Adelson gave $40 million to super PACs in final weeks of election

Adelson gave $40 million to super PACs in final weeks of election

December 21, 2012

By Michael Beckel and Andrea Fuller

Billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and family poured nearly $40 million into the coffers of GOP-aligned super PACs In the final three weeks of the 2012 campaign, bringing their total giving to the groups to more than $93 million.

Adelson ranks as the top donor to the outside spending groups by a wide margin, according to a Center for Public Integrity analysis of campaign finance records.

The unlimited donations, which are used primarily to fund candidate attack ads, concern advocates such as Stephen Spaulding, staff counsel at Common Cause.

“People are able to distort the political process, open doors and be kingmakers simply because of the size of their bank account,” he said. “The threat of the spending just hangs over all the political decisions that are happening on [Capitol] Hill.”

After focusing primarily on the presidential contest, in the final weeks of the campaign, Adelson ramped up his giving to GOP-aligned super PACs active in House and Senate races.

In Virginia alone, Adelson invested $4 million into a super PAC that ran attack ads against Democrat Tim Kaine in the final days of the election.

His million-dollar contribution to a super PAC called the “Hardworking Americans Committee” accounted for the bulk of the money used in an unsuccessful last-ditch effort to defeat incumbent Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.

And a GOP-aligned super PAC known as the “America 360 Committee” received $500,000 from the Adelsons as it touted incumbent Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., and criticized Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren in telephone calls and mailings.

Adelson’s donations to super PACs — which can accept unlimited donations from individuals, corporations and unions — set a new standard in political giving.

Adelson is a staunch ally of Israel and an opponent of unions. He first hit the news when he and his relatives pumped more than $16 million into a super PAC that supported former GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s failed bid for the Republican nomination for president.

He and his wife Miriam gave $30 million to the pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future, which accounted for nearly 20 percent of the nearly $154 million raised by the group.

In late October, the Adelsons also gave $23 million to American Crossroads, their first donations to the group. Crossroads spent more than $90 million in an unsuccessful effort to help Romney oust Obama.

Roughly two-thirds of Adelson’s $93 million went to super PACs that backed just one or two specific candidates. None of Adelson’s preferred candidates prevailed in any of the 10 races in which these super PACs were active.

Earlier this month, a defiant Adelson told the Wall Street Journal that he would spend even more money in future elections.

"I happen to be in a unique business where winning and losing is the basis of the entire business," Adelson told the newspaper. "I don't cry when I lose. There's always a new hand coming up."


For the complete report, click on link:
http://www.publicintegrity.org/2012/12/21/11950/adelson-gave-40-million-super-pacs-final-weeks-election