Let’s be honest, if Las Vegas casino king Sheldon Adelson, with a $25 billion fortune, wants to pick a President…the law currently allows him to do so.  But do we WANT that as Americans?  The much-debated “Citizens United” ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court prohibits government from placing limits on “independent spending for political purposes by corporations and unions.”   The problem with politics is that it NEEDS limitations.  The difficult challenge is how to keep politicians and their strategists in line while respecting the Constitution.

Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Steven Breyer see the need for the Citizens United decision to be reviewed.  It chokes us to agree, but perhaps the Court should evaluate the consequences of the decision.

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is only IN the 2012 presidential race this February BECAUSE of one, single, donor.   Adelson. Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum wouldn’t still be in the game without his single backer, longtime GOP funder Foster Friess.  What if Democrat Warren Buffet decides that he wants Bill Gates to be President of the United States, or Hillary Clinton?  Or consider George Soros selecting Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz as his dream candidate?

Something’s wrong here.  These giant “Super-Pac” contributions are only “SuperSizing” the amount of influence a tiny handful of wealthy Americans have on our government.

Meanwhile…Mitt Romney and Ron Paul are EARNING their support the hard way.  On the ground.  Actually accruing tens of thousands of donors, supporters and volunteers.  THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY.  Winning the People’s support in numbers large enough to tip the meter.

Of course Mitt Romney has some sugar daddies too.  But he has a mixture of support, and that’s the whole IDEA. 

Here’s what Sheldon Adelson, the owner of the Venetian in Las Vegas, has to say for himself……

“Sheldon Adelson plays as stubbornly in politics as he does in business. So the criticisms that he’s trying to personally buy the presidential election for Newt Gingrich are met with a roll of the eyes. “Those people are either jealous or professional critics,” Adelson tells me during his first interview since he and his wife began funneling $11 million, with another $10 million injection widely expected, into the former speaker’s super PAC, Winning Our Future. “They like to trash other people. It’s unfair that I’ve been treated unfair—but it doesn’t stop me. I might give $10 million or $100 million to Gingrich.”

Adelson, 78,  certainly can afford to: With a net worth of roughly $25 billion, that $11 million, which jolted Gingrich’s flatlining presidential bid back to life, equates to 0.044% of his fortune. For someone with a $1 million net worth, the equivalent would be $440, or a two-night stay at Adelson’s Venetian casino. Adelson could personally fund an entire presidential campaign—say, $1 billion or so—and not even notice.

Is that fair?

“I’m against very wealthy ­people attempting to or influencing elections,” he shrugs. “But as long as it’s doable I’m going to do it. Because I know that guys like Soros have been doing it for years, if not decades. And they stay below the radar by creating a network of corporations to funnel their money. I have my own philosophy and I’m not ashamed of it. I gave the money because there is no other legal way to do it. I don’t want to go through ten different corporations to hide my name. I’m proud of what I do and I’m not looking to escape recognition.”

He’s also proud of his hawkish defense of Israel—his wife is Israeli and his young sons carry Israeli passports. Yet those who have categorized his patronage of Gingrich and other Republicans as a one-issue investment have it wrong. The man whose net worth, by Forbes’ calculations, has jumped more ($21.6 billion) during Obama Administration than any American — Mark Zuckerberg included — wants to take the president out for economic reasons.

“What scares me is the continuation of the socialist-style economy we’ve been experiencing for almost four years. That scares me because the redistribution of wealth is the path to more socialism, and to more of the government controlling people’s lives. What scares me is the lack of accountability that people would prefer to experience, just let the government take care of everything and I’ll go fish or I won’t work, etc.”

The Kitchen Cabinet would like to see candidates:  Build a website, issue daily and weekly information, participate in state-by-state debates, issue a four-page position paper and plan for America….and LET US VOTE.  No ads, no mailers, no viral videos, just face-to-face conversations NOT moderated by the media.

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Filed under: Economy, Featured, Inside The KC, Politics by Sonja Eddings Brown, Feb 21, 2012