Jim Hightower

Poor Newt Gingrich. For reasons that completely befuddle him, the disgraced former-House Speaker and ludicrously-pompous presidential pretender just hasn't caught on with voters in this year's GOP primaries.

The Newt was essentially done in January – yet, there he is – still preening around, still posing as America's most visionary thinker, still blurting perverse right-wing poppycock, still hogging the political limelight he loves. If the people would just listen, damn them!

But who needs actual voters to be a presidential player these days? Gingrich's entire campaign consists of six men: Justices Alito, Kennedy, Roberts, Scalia, and Thomas of the Supreme Court, and Sheldon Adelson of the Sands casino empire in Las Vegas. The five Supremes are the ones who unleashed the plague of democracy-destroying corporate cash on our elections, and Adelson is the multibillionaire Republican extremist who has taken rich advantage of the Court's 2010 ruling and foisted Newt upon us.

The casino baron put down a stunning $5 million on Gingrich in South Carolina, then upped the stakes with an eye-popping $5 million more on Newt in Florida, and since then has wagered yet another $6 million on his boy. One man, three months, $16 million. Never mind that Gingrich is way too daffy and detestable to win, Adelson has used him and an unprecedented pile of self-interested money to help shove the GOP and the national debate from the right-wing edge of politics over into the plutocratic/autocratic abyss.

Now through with Gingrich, though, Sheldon is moving his bottomless stash of cash over to Mitt Romney. Trying to stay afloat, poor Newt is asking supporters to go online and buy such campaign ticky-tacky as $7.50 bandanas for their dogs.

Yes, thanks to the Supreme Court, our elections have gone to the dogs.