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.â€
Annie Laurie: “Dance, little monkey, dance!”
It’s beyond farce that so many people support these clowns in the name of “liberty.”
I have a sneaking suspicion that Adleson’s ring wasn’t the only thing Ryan kissed.
Ok, SCOTUS, if we have to have Citizens United, can we at least put a limit on the amount spent?
We have salary caps in most professional sports, why not in politics?
Yeah, I know. Don’t answer that.
Adelson can spend every dime he owns, and it still won’t prevent the reelection of Barack Obama.
It’s a secret, closed meeting because Adelson needs to slip one of those ‘Wrath of Khan’ bugs into Ryan’s ear before he will really trust him with his money.
Swami: Wouldn’t it be great if he did? If they all did?
biggerbox: Bump!
Mitt “Faust” Romney no doubt promised to nuke Iran and send other peoples’ sons and daughters to clean up the radioactive mess.
Am I the only one who finds it odd that clean-livin’, no-smokin’, no-drinkin’, no-cussin’ Mittens is so comfy being financed by a gambline mogul? I don’t think gambling is approved in Mormonism, but apparently it is ok to accept money from Gentiles (what non-Mormons are sometimes called) that is gained by gambling.
And what is with Mitt saying his tax rate is much higher when you consider his charitable contributions? Hell, he has to pay 10% tithe or he can’t even go into the Temple! From what I have read, little of his $ goes to any “charity” other than his church. I have never heard any other politician count his church offerings as taxes.
It just seems that Mittens has a very prescribed, limited world of permissible and approvable actions, with special dispensations for his money-making.
For anybody upset by my attitude toward Mitt’s church, just remember one thing: I don’t believe in your version of mythology, either.
My sister is Mormon and the one thing about her religion that interferes with my life is that she is not supposed to do anything on Sunday that involves the exchange of money. Can’t explain it; I am not Mormon. But, neither she nor I are cooks and I go out most everyday to eat. I eat alone on Sundays because of this. I wonder if Mitt and his family adhere to this, too. Can we afford to have a President who can’t sign an important budget bill on Sundays?