As Newt's campaign flounders, Romney has been urging casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson to stop bankrolling a pro-Newt super PAC, and back Mitt instead
As Mitt Romney sees the Republican presidential nomination coming within reach, he and his supporters have been discreetly reaching out to Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino executive who has been keeping Newt Gingrich's presidential hopes alive, say Jeff Zeleny and Jim Rutenberg in The New York Times. Romney wants Adelson to stop adding to the $10 million that the casino mogul and his wife have given to a pro-Gingrich super PAC, Winning Our Future — which has used the cash to crank out brutal anti-Romney ads. Adelson has made it clear that he will back Romney if he's the GOP nominee, but he plans to stick by Gingrich's side as long as he remains in the race. But would Gingrich's "political sugar daddy" get more for his money if he hopped on the Romney bandwagon now?
Adelson should dump Newt: After Gingrich's "wipeout loss" in Saturday's Nevada caucuses, says Jonathan S. Tobin at Commentary, Adelson sees the writing on the wall. He's "keenly aware that other pro-Israel Republicans have not rallied to Gingrich's banner, and he knows Romney is the likely nominee." Adelson might not be willing to publicly dump his old pal, but he's likely written his "last $5 million check" to him, which will severely hamper Gingrich's ability to stay in the race.
"Adelson may be ready to bail on Gingrich"
But if Adelson ditches Newt, the fight won't be fair: "You have got to be kidding me," says William A. Jacobson at Legal Insurrection. "It's not enough for Romney to outspend Newt several times over, he has to try to cut off Newt's funding?" That would only serve to make this lopsided contest even more one-sided. The Romney camp should be ashamed of itself.
"Romney tries to cut off Newt's super PAC funding"
Romney will get plenty of help from Adelson eventually: Gingrich's "moneybags Nevada billionaire" doesn't seem inclined to dump him just yet, says Jessica Pieklo at Care2. But even if Newt's sugar daddy keeps the checks coming a little longer, Adelson "is very much open" to shifting his loyalty to Romney during the general election campaign against President Obama. "Sounds like Gingrich is in another 'open' relationship."
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