betty: for a man whose business caters to high rollers and big spenders, billionaire sheldon adelson's roots are decidedly unglamorous. today he can often be seen as high-profile events with his wife, miriam. he was born the son of a cab driver in a poor section of boston. adelson first began in the convention business in 1979 when he founded one of the largest technology trade shows. he eventually sold that and other smaller shows for hundreds of millions of dollars. 10 years later he bought the original las vegas sands hotel only to demolish it and replace it with the venetian. it's the first integrated resort of its kind. with hotel, casino, shopping centers, entertainment and exhibition space. sound familiar? in macau, he has built another very nearbyian almost exactly like it -- venetian almost exactly like it but with more gaming space. this is what adelson says made him stand out among other casino tycoons. was listening to you speak, and you mentioned you wanted to build a las vegas in macau. you could just pick it up if you could in asia. you just wanted to do that. how come n

whose business caters to high rollers and big spenders, billionaire sheldon adelson's roots are unglamoroushe was born the son of a cab driver in a poor section of boston. adelson first began in the convention business in 1979 when he founded comdex, one of the largest technology trade shows. he eventually sold that and other shows for hundreds of millions of dollars. he bought the original las vegas sands hotel only to demolish it and replace it with the venetian. it is the first integrated resort of its kind. sound familiar? in macau, he has built another venetian but with more gaming space. this is what adelson says made him stand out among other casino tycoons. i was listening to you speak, and you mentioned you wanted to build a las vegas in macau. how come no one else saw that? sheldon: i guess that is what visionary is made out of. betty: people thought you were crazy. sheldon: of course. i have been in dozens of businesses. every time i go into business, verybody thinks i am crazy. nobody wants to recognize that doing something different than what people do routinely is viable. nobo

i say sheldon adelson won the weekend. the guy. there is a sheldon adelson primary. he has his own primary. people came out to kiss his ring. he will continue to be a winner for some time. i will say the big winner of the weekend was barack obama at the white house correspondents dinner. killing it, as he does every year. he is a great comic performer. mark: he was good, but he has been better. john: there is james. mark: another bad day in the media for the clinton campaign. the clinton foundation has a technology mistakes in the handling of some of the foreign donations. bill clinton reportedly got paid $200,000 by goldman sachs for a speech he gave in 2011 months before the gotham city firm started lobbying the clinton state department. that is according to the "international business times." here is a sampling of what the clintons got. >> what still boggles the mind is why doesn't hillary deal with this herself? >> the sloppiness in the greed that follows on this. >> it is about the appearance of conflict of interest and everyone seems to understand this is a hug

>> sheldon adelson has access period.t have to stroke you 300,000 or 3 million or $3 billion check to get that. because of his position his views, particularly with respect to israel which is respected within the party. he doesn't have to throw his money around that way. what he's doing, and what i think you see the kochs and others doing, i think you're absolutely right. this is as much ideological with respect to some of the things that they are pushing. >> but the kochs have invested a lot at the state level. >> so is it ideological for the billionaires on the left who are funding global warming, or is it just about their bottom line? >> i think it's vanity. what is the difference fundamentally between marco rubio and jeb bush on israel the bigger comments aside? i mean the field is very tight in terms of that. including rand paul all of a sudden. the same himymnal. and the role that he wants to play of king maker. sheldon, you can't really differentiate ideologically between these guys, but he wants to be the guy that

the latest days of the sheldon adelson primary is happening in las vegas. and jeb bush is holding a donor retreat in miami. what is the cosmic significance of these three big events? john: the religious right still matter in iowa. money still matters. and jeb bush cares more about his donors than about the national press corps. mark: it is the first time rand did a iowa cattle call. i think he might be the front runner in iowa. it might be interesting to see how good he does in a group that big. the will show a video and then give his stump speech. that will be interesting to me. las vegas, george w. bush is opening for his brother. and finally jeb bush, i agree with you, the donors are really important to him. this group has buzz in the political world that some of the people in his donor community think the campaign is arrogant disorganized, maybe not being as forthcoming with the donors. there was a call for some of the big donors where very little information was provided. it is a big opportunity for them to get the donors engaged like , the obama and r

rather than counting cards he is counting on the generosity of sheldon adelson, trying to play the role of king maker in the 2016 election. the 36th richest american is expected to spend upwards of $100 million. >> an individual with millions tense of millions hundreds of millions, could fit the bill for a campaign, and make a difference have a determinative effect. >> reporter: running for president is about getting the most electoral vote. the new way of campaigning is about getting the most cash. it's the legacy of the supreme court's 2010 citizens united ruling allowing compses and unions to pend unlimited sums of money on campaign. and the recent case allows for nonprofit organizations to accept limited donations from individuals. it is precisely this provision that will allow jed bush to have all television advertising and mail paid for by an entity allowing unprecedented funds. and to operate with a coordinated effort. >> the republicans seem to be talking only about me. >> before bush is a candidate. >> we must do better than the obama administration-clinton foreign policies tha

