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In reply to the discussion: Trump picks billionaire Betsy DeVos, school voucher advocate, as Education Secretary [View all]suffragette
(12,232 posts)31. Exactly. Her father was a founder of the Family Research Council and her husband
used Orwellian language to fight against unions in Michigan, labeling it "Freedom to work."
http://m.motherjones.com/politics/2014/01/devos-michigan-labor-politics-gop
The pressure came largely from one man present at that fundraiser: Richard "Dick" DeVos Jr. The 58-year-old scion of the Amway Corporation, DeVos had arm-twisted Richardville repeatedly to support right-to-work. After six years of biding their time, DeVos and his allies believed the 2012 lame duck was the time to strike. They had formulated a single, all-encompassing strategy: They had a fusillade of TV, radio, and internet ads in the works. They'd crafted 15 pages of talking points to circulate to Republican lawmakers. They had even reserved the lawn around the state capitol for a month to keep protesters at bay.
A week after Richardville's early morning call to Jackson, it was all over. With a stroke of his pen on December 11, Gov. Rick Snyderwho'd previously said right-to-work was not a priority of hisnow made Michigan the 24th state to enact it. The governor marked the occasion by reciting, nearly verbatim, talking points that DeVos and his allies had distributed. "Freedom-to-work," he said, is "pro-worker and pro-Michigan."
~~~
In late 1992, Dick succeeded his father as the president and CEO of Amway, aggressively expanding the company into Asian markets like China and Korea, which produce much of Amway's profits today. His wife, Betsy, an heiress to a Michigan auto parts fortune, hailed from a conservative dynasty of her own; her father, Edgar Prince, was a founder of the Family Research Council. (Betsy's brother is Erik Prince, the ex-Navy SEAL who founded the infamous private security company Blackwater.) Together, Dick and Betsy formed Michigan's new Republican power couple.
Betsy, who is 56, is the political junkie in the relationship. She got her start in politics as a "scatter-blitzer" for Gerald Ford's 1976 presidential campaign, which bused eager young volunteers to various cities so they could blanket them with campaign flyers. In the '80s and '90s, Betsy climbed the party ranks to become a Republican National Committeewoman, chair numerous US House and Senate campaigns in Michigan, lead statewide party fundraising, and serve two terms as chair of the Michigan Republican Party. In 2003, she returned at the request of the Bush White House to dig the party out of $1.2 million in debt. A major proponent of education reform, Betsy serves on the boards of the American Federation for Children, a leading advocate of school vouchers, and Jeb Bush's Foundation for Excellence in Education, which supports online schools.
A week after Richardville's early morning call to Jackson, it was all over. With a stroke of his pen on December 11, Gov. Rick Snyderwho'd previously said right-to-work was not a priority of hisnow made Michigan the 24th state to enact it. The governor marked the occasion by reciting, nearly verbatim, talking points that DeVos and his allies had distributed. "Freedom-to-work," he said, is "pro-worker and pro-Michigan."
~~~
In late 1992, Dick succeeded his father as the president and CEO of Amway, aggressively expanding the company into Asian markets like China and Korea, which produce much of Amway's profits today. His wife, Betsy, an heiress to a Michigan auto parts fortune, hailed from a conservative dynasty of her own; her father, Edgar Prince, was a founder of the Family Research Council. (Betsy's brother is Erik Prince, the ex-Navy SEAL who founded the infamous private security company Blackwater.) Together, Dick and Betsy formed Michigan's new Republican power couple.
Betsy, who is 56, is the political junkie in the relationship. She got her start in politics as a "scatter-blitzer" for Gerald Ford's 1976 presidential campaign, which bused eager young volunteers to various cities so they could blanket them with campaign flyers. In the '80s and '90s, Betsy climbed the party ranks to become a Republican National Committeewoman, chair numerous US House and Senate campaigns in Michigan, lead statewide party fundraising, and serve two terms as chair of the Michigan Republican Party. In 2003, she returned at the request of the Bush White House to dig the party out of $1.2 million in debt. A major proponent of education reform, Betsy serves on the boards of the American Federation for Children, a leading advocate of school vouchers, and Jeb Bush's Foundation for Excellence in Education, which supports online schools.
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Trump picks billionaire Betsy DeVos, school voucher advocate, as Education Secretary [View all]
suffragette
Nov 2016
OP
LisaM, Can you provide more onfo about this? Important we all know as much as possible, as scary
suffragette
Nov 2016
#14
Yes, Rhee was awful as well. Thanks for the link. Bad players and bad news for our education
suffragette
Nov 2016
#27
Check out the chart in this article -- OMG, what a shitstorm of conservative craziness.
LuckyLib
Nov 2016
#41
We had a corrupt Seattle Superintendent of schools who pushed a standardized test on the
suffragette
Nov 2016
#23
Exactly. Her father was a founder of the Family Research Council and her husband
suffragette
Nov 2016
#31
This is another revolting development. Holy cow. I feel completely blindsided. nt
Tanuki
Nov 2016
#5
School vouchers are also corporate welfare for the private education industry
jmowreader
Nov 2016
#38
Ack! quelle suprise. His picks are like a "pick the worst person you can think of" bingo card. n/t
Turn CO Blue
Nov 2016
#26
Meet the Super-Wealthy Right-Wingers Working With the Religious Right to Kill Public Education
QED
Nov 2016
#40
I can't see anything positive whatsoever in the appointment of DEVos as Education Secretary.
Little Tich
Nov 2016
#48
Check out Charlie Pierce he just tweeted that she wants to rescind child labor laws.
demgrrrll
Nov 2016
#51