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John McCain, the 2008 Republican nominee for President and an endorser of Mitt Romney, has launched a broadside against Romney’s new patron, Sheldon Adelson, alleging that Adelson is using foreign money for his SuperPAC donations to help Republicans win the White House in 2012.
“Much of Mr. Adelson’s casino profits that go to him come from his casino in Macau, which says that obviously, maybe in a roundabout way foreign money is coming into an American political campaign,” McCain said in an interview on PBS’s News Hour.
“That is a great deal of money, and we need a level playing field and we need to go back to the realization… that we have to have a limit on the flow of money and corporations are not people,” he said.
That’s a pretty serious charge, that Adelson is using foreign money to help purchase an election. It’s a more serious charge when you consider who is making it: an avowed supporter of the same candidate as Adelson!
McCain, after keeping lockstep with Republicans in the wake of the Citizens United ruling, has returned back to a more reformist posture on campaign finance laws. On Thursday, the Arizona Senator called the Citizens United decision “the most misguided, naïve, uninformed, egregious decision of the United States Supreme Court in the 21st Century.” Of course, when McCain had the opportunity to mitigate some of the effects of the decision through the DISCLOSE Act, which would have at least forced transparency on who spent campaign money, he joined all Republicans as the deciding vote in blocking it. One of the pieces of the DISCLOSE Act would have blocked campaign spending by foreign governments or their subsidiaries. McCain isn’t alleging quite the same thing, but is saying that Adelson will use foreign money for domestic electoral purposes.
Adelson, who backed Newt Gingrich in the primaries, delivered the first $10 million of what he said would be a “limitless” series of donations to a pro-Romney Super PAC called Restore Our Future.
McCain concluded that “There will be scandals, there’s just too much money washing around Washington today… I’m afraid we’re for a very bleak period in American politics. To somehow view money as not having a corrupting effect on elections flies in the face of reality.” But we should recall that he had the opportunity to stop some of those corrupting practices, and didn’t take it, preferring to wait for the corruption to unfold.
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Feh. John “Walnuts” McCain’t: quite a few days & quite a few Million dollah$$ short.
I have no time for the likes of McCain. He lost me big-time when he “chose” Grifterilla Snooki for his “running mate.”
ptoui!
Not that what McCain says here ain’t true, but where was McCain when Citizens United was “handed down” by Nino da Big Boss?
File this under Even a Stopped Clock.
MSM articles about Adelson’s super-PAC activities almost never mention
how much of his wealth is due to Chinese government largesse:
I thought McCain had sold his soul to the devil.
Apparently, the devil sent it back. Are we seeing a return of McCain v.2000, the guy who was a war hero, a compassionate American and a man with a heart and a brain?????
NAAAAAAAH.
Just why is John “Crash” McCain objecting to? I thought this was legalized with the Citizens United ruling. Besides, Adelson and Bibi Netanyahu are the bestest of buddies, so it’s all good.
So, if I do the math right, he could buy the US government for, say $2-4 billion, and have $24 billion still let over?
WOW! I think Greece and Spain are “for sale”.
Sheldon??????
What is a U.S. corporation, anyhow.
One that’s incorporated in one of the 50 states, like Delaware, but employs no one in the U.S., has banking accounts only in the Caymans, earns no profits in the U.S., pays no U.S. taxes, etc., etc.
Waiting for the Supremes to weigh in on that.
Besides, USG & US “corps” routinely buy elections in other countries. Isn’t turnabout fair play?
Romney & Nuttyahoo worked together at Boston Consulting (or name like that) in 1976 and have been best buds since.
Aee we seeing some John McCain anti-semitism raising its ugly little head????
Does sound like a “pot-kettle” issue to me too.
Seems like Romney has lots of best buds.
0.01% of the population, 99% of the wealth.
Only if they own lots of stuff. Let’s see if he tosses some money to the couple who had their restaurant destroyed and didn’t even get to meet him.
John McCain was only ever a “war hero” in the authorized propaganda of the John McCain promotion machine. In reality, he was an inept pilot who couldn’t keep a plane in the air and was incarcerated after being shot down in an illegal, undeclared war.
Foreign or domestic – it’s just wrong. I am beyond embarrassed to admit that John Roberts went to my High School (ducks under desk)
You are an incredible source of credible information. Thanks.
I’m in the same boat. John Bolton and I attended the same high school and they have yet to denounce him. They’d probably denounce me first as it was a private semi-military school.
Picked up that nugget from one of the conspiracy sites I routinely slum at so it may or may not be accurate.
