Richard DeVos (Amway king) looking at run for Michigan governor

[Bozita]

They're selling a lot more than toilet paper today.


http://www.newkerala.com/news-daily/news/features.php?a...

DeVos looking at run for Michigan governor

(World News): GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Feb. 7 : Richard DeVos, the former president of direct sales powerhouse Alticor, is considering a Michigan gubernatorial bid.

DeVos told the Michigan Republican Party convention he was looking at the possibility of running "as an opportunity to serve the state I love," the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press reported Monday.

"I'll take the time to understand the issues that face the state and the political environment within which we're living," DeVos said. "If I'm certain that I'm the individual that can make a meaningful difference, I'll be entering the race."

more...

[Occulus]

1. This is not a good thing

This man is a very bad idea for Michigan. If he gets elected, I *will* move.

edit: is there a different link, or source? The article itself seems to have disappeared or something.....

[TwentyFive]

2. Amway sucks! I had a christian neighbor in TX who kept

pushing Amway. Always had a fake smile, but turned mean when I wouldn't buy.

Then, he used his giant truck to make a huge door ding in my car when I refused to go to church with him.

[Occulus]

3. they're like that

My experience with 'successful' Amway salespeople and their ilk has always been that they're very pushy, demanding people. They're also, by the by, gullible as well.

[TwentyFive]

5. I know exactly what you mean. Their 'questions' are more like commands.

This guy was stupid, but was trained (more like programmed) to push detergents with a fake smile. Being rebuffed is something they don't take very well.

[brentspeak]

28. Did he pay for your door?

[TwentyFive]

44. No!

In typical fundie christian form, he lied.

He said he never allows passengers to open the door...even though it clealy did. It was a huge dent, obviously done deliberately. He smiled at me, like he wanted me to challenge him. He was not that mentally stable.

[vanboggie]

4. Actually this is the Prince not the King

Though one in the same in political agenda. This is the son who is married to Betsy DeVos, billionaire-ess who inherited her own fortune before wedding the prince and the Michigan GOP sweetheart who says working people make too much money. Not a chance against Jennifer Granholm UNLESS THE VOTING SYSTEM ISN'T REPAIRED!

[Bozita]

6. A billion here, a billion there ... makes it hard work to tell kings ...

... from princes.

Thanks for the quick history.

This guy's no Thomas Jefferson.

[starroute]

8. And Betsy's brother is Eric Prince, founder of Blackwater

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=69806&ran=206879

May 3, 2004

A month ago, Blackwater USA founder Erik D. Prince enjoyed a surprising level of anonymity. Not many people knew just how big his Moyock, N.C.-based company was. Few knew how prevalent private security firms were in Iraq. Even fewer knew that the sandy-haired , blue-eyed 34-year-old hailed from one of the wealthiest and best-connected families in Michigan. And Prince liked it that way.

All that changed on March 31, when the grisly images of four charred bodies of Blackwater employees flashed across television screens around the world.

<snip>

. . . the most well-known family member is Erik’s sister, Betsy. She married Dick DeVos, whose father, Richard, is co-founder of Amway, owner of the Orlando Magic basketball team and No. 216 on Forbes’ most recent list of the world’s richest people, with a net worth estimated at $2.4 billion.

Betsy DeVos is a mover and shaker in her own right. She chaired the Michigan Republican Party for several years and personally collected millions of dollars from the Princes and DeVoses for her top cause: school vouchers. She declined to comment about her brother for this story.

[Bozita]

10. Betsy's brother is a male welfare queen

His kind of government welfare is not subject to Bush's new budget cuts.

Remember ... that's your money. That's what Bush repeatedly says.

Erik must be very smart.

[rooboy]

7. This is a good thing.

Anyone who hasn't checked out these websites needs to do so:

www.merchantsofdeception.com
www.amquix.info

If DeVos runs for governor, it will be the END of his direct sales company and the massive soft donations made to the Republicans. They're in breach of the RICO statutes and they know it, and a run for governor will inevitably make Amway/Quixtar's illegal activity a national headline.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

11. kick

[flygal]

12. Oooh I LOVE Amway bashing - those are great links!

Great Dateline show about scamway from the second link

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4375477/
snip

So devoted are the followers, many in the crowd with us become sleep deprived, afraid to miss out on advice that will make them millionaires. Such devotion is hard to fathom, but we see just how far it goes on the last night of the weekend, when a single candle is lit. Soon the dark arena becomes a tabernacle, a shrine to the Quixtar dream.

For some, there is a solemn and tearful promise to their leaders. But are the leaders keeping their promises to the faithful? What the thousands lighting candles in this arena don't realize is that 99.9 percent of them will not only never get rich from Quixtar, but they won't even come close.

snip

Hansen: “If this is not a legitimate business opportunity, then in reality, in your opinion, what is it?”

Lindy Mack: “I would use the word scam.”