the republican presidential hopefuls who are trying to get casino billionaire sheldon adelson on theirte house correspondents dinner. we will find out what cecily strong has to say. >>> the fallout from the drone strike that killed two hostages back in january. california congress women will be joining me on set. she sponsored a bill calling for the administration to be accountable for its drone policy. but, we begin this hour with president obama significantly infencifying his attacks on leading members of his own party. calling his criticism of a trade deal dishonest. it burst into public view this week when the president appeared on this network. i live elizabeth. we're allies on a host of issues. but she's wrong. >> president obama referring to massachusetts senator elizabeth warren. this is a deal that the obama administration has been negotiating that would open a free trade joanzone. president obama made that comment about elizabeth warren on tuesday, a day later, warren responded first with a fund raising letter claiming the deal is too secretive. that the american people can't

politico america reports that sheldon adelson thinks senator rubio could be the future of the republican party. to what extent does rubio's status as a freshfaced, rising star a commune intraparty attacks? mark: it a real problem because we saw it as president obama in 2008. attacking the guy who was supposed to be leaving the party to the promised land is hard to do. you might take out rubio with negative ads but the backlash could hit you. as long as he is seen as he is now, it is harder to take him on as it is walker, cruise, or bush. john: you know the super pac's will be doing some dirty work. i think there is enough to look at and rubio's background. not as formidable to jeb bush in some ways but there is a lot of stuff that went on in florida. a look about his time down there and i think the bush campaign, among others, will not be shy about wanting to take him out. mark: we almost have to put a countdown clock on the show because marco rubio has gone without -- has gone all of 2015 without a day in david louvre's barrel. it will be a challenge because again, imagine if they get c

erik: you traveled with sheldon adelson along with announced and unannounced presidential candidates.at make you a presidential candidate? gov. snyder: no, what they wanted to hear with a great story. and it is, a great comeback in michigan. we need to balance budgets there, pay down deficits, and do tax reforms. in michigan, we did it in year one. it's all doable. erik: ari fleischer himself, who was part of the organizing group that put the adelson affair to gather -- together, he asked everybody if you are not planning to run for the white house why else come to the event? gov. snyder: in many cases, if you think about places like detroit and michigan, people's perceptions lag behind reality by about five to 10 years. i'm talking about the detroit bankruptcy here today at the conference. if i took you to detroit today it would be -- you would be extremely impressed and it would change aural perception. stephanie: when you look at the republican party on a national scale, when you say washington is a mess 50% of the reason is cousin of republicans who. want to -- who do not want to

sera spent by three / one in one of those that contributed was sheldon adelson. review outspend him. [laughter] that was just with one state. so what i call a rosy memory to chart the vial of the very is rosy it is better to remember after but try to live throat -- through again people think of the '60s him the '70s people had smoked marijuana and no big deal. that is that the marijuana we have today. is very effective campaign in classic terms of medical marijuana or person who cannot get relief and neighbor tells. that is a legend ministates saying how can you deny the chance that is a difference between marijuana and cocaine but a superb physical specimen new york whalers stock fell by cocaine it doesn't happen like marijuana but it happens. people don't die from marijuana very often. the cocaine will take you to your knees. so this argument with the sympathy is what kind of person can you be to deny? so with those provisions slips were 5,000 but then she said you to have as many as you want. most of the people were males between the ages of 18 and 25. this wa

they see a guy like sheldon adelson, or the koch brothers and kissing their butts or rings or toes ortever and think, that is sickening that that guy because he's rich has a bigger say than i do, by the millions. your thoughts? i think that guy had a point, the guy who was flying that gyrocopter. he says, nobody talks about it. they've given up the fight. >> well, when they're asked about it, chris, they do say and polls do show -- >> when asked about it. >> that they're disturbed by this flood of money into politics. so the folks who have been working to reduce the flow of money into politics is translating that sentiment into actual voting activity. because it's just not a top voting issue for most people. and we've seen efforts to make it a top voting issue, but it seems like just more of a sort of rhetorical thing that when asked about it, they will say that they're opposed to it, but we seldom see it rising to be a top issue in elections. and that's why it's so difficult to actually generate the political momentum to get congress or to get state legislatures to vote, to change th

. >> the policy in mideast has led to absolute ruin -- >> he change that because he wants sheldon adelson'soney. >> uart interrupting me. >> i'm sorry. you are interrupting me. >> challenging that hillary clinton has celebrated. celebrated the surveillance state. she is celebrated using this war -- >> when did she do that? >> rand paul at least have the challenge -- by the way, why are you you not mentioning chafee? >> let's talk about lincoln chafee. who did he support for president in 2004? since he is now made the iraq war the issue he wants to run on , who did he support for president in 2004? who did he support for senate leadership and 2004? he supported george w. bush. and john kerry also voted for the resolution. it is just really. >> you don't consider him a moderate republican -- i don't know what he is anymore? i don't think is relevant, bob. >> you think hillary clinton has all of the ingredients of a margaret thatcher? >> no, i don't. let's stop for a second. you want to talk about working people and who they may or may not support. she will have the support of every labor unio

