Trump better get Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal to help, because the swamp in DC puts anything they have in The Big Easy to shame. The media is obsessed with our new president and that has given a few Senators all the cover they need to do some payback. When you owe the king of a gambling empire a debt, there is no question, you pay it back.
Sheldon Adelson is the Chief Executive of the Sands in Las Vegas. He is a well-known billionaire and mega donor to politicians. What kind of politicians? The kind that get things done. So when Sheldon and his wife donated $20 million to a Super Pac called the Senate Leadership Fund, he expected something to get done and it did.
Shockingly, the very next day, Senate GOP leaders put forth a bill to effectively ban online gaming because it is dangerous for children. Really? The only children in danger were the kids of Senators getting a piece of the $20 million if they didn’t perform for their benefactor.
The Senate Leadership Fund is controlled by a man named Steven Law, who just happens to be the former Chief of Staff for Mitch McConnell. What a coincidence? Three other GOP Senators are attempting to get the bill attached to appropriations legislation so it becomes a must pass bill. No one wants to risk a bad vote on repaying the casino king for his generosity.
The three Republican Amigos who danced with the devil and earned free nights for life at the Sands are Senator Tom Cotton, Senator Lindsey Graham, and (you might want to sit down for this one) Senator Mike Lee of Utah. The swamp is a dark and terrible place that changes even well-meaning people into lying, cheating, crony’s. Sorry, Mike, you should not do anything that includes McConnell, Graham, and Cotton. Guilty by association is still guilty. My dad always said be careful who you hang around.
To give old Mike a break, I’m sure he is fond of waking up. I’m sure a simple vote against a consumer-driven, successful business model thriving in the USA wasn’t too much to ask for the ability to continue breathing in the swamp air of DC.
Freedom is tough to come by and even tougher to keep. The Federal Government loves to intervene and tell the states what to do and most of the time it’s because a billionaire like Adelson makes a call, and writes a big check. He needs his competition to go away. The easiest way in the world to do that is found in the DC bayou.
Sheldon Adelson’s dream of banning internet gaming may come to pass and if it does we will have GOP Senate leadership to thank for it. Quietly sneaking a bill that would eliminate a successful and currently legal business model is a betrayal of core conservative values.
Of course, you must actually have a back bone to stand up for your values and Senate leadership abandoned that years ago. Also, never underestimate the power of a well-placed donation. $20 million goes a long way to greasing the wheels of government in DC. Apparently, greasing government works no matter if there is a D or R after a Senators name.
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