Hmmm. Maybe I should try to get confirmation.
I thought I read that somewhere, too, but maybe it was YOU who wrote it!! ;-)
Heck. Prez of Georgetown introduced Slam-Dunk Tenet as one of Georgetown’s most distinguished grads when he gave a speech there shortly after he resigned.
I sent the prez a sternly worded email to the effect that Tenet should be barred from polite company.
Feel free to plagiarize me. :-)
Maybe McCain’s just jealous that Citizen’s United was handed down too late for him to benefit from it?? I mean, srsly, why is this past-his-sell-by-date hack whining about this now?? Sounds like sour grapes to me. I simply don’t buy it that McCain’s now so “concerned” about the fate of Team USA and/or democracy. Spare me.
I think I do… and regularly! I have certainly slummed around some of the tin-foil hat conspiracy sites you provided to me. Some of them are very interesting, and some are pretty out there (but amusing to read, nonetheless).
If the NYT sez it, it must be so.
heh… that should be subtitled Bibi ‘n Willard sittin’ inna tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g!
Bingo!
One advantage of conspiracies is that they provide an overarching hypothesis, in real time, that one can then test in light of additional evidence.
One disadvantage is that the conspiracy theorist is often quick to change his conspiracy if evidence discredits it.
Just one more way to organize incoming information.
Another advantage of conspiracy nuts is that they know everything about everybody everywhere. They must have incredible memories, or organized files they can just pull stuff out of on a moment’s notice.
The thought that Romney could win without any PAC money is even more depressing. People just aren’t thinking.
Yes and another source of a different type of info. Some of it is out there, as I said, but then sometimes one discovers that even the far-fetched is often what happens. It’s why I rarely discount most of the info out of hand. You never know.
True, but it’s not exactly like we have much choice, do we?
Considering the Nuttyahoo-Adelson-Romney triangle, I wonder why Adelson supported Gingrich earlier. Something very peculiar about that.
Shorter Ace:
This also highlights Adelman’s interests and why he’s throwing down the money (even though it’s basically chump change for Adelman, so why not toss it around), which was the speculation… but now we know for sure.
Hedging his bets just in case? Why not? The money spent on Gingrich was small potatoes. Maybe Adelson felt sorry for Gingrich??????? ha ha
No doubt Gingrich promised Adelson whatever Adelson wanted to hear. I honestly don’t know where Gingrich stands in terms of Israel, but I’m sure Gingrich told Adelson what he wanted to hear.
Eh? You’re probably right. That’s probably why. Thanks.
PS Then “Ace” can get invited as a Very Important Guest on the Sunday shows to spout off about this “new very important” topic. Whaddayawannabet?
I’ve wondered about that a lot since it was obvious from the beginning that Mitt would be the nominee – why waste 10 million on Tubby?
I think McCain perhaps fancies himself as Romney’s Cheney: Mitt-Ace 2012
Mebbe the Sunday producers have put their collective feet down:
I’m reading Rise & Fall of Third Reich (a mere 1500 pages, small type). Shirer was a journalist there at the time and quotes some marvelous passages from his diary. But he wrote the book in 1957 and says near the beginning that even as an eyewitness (and he saw Hitler much more clearly than Chamberlain or Daladier for example, to mention only two of the political biggies at the time) knew only a small fraction of what was really going on. That one had to wait for the documents to become available to know what was going on behind the scenes.
Shirer did have the major advantage when he wrote the book of all the seized Nazi documents that were in the Nuremberg trial records.
Meanwhile, you & I are just doing our best without being in the halls of glory, unable to ask Qs at press conferences, and having access to few of the inside docs. (Thank you whistleblowers, though.)
How can that be if Ace is gonna back-stab Adelson, Rmoney & the Supremes?
heh… wouldn’t doubt it. Ace at the ready!
I always wondered if Adelson’s empire could withstand a serious examination of its books.
Newt has always been a big backer of Bibi and the other Likudniks. That’s why.
One diff between then and now, of course, is the Internet, where, at least, one can share info with other peons, plus access to international info.
Other diff is that I think, maybe (???), possibly some of us are more cynical and aware of how corrupt everything is. Albeit unsure. Maybe citizens grasped that back then, too.
Too true, though, that one has to spend a lot of time attempting to read between the lines, and speculation is always rife with errors.
Not to mention, it was obvious from the get-go that Gingrich WAS NOT gonna be the nominee. Adelson could just be a feeble old fart with Alzheimers.
