Every Democrat in the United States should know precisely whom we're running against this year. In my opinion, it's really not John McCain and the GOP. It's Karl Rove's and Ari Fleischer's current boss, "Sheldon Adelson III," the wealthiest gambling entrepreneur in the U.S., and the person Forbe's Magazine has listed as the third richest man in America. It is Adelson's deep pockets that are behind
Freedom's Watch, the 501(c)4 organization that's pouring upwards of $250 million into issues media in support of Republican congressional candidates and John McCain's candidacy this year. NOTE: the influence of 501(c)4's over our election results this year will probably be as big as, or bigger than, 527 influence on the outcome of our 2000 and 2004 elections--with one major difference: contributions to 501(c)4's have little or no regulatory requirements as far as public disclosure is concerned!
There's an outstanding piece about Adelson in the latest edition (June 30th, 2008 edition) of the New Yorker, "The Brass Ring. A multibillionaire's relentless quest for global influence," by Connie Bruck. It's a must read for all progressives serious about victory in November, too.
Taken from the New Yorker article:
According to a guest at a reception in Washington a few years ago, Adelson remarked to President Bush, "You know, I am the richest Jew in the world." He also introduced himself that way to a former Israeli official recently. The investment banker Ken Moelis said that when he saw Adelson not long ago he was surprised to hear him refer to himself as "Sheldon Adelson III." "I said, `I never realized your father was Sheldon Adelson II,' " Moelis recalled. "And he said, `He wasn't! But I'm the third-richest American!' " Adelson has said that he is planning how he will become No. 1, bypassing Warren Buffett, the current No. 2, and Bill Gates.
Meanwhile, pro-Rethug issues robo-calls, paid for by Freedom's Watch, have been running for the past few days in the following congressional districts: AZ-5, AZ-08, CA-11, FL-16, GA-08, IL-08, KS-02, KS-03, KY-03, NH-01, NH-02, NY-20, OH-18, PA-04, PA-10, and PA-11. In coming days, this list is expected to double.
While I've been writing on MyDD about Joe Lieberman's chances of being on the GOP'er ticket this year--I think they're much greater than most of us realize--I believe that when you dig a little deeper into Mr. Adelson's background and influence in U.S. politics this cycle, it becomes self-evident that Lieberman is certainly still in the running (bigtime) for the Rethug VP slot.
For those of you that don't have the time to read this in-depth article, here are a few more excerpts:
Not long after Bush's encounter with Adelson last October, an Israeli government representative said that Bush, describing it to another Israeli official, had remarked wryly, "I had this crazy Jewish billionaire, yelling at me." (The Israeli official does not recall the conversation; the White House said that it had no comment.)
The other day, in another diary I posted here, I incorrectly attributed the funding of Freedom's Watch, in part, to the government of Israel. Technically, I was wrong. But, Adelson is, essentially, becoming the Rupert Murdoch of Israeli media as you read this; and he's certainly the number one backer of right-wing hawk Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud Party, too. IMHO, the reality is that, in some ways, Adelson's becoming as much of an influence upon Israeli politics as the Israeli government, itself. Here's another graph from the New Yorker story which supports my latest comment:
In Israel, where political, academic, and business leaders tend to be outspoken, there is a striking reticence at the mention of Sheldon Adelson. Even people who are diametrically opposed to his politics refuse to be interviewed. "There is a discernible amount of self-censorship going on," the liberal Israeli-American writer Bernard Avishai said. "There is no ideological justification for what Sheldon is doing among the Israeli intelligentsia--and a revulsion at an American weighing in so heavily on Israeli politics, in such a crude, reactionary way. But they won't speak."
Not bad for a guy that's also been described by the London Daily Mail as:
..."the ruthless casino baron who rules Las Vegas."
Here's a little more from the New Yorker piece:
Some conservatives have heralded Adelson as their answer to George Soros...
<SNIP>
Freedom's Watch spent fifteen million dollars on a nationwide ad campaign supporting the troop surge in Iraq, and in the fall it held a conference on radical Islam and Iran. But then Freedom's Watch seemed to recede, and, in April, articles in Mother Jones and the Times suggested that the organization had been so plagued by infighting, and by micromanaging on the part of its prime benefactor, Adelson--who since its inception had reportedly contributed some thirty million dollars--that it might not be a player in this fall's elections, after all.
<SNIP>
In late April, however, Freedom's Watch reappeared, running ads against Democrats in special elections. And in its latest offensive, over Iraq-war funding, the organization has been targeting vulnerable Democrats...
<SNIP>
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee seems to be taking Freedom's Watch seriously. Last month, in special elections for congressional seats in Louisiana and Mississippi, the D.C.C.C. aired ads on Christian radio stations which linked the Republican candidates with Sheldon Adelson. In Mississippi, one ad asked why the Republican candidate Greg Davis was accepting support from "the world's No. 1 casino czar and one of atheist China's top American business partners." It referred to Adelson's Macao enterprises as investments "in a country that steals our jobs, persecutes Christians, uses forced labor, and forces women to have abortions." The Democrats won in both contests.
So, while there certainly is great hope for our progressive efforts this year resulting in victory in November, the reality is that there are major forces at work on the other side of the spectrum to the contrary.
Fellow progressives, we cannot lose sight of this as we move forward in coming months.