Sometimes you just have to shut the heck up and let the people who can say it better, say it better. Here’s Brian Dickerson of the Detroit Free Press telling undecided voters to ask what sort of fellow spends $35 million dollars of his own money to become governor of Michigan. He discards ego as a motivation and concludes:
What is unique (or at least unusual) about DeVos is his combination of business acumen and religious zeal. Lots of people who have made a killing in the temporal world talk about their religious faith. But DeVos has put his money where his mouth is — or rather, where his mouth has been in the past, and would be today if he were not running for public office in a state where religious zeal makes a lot of voters nervous.
For more than a decade, DeVos and his wife and the tax-exempt foundation they control have funneled millions of dollars to conservative Christian groups that seek to promote school prayer, public assistance for religious education, the criminalization of abortion and the prohibition of embryonic stem cell research, among other causes.
DeVos says he is running for office to promote an economic agenda. But as governor he would be in a position to advance nearly every one of the social agenda items that have preoccupied his adult life — and there’s simply no reason to believe he has suddenly lost interest in doing so.
Trick or treat, Michigan. Be sure to check that candy you got at the Devos Mansion real, real carefully … could be something that’ll make you sick (or worse) in there.
The campaign is in the home stretch and before things get too crazy, I would like to direct your attention to the phenomenal success of my Campaign for Secrecy! All you h8ers who think that Tricky Dicky can’t do anything right better take a look at my Plan for Secrecy 5.6: The Business of Dick Devos is none of your Business, Michigan:
DeVos won’t release tax returns: “Republican candidate for governor Dick DeVos, a member of one of America’s richest families, says he will not release his entire income tax returns. He says he will provide some summaries of his wealth.” Summaries should be good enough for the people of Michigan and if they’re not, TOO BAD!
How Dick Devos will pay for Michigan tax cuts: While my $2 or $3 billion dollars in tax cuts got slammed by Governor Granholm in the debates, only a few articles got written on the subject, I never was forced to answer the question in the debates and it appears that most everyone is in favor of my “I’ll Figure it out Later” strategy. Don’t ask, cause I won’t tell!
How poor of a communicator is Dick DeVos? How cavalier is the gubernatorial candidate toward the public’s right to know? …
“Thank you for your interest in Dick DeVos’ campaign for change. We respect that your organization is engaged in the public arena. People coming together to address issues is a quintessential American right and tradition. At this time, we will not be responding to your questionnaire.”
No, no — thank you, Mr. DeVos, for reminding us of a quintessential press obligation to inform the public to expect the same dismissive treatment from a DeVos administration.
Amway and the Bermuda Tax Haven: “Over the last 3 years, the Michigan Legislature, controlled by Republicans who support the Amway Guy, has enacted laws designating Bermuda as a tax haven country five separate times.” What does it say that a news search for “Amway Bermuda Tax Haven” produces THREE articles and that all of these articles are just about the accusation? I don’t know but I can tell you that Dirty Dick is smiling all the way to the nameless, tax sheltered bank!
The DeVos Alterra Lie: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel could figure out that “Alterra board chairman Jerry L. Tubergen is executive director of the RDV Corp., the investment vehicle of the DeVos Family, which owns 20% of Alterra.” It’s not a lie if nobody cares!
Dick Devos Support for School Vouchers: “Dick DeVos Jr. has used his family’s fortune and status to create an intricate national network of non-profits, political action committees and federal groups known as 527s that effectively fund the political arm of the school voucher movement.” Devos & family are still funding these efforts in other states. If you close your eyes and stick your fingers in your ears, you might have a career as an investigative journalist!
Secret Religious and Social Agendas of Dick DeVos:Whether it’s Intelligent design, undermining the rights of gays, re-criminalizing abortion or breaking down the wall separating church from state, it’s no secret that Dick Devos has a secret agenda. Can I say it’s a matter of personal faith and keep it secret if my faith says that I have to impose it on you?
Disembodied Headquarters would like to thank DemWave for his mad research skillz. His ability to use The Google coupled with something called “curiosity” make us happy that he is not working for a newspaper or TV station.
Don’t forget that Dick Devos is a quitter!
In an unprecedented move, DeVos will announce that is he prepared to dip into his own personal fortune and pay the state’s revenue shortfall – $3.5 billion or more – if elected govenor. DeVos could lose up to 0.2% of his net worth.
As I was floating around on The Google, I realized it had been a long time since I went out and viciously attacked the liberal blog-o-thingee. First, I had to take the edge off my hunger – a Head develops a powerful appetite on the road for Big Bucks – so I decided to find some cookies. Imagine my surprise when an innocent search for “SPRINKLES” led to Liberal Lucy’s Lady Leader Lovefest, a relatively new blog about how we become closer as a community, stronger as a state, and more invested as global players. Closer? Keep your distance: I have a private army and I’m not afraid to use it!
I’ll get back to the cookies but first, Reasons to Say No to Dick and Yes to Jen? These are a bunch of bite-sized (mmm) but well thought out arguments against Dick Devos and for the Gal Governor Jennifer Granholm. Let me refute quickly:
Now back to the cookie thing. Lucy has apparently some sort of degree in Cookieology and has developed an equation of Politics + Cooking = Democracy Cookies. She explains:
Here’s how they work. My friends and co-workers have been alerted that if they show up with an “I Voted” Sticker on November 7th (or promise they filled out an absentee ballot) they get some Democracy Cookies. This is not a bribe, and I’m not asking people to vote for any particular candidate or any particular way on a ballot/millage proposal. This is just a way of saying how much I appreciate people participating in the democracy process by voting, period.