baker, of course was jeb bush's father's secretary of state, and republican big donors, including sheldon adelson was upset about that reportedly. outside of that jeb bush's biggest challenge and obstacles to the republican nomination are going to be when it comes to ideology. can someone who favors comprehensive immigration reform who favors common core win the republican nomination. those are the central issues whether he can win or not. >> the conversation on morning joe was interesting as relates to the tea party as it was pointed out for nearly eight years, you have members of the tea party trying to fight the affordable health care taking on anything the president would support here and some of those conservatives, some of those on the far right are asking where was jeb bush during those years. >> that's right. and today's republican party when it comes to president obama is a confrontational one. sometimes the test is who has been more confrontational, who has stood up stronger to president obama, and if today's conservative voters the people are going to turn out in iowa new hampshire and

mark: we saw last time people like sheldon adelson and others gave large amounts of money to need --h and rick santorum. citizens united has played a role but there has been a attitude change. in 2012 mitt romney and president obama were reluctant to be seen associated with super pacs. a lot of candidates help encourage people to give. you will see not just candidate activity but people the not embarrassed. jeb bush is trying to limit his current super pac contributions to one milling are checks. eventually he will change that. people like ted cruz and rick perry are going to take multiple million-dollar checks and not be embarrassed. stephanie: how grotesque is the election going to be? we see jeb bush and hillary clinton and we already see this type of super pac dollars piling up. how does the fact that pretty much every rich and powerful person out there for the last two years has talked about how important income inequality is to them, how we have to make a ship. we could face an election that is going to get into the gazillions in terms of campaign fund-raising. it is gross. mar

that is before i started watching the activities of sheldon adelson being. now i am not so sure.ho is the real target and who are they getting at. it is an intriguing idea and i think maybe my friend was onto something. jamal abdi: i think it is very clear that benjamin netanyahu opposes any deal. i think the fact he came to congress and dangled something that was something -- outside of reality was a convenient way to present something other than the truth, which is that he does not want this deal, he doesn't want any deal because this nuclear issue is a gateway, an obstacle that has prevented other conversations from happening. a symbol of the disagreement between the united states and iran. the substance does matter, but the deal a couple is what we set out to accomplish. it prevents iran from getting a nuclear weapon. there is no scenario under which iran has massive inspections -- every move is being watched. all of these restrictions are in place and iran decides to rationally break out and try to build nuclear weapons. it is not a rational move, it is not the iranian gover

that is something i will watch carefully to see if he does pull down sheldon adelson's support.: thank you julie. be sure to catch a big interview tonight in politics with house speaker john boehner, an exclusive interview coming up. i believe he will also be at this las vegas event. a $45 billion acquisition of time warner cable may be teetering on the brink of collapse. it is 99% dead. staffers join lawyers at the justice department. regulators say it would mean higher prices and hurt consumers, apparently. alex sherman is here with more. the tide has turned. what is it about doing a hearing that mystical say, hey, the deal is dead? alex: simply the length of it. he cannot remember anyone ever going to the process of going through one of these hearings. they take so long. all of the dirty laundry that may be comcast is not really want aired out there in public washington and also, when rich and i were talking, he pointed out comcast needs customers. if you're going to fight washington, representing consumers, you come across as the bad guy. it may be spiraling away from comcas

possible contenders will get to make their pitch to prominent donors and to megadonor sheldon adelsonillionaire casino magnate who spent $100 million on the 2012 campaign. >>> a labor dispute once again threatening to disrupt business at some west coast ports making news right now. union officials saying truck drivers are set to vote this weekend on whether to stay off the job next week all of this is part of a long-running labor dispute and it could add to the backlog at the busiest port complex in southern california. some 16,000 drivers mostly independent contractors are faced with shrinking wages, but they wanted to become full-fledged employees of the trucking companies. meanwhile, a trucking association leader says this is not the right time for those dreevers to drivers to go off the job. >>> well you might call it a hike to heal our wounded warriors. a large group of veterans gathering in our nation's capital to raise awareness about veteran suicide. participants will be going on a 12-mile march around washington, d.c. while carrying as much beat as they can and the weight is

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reportedly happened on saturday at a closed-door meeting of the republican jewish coalition at sheldon adelson'ssanctions on iran. he also said a nuclear deal could do more harm than good saying "you think the middle east is chaotic now, imagine what it looks like for our grandchildren. that's how americans should view the deal." bush also criticized president obama's decision to withdraw all u.s. forces from iraq in 2011. he also reportedly suggested the president is not doing enough to defeat isis saying in part "in order to be an effective president, when you say something you have to mean it. you gotta kill 'em." wow. >> somebody had a camera phone on him there. >>> in the birmingham news at least two people are dead and five others missing at a powerful storm capsized sailboats off the alabama coast saturday not far from my hometown in pensacola. >> my goodness. >> some of the capsized vessels were participating in a regatta contest that they have every year down in mobile bay when winds quickly increased from 15 to 50 knots, generating winds as high as 10 feet. this is like cape cod, mike.