Monday, October 30, 2006

Dick DeVos does Halloween


Trick or treat!



Who is that moderate looking boy smiling on your porch? He's not so scary! Is he? Nah...



But be sure and watch closely as Dick does his trick.



DeVos is still trying to dodge the issue of his support of radical right causes by hiding behind the mask of pro-gay rights, pro-choice, pro-stem cell research, RINO Rudy Giuliani. He looks so cute, doesn't he? That Rudy, he's OK, he's not a staunch conservative like those other Republicans. You are lulled into a false sense of security and relief. Those extreme, frightening costumes make you nervous. You have seen too many of them in the past few years.



This nice boy wants a treat, and he's ready to perform for you. The best part of Dick's trick involves deception on the questions put to him, creating an illusion that everything he says is true and believed by all, while relying on his band of flying monkeys to do his dirty work.



For the illusion to work, Dick only wants to talk about the economy when he comes to your porch. In this story by Peter Luke, Dick says, "The people of Michigan deserve a discussion on the real issues of Michigan and that's where I'm coming from."



But out in your yard in the darkness of night, the other tricksters that Dick runs with are stealing your pumpkin and egging your house. If the "real issues" concern only the economy, then why are Michigan Republicans running this stealth campaign designed to mobilize the extreme right?



That's part Dick's trick, too. They serve the DeVos agenda.



Brian Dickerson can tell you about it.



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.



In other words, when you wake up in the morning, you are going to find toilet paper all over your trees. And it's real, real hard to clean up.



Another part of Dick's trick involves projecting his views as being those of the majority, indicating that what he says is believed by all.



Watch as Dick does it with stem cell research in the first debate.



Cain: What about embryonic stem cell research (pointing at DeVos) You're opposed to it across the board, Mr. DeVos?



DeVos: I'm a great fan of stem cell research...



Cain: Embryonic?



DeVos: There's been great... there's been great progress with stem cell research, but I have great concerns again... like many, many citizens of Michigan, concerns about what... when we talk about the loss of life and the loss of an embryo. We need to focus on the things that we all can agree on. What we all agree on is that embryonic stem... er... that stem cell research offers great promise and we all agree on that we have concerns about the embryonic portion.



See? We all agree! Pretty good trick, huh?



DeVos is reaching a false conclusion about the "many, many citizens" and "we all agree" based on his own limited worldview. Recent polls on this issue across the country show an overwhelming majority support embryonic stem cell research. The same holds true for Michigan. Andy Meisner (D-Ferndale) solicited a poll some time ago that showed that 73% of Michigan residents support this research, including 72% of Roman Catholics.



But Dick won't admit that. You might not give him the treat if he told the truth.



He did this trick again with Roe v. Wade, saying that "As soon as Roe v. Wade is overturned, which I think we all pray that it will be ... we will revert back to Michigan law." Well, an October poll by Strategic Vision shows that only 35% of the people want Roe overturned, the majority do not and some are undecided. Granted, Dick was doing his trick for a Catholic radio station audience, but he does this so much it is obviously a pattern with him. It is part of the overall illusion.



Remember, when Dick says "we all agree", he needs to falsely convey that he speaks for the majority, when in fact Dick is speaking for the minority of the people. Dick knows this. He would govern just for them. That minority would hold unprecedented power given the state of our Legislature. Instead of working on the all-important economy this last session, the flying monkeys chose to address further restrictions on women's choice and also work on a bill that would give religious institutions the right to deny adoption services based on "moral issues" while still receiving your tax dollars.



They ignored the "real issues" that Dick speaks of. They have been working on the trick all this time.



Sometimes the mask slips, such as when he suggested that intelligent design should be taught in science classrooms. Oops! No treat for Dick that time. He put that mask right back on.



Some are tired of Dick's trick. GOP consultant Bill Nowling says that DeVos should rip off the mask, concentrate on the "social conservatives" and throw moderates right under the bus.



Dick already has, he just won't say it out loud. Dick wants that treat.



DeVos and his family have been leaders among Michigan Republicans in advancing conservative stances on social issues like abortion and school choice. Lansing-based GOP consultant Bill Nowling said it's important for DeVos to let social conservatives know that he shares their concerns even if it means "you lose a few people in the middle."



Turn off your porch light, moderates- party advisers are saying that your views just don't count.



Some people can see right through Dick's trick.



Other Republicans, however, say DeVos is losing moderate voters given his views on abortion, his support for teaching intelligent design -- a variation on creationism -- in K-12 science classes and his 2000 school voucher drive to loosen the constitutional restrictions on public funding of private schools.



"Independent and moderate Republican voters will be deciding this election and, in all honesty, they'll be with (Granholm)," said Sen. Shirley Johnson, R-Royal Oak. "I think everyone is getting sick over how far right" the Republican Party is headed.".



Don't give Dick his treat. Some people in the neighborhood have already figured that out and are closing the door on Dick.



Maybe you should too. And hope that it doesn't rain, making that toilet paper all the harder to clean up.