Reason Writers Around Town

Radley Balko | October 30, 2006

In the Wall Street Journal, Shikha Dalmia explains how GOP candidate Dick DeVos frittered away a free pass to the governor's mansion.

Comments

|10.30.06 @ 4:36PM|#

Every orange cone means a job!

Funny story about that. In July I was driving from Saginaw to Manistee (a long way) to take some photos of something that was malfunctioning but the client couldn't tell us what it was. On the way I hit a traffic queue about a mile long. I asked the first construction worker who got close enough what was going on.

He said, "We're ripping up the bridge so we can get paid to build a new one!"

|10.30.06 @ 4:48PM|#

Do they really expect people to vote for someone who worked for Amway?

Brian Carnell|10.30.06 @ 4:56PM|#

The problem with Michigan is that rather than seriously look at why people are not building new plants/setting up new businesses in our state, the approach is to focus on how to keep existing plants and jobs from leaving.

So, the Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow has devoted all of her advertising wrath at the evil politicians who allow "outsourcing" (which her means companies that have shut down plants and built elsewhere). Stabenow's solution, if you believe her ads, would be even more protectionist regs to make it harder for companies to leave . . . which, of course, is just more disincentive for companies to come here in the first place.

The other problem is the myopic focus on manufacturing. Both parties really sell this myth of Michigan becoming a manufacturing behemoth again, like they've been in suspended animation for the last 30 years and missed all the economic changes of that period.

|10.30.06 @ 6:05PM|#

He doesn't work for Amway, he owns Amway.

David Nieporent|10.30.06 @ 6:36PM|#

DeVos is a spineless worm. The big issue in Michigan this year is the MCRI; DeVos couldn't manage to stand up for non-discrimination.

Paul|10.30.06 @ 6:50PM|#

Apropos of the orange cone theory, increasing employment via government jobs is not decreasing unemployment. If that were the case, communism would have been a stellar success.

I could easily point to a prison and say "every prisoner is another job". Riiight.

Brian Carnell|10.30.06 @ 6:50PM|#

"DeVos is a spineless worm. The big issue in Michigan this year is the MCRI; DeVos couldn't manage to stand up for non-discrimination."

I thought the big issue here was dove hunting!

|10.30.06 @ 7:32PM|#

Devos did say he would eliminate the helmet law for motorcyle riders.I almost hope Granholm wins so she can institute even more crappy programs.Maybe with all the economic refugees fleeing the state I can get to work faster( if I still have a job).

|10.30.06 @ 7:36PM|#

Lord Duppy,

why do you think we still asphalt pave streets instead of building them out of concrete? Sure, it would take a while to tear up all the streets, pour concrete, and let it cure, but once it was done, there would be drastically reduced rework. Can't put all those people fixing potholes and repaving every year out of work. No kidding, heard that from an INDOT engineer my first year in college.

Nick

Warren|10.30.06 @ 9:10PM|#

Speaking as one of Michigan's 200,000 economic refugees, I enjoyed reading that article. Having lived in Grand Rapids, I know exactly what kind of weasel DeVos is. I remember talking with a former co-worker from the east side of the state (now working 80 hour weeks and flying back and forth to Florida) about six months ago. He was saying how he couldn't wait to get the new Governor, and everything would start getting better. I just laughed and said "You haven't even begun to get fucked until you put the Dick in".

The west side of the state is all Dutch Christian Reform, solid conservative. But the population is heavily lopsided around Detroit, which sprawls out over five counties, and economically extends all the way to Flint and Lansing. The whole east side rises and falls with the auto industry, which is all Big Labor liberal. The last time the auto industry was in a slump, MI elected John Engler and got an administration (according to Wiki) characterized by privatization of state services, tax reduction, educational reform, and major reconfiguration and renaming of executive branch departments. A breed of Republican as extinct as the Dodo if not the Unicorn.

Herrick and His Balls|10.30.06 @ 9:57PM|#

"I have never seen a sitting governor run so many negative attacks against an opponent," notes Bill Ballenger, publisher of the respected non-partisan political newsletter Inside Michigan Politics. He obviously hasn't spent any time in Illinois this year, where Blagojevich's entire strategy has been non-stop negative against his opponent.