Via Annie Laurie —

From the New York Times —

Four days after his announcement as Mitt Romney’s running mate, Representative Paul D. Ryan was not in Florida talking Medicare with elderly voters or in drought-ridden Iowa talking about a farm bill. He traveled to the Venetian hotel here for a meeting hosted by Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino mogul who has pledged to spend as much as $100 million this year to defeat President Obama.

Ryan had to get the blessings of The Godfather, who already has spent more than $50 million in this 2012 campaign to defeat President Obama.

In keeping with Mr. Adelson’s penchant for staying below the radar, Romney aides refused to say who attended the meeting with Mr. Ryan, though the location (a private room at one of Mr. Adelson’s hotels) and leaks from the Romney camp left little doubt. And in keeping with laws that prohibit elected officials from explicitly asking donors for super PAC money, aides to Mr. Romney insisted before the event that the meeting was not a fund-raiser.

Yes, I’m sure that in this secret meeting everyone played by the rules. (/snark)

Monte Miller, a longtime Republican donor who planned to attend, described it as an opportunity for major contributors and influential Las Vegas Republicans to size up Mr. Ryan.

“I’ve watched Ryan for the last few years,” Mr. Miller said. “I think I know what he’s going to bring. But I haven’t been in the same room as him. I want to see his charisma and communication skills.”

Annie Laurie: “Dance, little monkey, dance!”

It’s beyond farce that so many people support these clowns in the name of “liberty.”