By Brad Friedman on 3/28/2014, 4:05pm PT  

Oh, the irony of Newt Gingrich never ends...

Newt Gingrich says all the attention to be paid in Las Vegas by GOP officials and wannabe presidents this weekend to billionaire campaign donor Sheldon Adelson-a patron of Gingrich's 2012 White House bid-is something that won't go away until genuine campaign finance reform occurs.

"Whether it's the Koch brothers or [George] Soros on the left or Sheldon," said the former House speaker in an interview with National Journal on Friday, ticking off other campaign mega-donors, "if you're going to have an election process that radically favors billionaires and is discriminating against the middle class-which we now have-then billionaires are going to get a lot of attention."

Gingrich was asked about the gathering of some top Republicans in Las Vegas for what officially is the spring meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition.

Some have even taken to dubbing the event the "Sheldon Primary," for the casino mogul who almost single-handedly bankrolled Gingrich's presidential candidacy in 2012 and is said to be looking for another horse to back for the White House in 2016.

That's from Billy House's piece at National Journal today.

But if you want to know what Gingrich proposes to help even the score in elections between the billionaires and the middle class, you have to read to the last line of House's article...

This weekend, prospective 2016 GOP Presidential candidates and Republican Governors current and former Jeb Bush (FL), Chris Christie (NJ), Scott Walker (WI) and John Kasich (OH) are all set to be in Vegas, where each will be meeting privately with Adelson.

As House points out, Adelson is said to have personally spent more money on elections in 2012 (in support of only Republicans --- millions of it to Ginrich's failed Presidential run) than anyone else in history. "ProPublica determined after combing through Federal Election Commission and IRS records that Adelson and his wife, Miriam, spent at least $98 million during that election cycle," reports House.

So what sort of "reform" is Gingrich calling for to change the system which he complains "radically favors billionaires and is discriminating against the middle class"?

He told House: "The truth is, we desperately need an election reform which allows candidates to receive the same amount of money as super PACs."

Ah, that's it. Take all contribution caps off and let billionaires buy their candidates directly instead of going through super PACs to do it. That'll totally even the score for the middle class!

Thanks, Newt!

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Article Categories: Election Reform, Republicans, Election 2012, Newt Gingrich, Koch Industries, Election 2016