[anarchy1999]

18. One can only hope.

My hope is on "dim" right now. The "sheeple" are out of control.

[Mojambo]

9. Granholm will crush him. n/t

[Extend a Hand]

13. cnp - senior executive committee

he is also purported to have been on the senior executive committee of the *very* scary council for national policy

http://watch.pair.com/database.html

[Bozita]

14. Scary is right! -- Good post -- Welcome to DU

Take a look at the link above. These are the folks whose ideas, right or wrong, are now in control of the US.

from the link:

Richard DeVos - 33º Freemason- CNP Executive Committee (1984-85); CNP Senior Executive Committee (1986-88, 1990-93). Founder of Amway Corporation; Templeton Foundation - judge for the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion; Bd. of Directors of (33º Mason) Robert Schuller Ministries, Newcomen Society, Trustee of (33º Mason) Gerald R. Ford Foundation, Round Table. Served on Chairman's Council of the Conservative Caucus. In an undated Amway brochure titled 3 Decades of Caring: AMWAY, Amway announced that it had launched "a new, five year corporate sponsorship: the Aspen Global Change Institute. Amway's partners in this exciting new project include the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the United Nations Environment Programme, and the Windstar (John Denver) Foundation." <(Who's Who in America (1992-93); Bellant (CC) 27); Harris>

One of the principal Committee of 300 assets in the U.S. is the Aspen Institute of Colorado, which helped plan events in Argentina even as it did in the case of the fall of the Shah of Iran. Latin America is important to the United States, not only because we have so many mutual defense treaties with countries there, but also because it has the potential of providing a huge market for American exports of technology, heavy industrial equipment which world have galvanized many of our faltering companies and provided thousands of new jobs. This was to be prevented all costs, even if it meant 30 years of war.

Rich DeVos - CNP Excecutive Committee (1994); Board of Governors (1996).

[Extend a Hand]

16. Thank you it's good to be here!

[stevedeshazer]

34. Thanks for that great link

And welcome to you.

[anarchy1999]

15. Oh for heaven's sake! Flee Michigan NOW!

I'm so sorry for you all.

And I live in Texas, Dallas, not far from Crawford "Bush Country". RUN!!

on edit:

I forgot to mention, "beware the Kool-Aid". Been through the Amway, QuikStar, multi-level, network marketing BS to last both anarchys' two+ lifetimes. Last time ever was, over the course of the year 2000 (in the midst of the Bush hoopla), over $12K plus (just call us stupid). No more Kool-Aid, ever, or vitamins or laundry soap, health insurance, phone deals, electricity deals, and so on and so forth, ever again!

Go forth Network Marketeers, (most of which belong to an "evangelical, born again, church) and bring prosperity to us all!

[llmart]

19. Jennifer will win a second term......

remember - Michigan was a blue state in the presidential election.

[PassingFair]

26. Doesn't mean anything...

whilst canvassing for Kerry here, people were Granholm bashing right and left. Misogynist attitudes, anti-catholic attitudes, anti-pro-choice catholic bashers, you name it. Even among the dem electorate she is NOT well liked.
We will have a fight on our hands no matter WHO they spit out at us. Our best chance will be against another woman (IMO).

[llmart]

36. Well, I don't see that in my neck of the woods....

or in my circle of acquaintances. Haven't heard any Granholm bashing.

[PassingFair]

38. My "neck" is Macomb County

...and it's going to be a rough ride.

[llmart]

41. Hey, so is mine!

Maybe I'm just too adept at staying away from those types of people:) I've learned how to avoid "Michigan rednecks" and their hateful/negative attitudes.

[PassingFair]

42. I'm generally pretty good at it too, but

when you're knocking on doors and canvassing, you gotta talk to whoever answers the door!
I just got back from a meeting of our local dem club, and we were discussing '06 and the coming challenges.

[BiggJawn]

22. What is it with Amway and Fundy churches, anyway?

First time I was exposed to "The Business" 25 years ago, it seemed pretty straightfoward MLM. (and I laughed at it) The next time I was exposed to it (My wife signed aboard) it had taken on its current evangelical flavour. This was in a period of only 3-4 years.

A cult for cultists, I guess....

[noonwitch]

23. Amway has always had that evangelical/calvinist flavour

I grew up in GR. They have always pushed religion with business. They're recruiting (scamming) technique for distributors has been "God wants you to get rich selling our products" since at least the 70s.

The DeVos' are dutch reformed, the group that virtually controls West Michigan (Christian Reformed Church)politics. I think that a DeVos as a candidate will cause Oakland County republicans to either vote democratic or stay home. Oakland County republicans are not necessarily neocons or religious fanatics, they are wealthy people who want tax breaks.

I called this yesterday, that the DeVos' would never let Gorcyca or Bouchard, Oakland County republicans, run in the GOP primary unopposed. Their main goal is to get state funded vouchers for christian schools, and there is not much they won't stoop to to do "God's work".

