Tuesday, August 15, 2006

DeVos and Bush Still Best Friends

It's no secret that across the country Republicans are trying to distance themselves from Bush in an effort to convince the public they're somehow different from the failure-in-chief. Steve Smith, a political scientist and congressional expert at Washington University in St. Louis, puts it like this:
"All these guys are trying to seem like reasonable, moderate guys who are not the scary conservatives who their opponents will make them out to be," Smith added. "But they all have very conservative records and support for the president that will make it difficult for them to duck this."
That doesn't stop them from trying though. In fact, Michigan's GOP recently redesigned the banner across their website and removed Bush's picture. The new design might fool some people, but Ken Mehlman, Republican National Committee chairman, disputed the notion that there is much room between candidates and the president, noting the large number of fundraising events Bush, Laura Bush and Vice President Cheney have been asked to attend for GOP candidates. By the RNC's latest count, Bush has done 50 events for Republicans this cycle, raising more than $160 million.

DeVos doesn't need help in the fundraising department since he's bankrolling his own campaign, but he and his family have been top contributors to Republican candidates, including President Bush, and more than 440 conservative organizations promoting free market ideologies and conservative religious causes. All that Amway money adds credence to what Steve Smith said about these candidates (in this case, DeVos) all having very conservative records and support for the president - and judging from this picture, DeVos and Bush still appear to be pretty tight.

Speaking of Amway money, Michigan Caucus recently reported on the close relationship between the pyramid plan and Michigan's GOP:
Amway announces the completion of its purchase of the Michigan Republican Party. The price was not disclosed. The MRP will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Amway and will continue to elect its own board and chairman with approval of the majority shareholders, the DeVos and Van Andel families.

The MRP will change its name to the Michigan Republican Party of Amway.
I love the snazzy new logo. It fits them. I just have one question: If DeVos wins, will Michigan henceforth be known as "MichigAMWAY?"

4 comments:

Lew Scannon said...

Either that, or Michalticor.Our state can't endure six more years of Republican mismanagement.

Graeme said...

and I bet george thought these people were his friends

Anonymous said...

The price was not disclosed.

The Michigan Caucus bit is not far from the truth. And I'd say the price across the board to America has been the utter corruption of our democratic process.

But I guess it's a small price to pay to keep the upper crust fat and happy. :-)

Kathy said...

Lew, the DeVos family may have changed the company name, but Amway is still the same business model. What's that expression about putting lipstick on a pig? ;-)

Graeme, Bush is still their friend, but DeVos and the rest of the GOP have to make it appear as though they've had a lover's spat!

Abi, sadly, I think you're right. America is paying a huge price at the hands of the greedy.