Dirty Money Buying America's Elections?

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DIRTY MONEY BUYING AMERICA'S ELECTIONS?

Romney supporter, casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson 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’s needs."- NY Times

Sheldon Adelson, casino billionaire, and Bush/Cheney regime supporter, whose company has been under criminal investigation for the last year by the Department of Justice and the Securities Exchange Commission for alleged bribery of foreign officials, recently donated $10 million of his personal fortune to a super PAC supporting Mitt Romney's campaign.

He's said that he's willing to go as high as $100 million to defeat President Barack Obama.

This kind of money could change the outcome of an election. For Sheldon Adelson, who's worth more than $20 billion, this donation is about the equivalent of $40 to a middle-class family.

This is NOT the way our country should work. Electing someone president of the United States should be a decision that we make as a nation. The outcome shouldn't be affected by one, or even several, extraordinarily wealthy men.

"I'm against very wealthy people attempting to or influencing elections," he said. "But as long as it's doable I'm going to do it."

The billionaire, who previously bankrolled Newt Gingrich during the primary elections, owns 49 percent of the Sands casino company on the Chinese island of Macau and as chairman, is directly involved in its operations. Its operations in Macau have made the Sands the world's leading gambling operation.

But the company operates where corruption is described as "a major and growing problem," according to a 2011 report from the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China.

"The growth of gambling in Macau, fueled by money from mainland Chinese gamblers and the growth of U.S.-owned casinos, has been accompanied by widespread corruption, organized crime and money laundering," the commission found.

The Venetian-Macao, a casino owned by the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, was also the subject of a reported "sex-trade crackdown" that occurred in 2010 on the same day Adelson arrived on the island for meetings with government leaders in Macau, according to published accounts in 2010. Chinese press reported that authorities found more than 100 prostitutes inside the casino.

It is only by raising our voices, combining our strengths, and VOTING, that we can achieve and ensure Freedom and Equality for All.