So they paid Newters a favor for his help over the years?? Makes sense. Again, $10 mill is De Nada for someone like Adelson.
Nah – pay back is my guess.
So is Romney, apparently, and as Twain sez why waste money on Newt who didn’t have a chance.
But all that is moot now anyhow.
In several important developments, like housing bubble, it has seemed that, like Shirer, many real people understood the reality much better than the biggies.
Johny Carson retired when he did because, as he put it, Bob Hope and Jack Benny just “stayed too long at the party.” He didn’t want to go out that way.
John McCain has stayed too long at the party.
$10 million out of $28 billion won’t even factor my calculator.
I think that representative government is too flawed, the only shot is to get the money out of it, but you’d have to rely on government itself to vote that into law and/or repeal bad legal decisions, which will act against their interests ($$$). The SCOTUS having turned into an extension of the Neocons is the nail in the coffin I don’t see a way out unless it’s entirely overthrown. Token good guys like Bernie Sanders et al are impotent and always will be.
Speaking of Newt, do I remember that his campaign coffers were in trouble even with Adelson, or did I make that up?
The quest for money and power has corrupted most who run for government and all that are IN government, save a few.
Campaign finance reform and term limits are the only answer. And neither will happen in our lifetime.
No, you’re right he is in debt some $5-6 million I heard.
Thanks.
Yep. In a nutshell.
My speculation, based on conspiracy theories gleaned from eCAHN, is that Obama was groomed for this job (and possibly also Angela Merkel for hers). If nothing else, I doubt that Obama capitulated to the PTB with even a whimper.
Clinton *may* have whimpered, but that’s probably about it.
I don’t see the point of pretending that there are two separate, distinct political parties anymore.
We can argue ’till the cows come home about whether things will be “better” with Obama v. Rmoney, but I figure all roads lead to Rome anymore, and we’re essentially f*cked. It’s just a question if you “enjoy” having your band-aids ripped off quickly or slowly. There IS a choice, but the band-aids coming off either way.
Unless or until the citizens wake up and, you know, get off their lazy butts and, you know, DO something…. yeah: ha ha fat chance.
There are some issues with term limits, imo, but I quite agree re campaign finance reform, which I’ll go to my grave never seeing happen.
The other issue would be stop this INSANELY lengthy campaigning for POTUS. It’s just ridiculous & an incredible waste of money. Do it more like they do in other countries and have it be a matter of a couple of months for both the primary & the general. Enough already! Esp given that the choice is between 1% v. 1%.
Eh? I just think the biggies knew that *they* were gonna get something OUT of the housing bubble (via weird transactions & betting on the bubble to burst, etc) and chose to stick their heads up their butts.
I think more people KNEW the bubble would burst but *pretended* to be shocked! Shocked, I tells ya! That’s my take on it, anyway.
Isn’t Newt perpetually in debt????
heh… no shit.
I agree with that, Obama came out of nowhere. He rode the wave of disgust with Bush by making nice speeches (still is). The birthers might be nuts, but his history has a distinct air of mystery.
I heard his newest wife is a shopholic and likes expensive jewelry, expensive cruises, frequent trips aborad.
OTOH the other hand, she’s willing to sleep with Newt Gingrich. I pity the fool who signs up for that gig.
Probably has something to do with Newt’s being a “real Xtian” as opposed to Romney’s sect.
Even robots like shiny objects. There’s your proof.
Oh there’s foreign money buying these elections, but it’s not from Adelson.
It’s from foreign powers.
“Robots are people too, my friend.” — (terribly misquoting) The Mittster
Hey, everybody’s got to have a hobby, Adelson’s is buying the President, and he wanted a fat mouthy one.
That’s why McCain is pissed, it’s just sour grapes, he can’t even give it away nowadays.
LOL !!!
It’s from both Adelson $ foreign powers. Not an either or situation.
Yes. The Birthers allow themselves to be distracted by their racism & stupidity. Some of the questions they ask about Obama have merit though. Who the eff is this poseur?? And I don’t give a shit about Kenya, dogs, his religious beliefs (or lack thereof) or the color of his skin.
That was Adelson a) showing he has money to burn, b) showing he’s prepared to back up his tough talk this time around (he couldn’t do so with Freedom’s Watch in 2008 because the Bush crash nearly toppled him before he could get his worldwide casino expansion, the source of most of his current wealth, fully operative, and most of his liquid assets were going to prop up Likud anyway), and c) using Gingrich as a tool to keep Mittens firmly in the Likud camp.