, by the way, in China, a socialist country the last time we
checked.)
Because of the lower tax rate in those countries (currently zero in
Macau), the company now has a United States corporate tax rate of 9.8
percent, compared with the statutory rate of 35 percent. President Obama=
has repeatedly proposed ending the deductions and credits that allow
corporations like Las Vegas Sands to shelter billions in income overseas=
,
but has been blocked by Republicans.
Mr. Obama=E2=80=99s Justice Department is also investigating whether=
Mr.
Adelson=E2=80=99s Macau operations violated the Foreign Corrupt Practice=
s Act, an
inquiry that Mr. Adelson undoubtedly hopes will go away in a Romney
administration. For such a man, at a time when there are no legal or mor=
al
limits to the purchase of influence, spending tens of millions is a
pittance to elect Republicans who promise to keep his billions intact.