I'll bet a serious investigation could find some dirt on DeVos. He may come across as a squeaky clean christian, but Amway has been accused of tax fraud in Canada in the past. Nobody can run a pyramid scheme without breaking some laws.

[brentspeak]

29. Strange that Calvinists in Michigan are evangelical

Normally those who follow Reformed theology are rather UNevangelical. The reason being that they believe one's salvation has already been predetermined prior to birth; hence, no need to try to win converts in this life.

[SharonAnn]

33. They both require gullible people to believe them.

[KingoftheJungle]

17. Michigan is a prime spot for fellowship corruption

Check out Madsen's latest article and it goes into detail ( http://www.insider-magazine.com/ChristianMafia.htm ). I've also dug up some shit on some nasty fellowship members and organizations that are located in Michigan. As far as I'm concerned it's already been rolled over, DeVos as governor probably won't change a whole hell of a lot.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

35. I'm in the middle of that article now...

Very Scary Sh*t!

[NorthSideCubsFan]

20. The right wingers think that Soc Sec is a Ponzi scheme

I could have fun with that if a -real- Ponzi runs on the GOP ticket.

[noamnety]

21. I doubt the locals will appreciate his moonie ties

Should be a fun series of LTTEs on that. :)

[semillama]

24. ugh. my poor home state.

All i can say is, Go Granholm!!

One of my friends got suckered into Amway briefly, but luckily he came to his senses when the Amway folks kept telling him that he needed to spend less time with his friends and more time with amway people, and that if his friends wouldn't support his amway dealings, then they weren't really his friends. I remember him half-heartedly trying to get me to watch a video.

A little later, he became disgusted with the whole thing and we had a big Amway product bonfire.

[bluedog]

25. busy busy Amway...Floridas godfather for.....................r GOP

Amway chief gave state GOP $1-million

In the months before he died, Jay Van Andel may have set a record with his generosity to the Florida Republican Party.

............. pumped $1-million into the Florida Republican Party in the final months of the campaign season.

.......... Jay Van Andel's donations amount to the largest contribution any individual has ever given to a state party in Florida.

The donations were revealed in state records obtained by the St. Petersburg Times , but were unknown even to some state party leaders because the Secretary of State's Office has yet to post detailed information about campaign finance activity leading up to Election Day.


snip


Records show that starting July 27, he made 10 $100,000 donations to the Florida Republican Party. The money began flowing in at a time when many observers saw Florida as a tossup state that could decide whether President Bush or John Kerry won the election.

The money helped pay for a massive get-out-the-vote effort in a state Bush needed to win.

http://www.sptimes.com/2005/02/08/Tampabay/Amway_chief_gave_stat.shtml

[brentspeak]

27. Oh, SCAMway?

The people who do Amway are like members of the Church of Scientology: Once they get your phone number and home address, they never leave you alone.

This guy is going to get the proverbial door shut in his face.

[Mari333]

30. BIG GOP donations

http://www.wwmt.com/engine.pl?station=wwmt&id=14247&template=breakout_local.html

[Obamarama]

31. Be afraid. Be very AFRAID...

This is horrible news. This right-wing UberRepublikan West-Michigan-Dutch-Conservative in wooden klompen shoes has more money than God and is about 1,500 miles right of center. The man's wife, Betsy "Bitchy" DeVos is a real piece of work. Okay...Canada is sounding better and better.

[eagler]

37. Has anyone mentioned yet that Amway is owned by Moon's

Unification church?

[WestMichRad]

40. You're absolutely correct

They are far, far right-wing wack jobs and are hypercritical of ANYTHING that is said or done that isn't strictly in line with their position.

For instance, it cracked me up awhile ago that wife Betsy DeVos (who was the Michigan head of the RePuke party) complained that Gov. Granholm was indecisive for actually taking the time to visit some communities and listen to what people had to say before making some important decisions. Of course the previous RePuke governor never bothered to ask anyone in the public for input - HE always knew what was right for us. :puke:

Michigan remains the state with the highest unemployment, because we have lost so many manufacturing jobs when companies closed up shop here to relocate to Mexico etc. I expect the RePukes, who hold majorities in both the state house and senate, will do everything they can to maintain this status quo, because it is the only real weapon they have to defeating Granholm in 2006.

[B3Nut]

32. Well isn't that special....

Boy I'm glad I moved out of Battle Creek MI...it's my birthplace and will always have a special meaning to me, but between the economy there tanking and this silly crap I'm glad I'm in WI. I just wish I could transplant the Golden Dragon restaurant from there to here...none of the Chinese places I've tried in Madison can compare to it... :(

I feel sorry for my old home state... :(

Todd in Beerbratistan

[enki23]

39. rather than sitting in prison?

there's no justice in the world.

[leesa]

43. Stay awake Michigan. This sleazebag will try to destroy you.