Adelson makes Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show”
News on 12 May 2015
News on 12 May 2015
American billionaires Sheldon Adelson and Bruce Rastetter were lampooned on Jon Stewart’s widely viewed The Daily Show last week, ensuring that many Americans were made aware of the undue political influence wielded by mega-rich political donors.
Our readers will recall that Adelson is well-known for his antipathy to online gambling, and his preparedness to “spend whatever it takes” to obliterate it in the United States.
That commitment to ban the industry has led to big-money spending on political donations, lobbying, advertising and even the creation of the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling action group, and has generated the introduction of the Restoration of America’s Wire Act in the US Congress.
The show included comments underlining Adelson’s political clout from observers like Ari Fleischer, who talked about Adelson’s capabilities in sustaining political candidates….or not.
Stewart contrasts conservative questions about foreign donations to Hillary Clinton’s charity, with an apparent acceptance of the millions of dollars in political donations made by super-rich businessmen to American politicians or their political action committees.
Delivered in Stewart’s amusing but cutting style, the program highlights a contentious subject…and highlights the power that unelected citizens like Adelson and his billions possess in the political arena.
New Jersey governor Chris Christie also comes in for a hammering, although not regarding the gambling scene; his relationship with pig industry billionaire and Republican Party donor Bruce Rastetter is highlighted.