I’m not sure how to respond to this. I feel like I should offer people money or something if they vote but I’m not sure how people going out to vote helps ME. Really, all I want is some of those sprinkles…
A search on “Dick Devos is Rich” leaves little doubt that Google still has no love the Disembodied Head. It also finds that Diamond Dick is the richest man to run for governor in state history. This little lady notes that Dick Devos has bucked tradition and refused to disclose his tax returns. Memo to Michigan from the gold-plated desk of Dick Devos: You don’t care how much I pay or don’t pay in taxes, you care only about your own taxes. If for some reason you do care, my finances are “an issue we will address openly and directly at the appropriate time”. Which is not now. So bugger off!
Still, voters are a curious lot (at least as compared to say … reporters) and many still want to know “Well how much money does Dick Devos have?”. The Granholm campaign tried to make this an issue (story) saying “DeVos’ arrogant refusal to open his tax return to public inspection, the way Gov. Granholm and every other recent candidate has done, makes it clear that he is hiding something.” The campaign responded that the allegation was “ludicrous”, which was apparently code for “nothing to hide … except Alterra“.
During the final debate, the Tricky Dick was accused of setting up a Bermuda tax haven to hide profits from Amway’s overseas operations. Sadly, the crack delegation of journalists dispatched to investigate the claims vanished in the Bermuda Triangle.
So how much money does Dick Devos have? The answer is: Dick Devos sure as hell isn’t going to tell you.
Cross-posted as MI-GOV: Dickie Rich, Poor Little Rich’s Boy on Kos. Feel free to steal this picture below for your blog or whatever. In fact, steal whatever the heck you want ’cause Dick Devos sure as hell plans on stealing from you!
I can’t understand why all those right-wingers have the yellow magnet ribbon on their car but refuse to question Bush when he cuts VA benefits and makes excuses for not providing Soldiers with the proper equipment and resources to do the job.
-DJ The Young Grasshopper, An Iraq vet’s thoughts on 100 dead Michigan troops
It’s said that all is fair in love and war so I ask you this: You bought yourself a President, Dick DeVos. Do you feel you are getting your money’s worth?
“The thing I want most for you is to increase your income; but I don’t know any way to do that, other than by increasing your volume. And I don’t know any way to do that, other than by sponsoring some new people who get some customers and retail products on a regular basis.”
- Rich DeVos, Directly Speaking, 1983
We should also add that in the United States, the Federal Trade Commission requires Amway to label its products with the message that 54% of Amway recruits make nothing and the rest earn on average $65 a month. (see SkepDic link below) Stupid LAWS. Didn’t get our money’s worth on THAT one.
In a nutshell, THAT is Amway: an organization that enriches those like the Devos family who are at the top. It’s a network marketing organization that gives you a cut of sales to those you recruit, your “downline”. Those at the top do very well indeed, but only 2 of 1,000 distributors will earn even $47,000 a year and 3 in 10,000 will earn $72,000 (see Free Press link below). Those at the bottom either create their own network or end up making little to nothing.
The important thing for you to take away from this is not what a sleazy “soap & hope” scam Amway is or how annoying your own encounters with Amway/Alticor/Quixtar reps have been. The important thing to know is that Dick Devos made a heck of a lot of money because his daddy was smart enough to figure out that the top of the pyramid was a great place to be!
Continuing that great legacy of pyramid building, Dick Devos would now like to ascend to the top of Michigan’s political pyramid. So when Dick Devos says “I am a business man with real world business experience”, remember that AMWAY is the business of Dick Devos and help him build a new pyramid of political power right here in Michigan!
Amway asks Business Opportunity or Pyramid Scheme? They answer “Business opportunity!” The key point is that the network of independent business owners has to sell consumer products supplied by an established company. The Business of Dick Devos is Business!
DeVos Run Puts Amway in the Spotlight DeVos touted the Amway distributorships in a 1998 speech in California as “the best business opportunity in the world,” even as the average active distributor grosses very little — just $115 a month, according to promotional material given to new distributors. In the United States and Canada, Alticor’s 370,000 distributors shared $345 million in bonus and incentive payments in 2005, the company said.
SkepDic: Amway is a LEGAL Pyramid “Far from boosting their incomes, the vast majority of those who become Amway distributors, particularly those in ‘the system’, are likely to end up losing money.” Well, I should hope so!
Speaking of the Federal Trade Commission on “Pyramid Schemes” “There are two tell-tale signs that a product is simply being used to disguise a pyramid scheme: inventory loading and a lack of retail sales. Inventory loading occurs when a company’s incentive program forces recruits to buy more products than they could ever sell, often at inflated prices. If this occurs throughout the company’s distribution system, the people at the top of the pyramid reap substantial profits, even though little or no product moves to market. The people at the bottom make excessive payments for inventory that simply accumulates in their basements. A lack of retail sales is also a red flag that a pyramid exists. Many pyramid schemes will claim that their product is selling like hot cakes. However, on closer examination, the sales occur only between people inside the pyramid structure or to new recruits joining the structure, not to consumers out in the general public.” Now that never happens with Amway!
Amway/Alticor/Quixtar Sucks Mad ’cause Amway attempts to suppress the free speech rights of its critics. Bah! Like daddy Rich says, if it’s free, it’s not worth much.
Amway/Quixtar Business Analysis “The general public does not take time to understand the poor overall economics of Quixtar’s ‘buy from your self’ product merchandising plan.” Can I get an “Amen” on that, people?
Go over to King of France Central and tell them: I think this is something you need to pay attention to.
Man, what a depressing bunch of words. I feel the need for a song…
Some people are saying 
Now back to the cookie thing. Lucy has apparently some sort of degree in Cookieology and has developed an equation of 
Still, voters are a curious lot (at least as compared to say … reporters) and many still want to know “Well how much money does Dick Devos have?”. The Granholm campaign tried to make this an issue (
